Tag Archives: caving

Coronado National Memorial

February 20, 2019 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

There was no international border in 1540, but this valley in southern Arizona is where Francisco Vasquez de Coronado’s expedition crossed into the U.S.A. His Spanish army marched north in search of the Seven Cities of Cibola, discovering multiple pueblos (including Pecos) and establishing a route for missionaries to follow.

Highlights

Coronado Cave, Montezuma Pass, Coronado Peak

Must-Do Activity

The park does not actually contain a statue or large memorial to Coronado. It does have a steep three-quarter mile trail to a 600-foot long limestone cave bearing his name, which visitors can explore on their own with flashlights.

Best Trail

From the parking area at Montezuma Pass it is half a mile to Coronado Peak. This “sky island” at 6,864 feet in elevation offers excellent views north towards the Huachuca Mountains in the surrounding Coronado National Forest and south into Mexico. From there, Joe’s Canyon Trail leads 3 miles down to the visitor center and works great with a car shuttle.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The small but educational visitor center provides information on trails, the history of the Coronado expedition, wildlife, and the “I Hike for Health” program. Plus, you can dress up in replica Spanish Conquistador armor, which is very heavy.

Peak Season

Winter

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/coro/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

Paved to the visitor center and a good gravel road the final 2 miles up to Montezuma Pass.

Camping

Coronado National Forest surrounds the memorial’s 4,750 acres, offering both campgrounds and free dispersed camping.

Tiff at the entrance of Coronado Cave
Inside Coronado Cave, which is dry now but has remnant flowstone features
Tiff checking out a side channel
Tiff, Scott, and Scott’s mother in Coronado Cave
Entrance to Coronado Cave. Be sure to bring a backup flashlight and sturdy boots.
Huachuca Mountains
Tiff and Scott’s mother at the top of Coronado Peak looking towards Mexico
Scott on Joe’s Canyon Trail

Explore More – Disillusioned by not finding the Seven Cities of Cibola, in which present-day state did the Coronado expedition turn around in 1541?

South Dakota

Jewel Cave National Monument

October 30, 2018 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

Sometimes overshadowed by nearby Wind Cave National Park, the third-longest mapped cave system in the world is located within Jewel Cave National Monument. Thick calcite crystals are the sparkly jewels that adorn the walls of this gem in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Jewel Cave.JPG

Highlights

Lantern Tour, Scenic Tour, Wild Caving Tour

Must-Do Activity

The Wild Caving Tour is reserved for those willing and able to squeeze through the 8.5 x 24-inch crawlspace located out front of the visitor center. It is a taste of what is to come during sections like the “Brain Drain.” Thick layers of manganese will permanently stain clothing worn by those brave enough to take this epic 4-hour journey that crawls less than half a mile past rare hydromagnesite balloons and gypsum flowers.

Best Trail

Most of the forest within the monument has burned, but Canyons Trail makes a 3.5 mile loop from the visitor center or Historic Ranger Cabin.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Most cave tours do not allow you to touch anything, but on the Historic Lantern Tour at the historic entrance to the cave (summer only) you can feel the 4-inch long calcite crystals (also called dogtooth spar) that formed like a bathtub ring as water slowly drained out.

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Peak Season

Summer when the Historic Lantern Tour and Wild Caving Tour are offered.

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/jeca/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None to park, but there is a charge for all tours.

Road Conditions

All roads paved. Note that the Historic Lantern Tour at the historic entrance to the cave is not at the main visitor center where the elevator is.

Camping

None, but plenty of places at Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, and Black Hills National Forest.

A July 2017 525 — Wild Caving Tour patrons have to prove they can squeeze through this 8.5×24-inch crawlspace.

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A P1000232 — Thick layers of manganese will permanently stain clothing worn on the Wild Caving Tour.

August 2012 448 — Ranger at the entrance for the Historic Lantern Tour.

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August 2012 505 — This formation is known as “Madonna and Child.”

Explore More – How many miles of the cave’s passages have currently been mapped?

WONDON WAS HERE

Nevada

Great Basin National Park

October 4, 2018 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

Originally designated a National Monument in 1922, the area surrounding 13,063-foot Wheeler Peak became a National Park in 1986. This park is so remote that moonless nights offer some of the darkest skies you will see in your entire life. Plan to stay multiple nights to walk along the scenic Alpine Lakes Loop Trail, summit the peak, visit Lexington Arch, hike through a grove of ancient trees, and take a guided tour of Lehman Caves.

Highlights

Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive, Lehman Caves, Lexington Arch, bristlecone pine trees

Must-Do Activity

Pass through ancient bristlecone pine trees on your hike to the only remaining glacier in the state of Nevada. This park was once home to the oldest single-stem tree in the world with nearly 5,000 annual rings (a cross-section is on display at the Great Basin Visitor Center). It was killed by a researcher who cut it down to count it in 1964, but he then became a major advocate for creating the national park.

Best Trail

Lexington Arch is located down a long dirt road, the first nine miles of which are passable by any vehicle, but the final two miles require four-wheel-drive. From the trailhead, the hike is 1.7-miles one-way, for a total round trip of 7.4 miles if you park where we did. Lexington Arch is an impressive 60 feet tall and its limestone structure is unique since most arches are sandstone.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Gnarled branches of bristlecone pine trees reach for the sky at 10,000 feet in elevation. Wheeler Peak provides a great backdrop for them.

Peak Season

Summer, with September a great time of year to visit for changing colors in the aspen stands. Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive closes in winter.

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/grba/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None, which is fairly unique for a National Park, but there is a charge for cave tours.

Road Conditions

Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive is paved and most dirt roads are passable to all vehicles, with the exception of the final 2 miles of the road to Lexington Arch which requires four-wheel-drive.

Camping

There are several campgrounds in the park, plus dispersed sites along two dirt roads available with a permit. Dispersed camping is allowed on roads outside the park boundaries without a permit.

Wheeler Peak protects the only remaining glacier in Nevada from the afternoon sun.

The steep trail to Wheeler Peak climbs over 3,000 feet in about four miles, but the destination is always in view.

There was fresh snow atop 13,063-foot Wheeler Peak when we summited in mid-September.

The Great Basin Visitor Center in Baker, Nevada displays a cross-section from the 4,900-year-old bristlecone pine tree.

Ranger-guided tours of Lehman Caves are only a half-mile long and worth the price of admission.

On the trail to Lexington Arch

Tiff standing on cave flowstone beneath Lexington Arch.

Our original logo is for sale on a variety of products on Amazon and Cafe Press

Explore More – If the flowstone formations at its base indicate Lexington Arch was once part of a cave, is it actually an arch or a natural bridge?

WONDON WAS HERE …TWICE

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Kentucky

Mammoth Cave National Park

September 19, 2018 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

Archaeologists have found evidence of exploration dating back 4,000 years when torches of cane were used to light the way. Mammoth Cave does not get its name from hairy prehistoric mammals, though, but rather from the vast size of its tunnels. It has been a tourist attraction since the 1700s when slaves served as tour guides, but only became a national park in 1941.

December 2014 024

Highlights

Bottomless Pit and Fat Man’s Misery on the Historic Tour, Frozen Niagara flowstone formation on the Domes and Dripstones Tour, Wild Caving Tour

Must-Do Activity

There are many great options to explore the cave, including the Violet City Lantern Tour, but we most enjoyed the Wild Caving Tour. Make an advanced reservation online to secure your spot (and your blue jumpsuit to keep the mud off your clothes).

Best Trail

There are nearly 80 miles of hiking trails in the park, but start by hiking downhill past the Natural Entrance of Mammoth Cave to the River Styx Spring, a short walk from the visitor center.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Keep your eye out for 2-inch long cave crickets on the Domes and Dripstones Tour. Unfortunately, no cameras are allowed on the Wild Caving Tour.

December 2014 180.JPG

Peak Season

The park receives the majority of its half-million annual visitors in the summer, making December a great time to visit the park (though not all tours are offered).

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/maca/planyourvisit/operatinghoursandseasons.htm

Fees

No entrance fee, but cave tours have varying prices.

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

A large, shaded campground is located near the visitor center, as well as a smaller one at Houchin’s Ferry (not suitable for trailers or RVs).

December 2014 019

December 2014 046 — Tiff at the Natural Entrance to the cave where you start the Historic Tour

December 2014 070 — Scott on the Historic Tour

December 2014 215 — Frozen Niagara flowstone formation on the Domes and Dripstones Tour

December 2014 107 — Tiff traversing Fat Man’s Missery.

December 2014 247

October 2017 Ohio 009 — Ready for the Wild Caving Tour

LR MACA.jpg — This design we created to celebrate Mammoth Cave National Park is available on a variety of products at Cafe Press and Amazon.

Explore More – Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system in the entire world; how many miles of cave have been explored and mapped?

WONDON WAS HERE …TWICE

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California

Lava Beds National Monument

September 10, 2018 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

California

Established 1925

46,239 acres

Website: www.nps.gov/labe

Overview

Near California’s northern border lies isolated Lava Beds National Monument. There are 700 lava tubes within the monument and many of them are open for self-guided caving. Lava tubes form when the rapidly cooling surface solidifies into rock and free flowing lava drains out beneath.

Highlights

Skull Cave, Golden Dome, Petroglyph Point, Captain Jack’s Stronghold

Must-Do Activity

Only one cave near the visitor center is lit, the others all require flashlights, with hardhats and kneepads recommended for some of the tighter squeezes. Explore as many lava tubes as you have time for, like Skull Cave with its wide entrance or one of several caves that contain ice year round.

Best Trail

1.5-mile roundtrip hike to top of Schonchin Butte where a fire lookout offers panoramic views across lava flows to Tule Lake, Glass Mountain, and Mount Shasta.

Instagram-worthy Photo

All you need is a flashlight to walk less than half a mile underground to Golden Dome, the most spectacular feature of the park. The gold flecks are actually colonies of hydrophobic bacteria that thrive in this humid, lightless environment. Other caves containing them include Thunderbolt and Blue Grotto.

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Peak Season

Open year round, but due to its elevation (5,000 feet) the aboveground surface can get a bit hot in summer and cold in winter, but it is usually nice inside the lava tubes.

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/labe/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

$20 per vehicle or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

The entrance road from Oregon and Cave Loop Road are paved, but most are dirt south of the park in Modoc National Forest.

Camping

Indian Well Campground is located near the visitor center and Cave Loop Road. Dirt roads in the neighboring Modoc National Forest provide free dispersed camping.

Related Sites

Klamath National Forest (California-Oregon)

Butte Valley National Grassland (California)

Tule Lake National Monument (California)

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