Cave Trail, the Best Trail in Craters of the Moon, ID

When Brian, our longtime friend, invited us to go visit them in Boise, of course, we couldn’t turn it down. My travel agent mode kicked in as I did my research on all the cool places near Boise that we could explore. Craters of the Moon National Monument was one of the places that caught our interest. Volcanoes, giant lava tubes, unique geology that resemblance the surface of the moon,… I mean, what else can you ask for? If you want to read more about the history of this amazing place, click here.  Cave Trail at Craters of the Moon was our favorite stop there.

STATS:

Where:
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve 
Coordinates: Visitors center – 43°27’43.0″N 113°33’42.0”W
                          Cave trail – 43° 26′ 45.63″N 113° 32′ 03.37″W

Parking: 
The Cave Trail at Craters of the Moon has a decent-sized parking lot as well as bus/RV and handicapped parking.

Hours:
The Monument and Preserve is open every day of the year, 24 hours a day. Winter snows usually prevent automobile access around the Loop Road from mid-November through mid-April. To get to the trailhead, you will need to drive through Loop Road.

Distance:
1.8 miles R.T.

Elevation Gain: 
75 ft

Level: 
Easy if you stay on the path – Intermediate if you go in the caves due to some rock scrambling. We highly recommend going in.

Estimated Completion Time: 
At least a couple of hours. It depends on how long you want to spend exploring each cave. 

Ideal Weather: 
Spring and Fall are the best seasons to go. Summer will get very hot, especially with the sun reflecting off the black volcano rocks. Winter weather can get very extreme.

Ideal Time:
Earlier the better as it will get very hot there!

Dog-friendly: 
Dogs are not allowed on the trails inside the park.

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT:
If you plan to go inside the cave. You will need to get your cave permit first. The cave permit is free. Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve has instituted a screening procedure to help prevent the spread of white-nose syndrome to protect the bats. Screening and cave permits may be obtained at the Monument entrance station, at the Visitor Center, or on Ranger-guided walks. Permits are valid for the five public caves: Indian Tunnel, Dew Drop, Boy Scout, Beauty, and Buffalo Caves. All other caves are closed to recreational caving. If you have been in any other caves with your equipment, you need to thoroughly decontaminate everything before entering the caves at Crater of the Moon.

 

THE ADVENTURE:

I will admit, I was a little worried that the park was going to be a bit underwhelming. We have visited lava tubes in other places and most of them were cool for about 20 minutes and it’s time to move on. Luckily, this was not the case for Crater of the Moon.

 

From the visitor center, you’ll want to follow Loop Road, which will take you to the Cave Trail at Craters of the Moon’s trailhead. The trail is paved so it is handicapped accessible. There are a lot of little rolling hills on the trail so you will get a workout. The lava tubes, on the other hand, are definitely not handicapped accessible.

 
 
The landscape here is definitely very interesting. The sky opens up to a vast land of black lava rocks, decorated with greenery and wildflowers. It is wise to stay on the trail. We saw a lot of new cave openings because the lava tubes collapsed in randomly. Don’t forget to admire all the cool patterns and textures on the lava rocks. 

 
 
Dewdrop Cave

Your first cave is about 0.25 miles from the parking lot. This is the Dewdrop cave. It is kind of a trainer cave. You go through the small opening to go into a medium-size opening. The area is damp and covered with green moss. It is nothing too crazy, just a cool cave. It is our least favorite cave. 

 
 
Upon leaving the Dewdrop Cave, you will come to the only fork in the Cave Trail at Craters of the Moon. To your right, you have the Indian Tunnel and to your left, you have the Boy Scout Cave and the Beauty Cave. We highly recommend visiting all of the caves. They all have their own unique little quirks.

 

Indian Tunnel

 

We decided to take the trail to the right toward the Indian Tunnel. This is the largest cave here. This tunnel is massive with a dimension of 30ft high, 50ft wide, and 800ft long. There is a stairway at the entrance to provide easy access to this cave. If you are willing to scramble over large rock piles and climb through a small opening, you can exit this cave at the other end of the tunnel.

 
 
There have been many collapses in the ceiling, so there is an abundance of daylight in this tunnel. You don’t need a flashlight to travel for most of the cave. There are only two spots where a flashlight will make your life a little easier. The coolest part about Indian Tunnel is the fact that you can actually travel all the way through and come out of a different hole. It is very surreal to explore this massive chasm. Watch your step, the ground is very uneven.

 
 
After you go around the corner to the right, you will come to the second major collapse. This was another very photogenic spot. Just on the other side of this second collapse, on the top left corner, was a nest with a couple of ravens in it. A lot of the lava rocks are covered in gold-colored lichens. It was kind of neat to see.

 
 
After another short section, you come to a really cool exit. You first have to squeeze through a gap under a boulder, then hoist yourself up through a little hole in the ground like a whack a mole. From there, you scramble your way up to the top of a third collapse. Then it’s just a short walk across the lava fields to get back to the main entrance of the Indian Tunnel.

 
 

Boy Scout Cave

 

If you head back to the fork in the road where Dewdrop Cave is, and go toward the other direction, you’ll find Boy Scout Cave, followed by Beauty Cave. The caves can get really cold once inside, the coldest being Boy Scout, and then Beauty Cave. As soon as you cross the cave barrier, the temperature drops instantly at least 15-30 degrees from the outside. Boy Scout has 2 different entrances. They are both located in the same place. Once you go down, the opening on the right (the one right next to the sign “Wild Caves”) is much bigger than the one on the left. By much bigger, I mean that you have to crawl into the bigger one and slide down on your back into the smaller one.

 
 
Inside the bigger entrance of Boy Scout Cave, you will notice that once you get past the low opening, the cave opens up to a fairly large room. You will definitely need a flashlight or headlight for this one. It gets pitch black inside. This cave retains ice year-round, doesn’t matter what the temperature is outside. The floor of the cave can be covered in ice and several inches of water. It can be very slippery so make sure to walk carefully. The ground is also very uneven. Water is dripping down from the ceiling, forming large crystal clear icicles. Ice also forms into these rhinestone looking clusters on the wall and on the ground. These glistening clusters pick up the golden hue of the rocks and are the resemblance of the white and yellow rhinestones. They sparkle as you shine your light on them. Once you’re in the back of the cave, take a second to turn off your light and sit in total darkness. It is very unique to just sit there and listen to the sounds of the cave. 

 
 
The smaller entrance to the left was a tight squeeze. You have to crawl on your back for probably about 9 or 10 feet. After that, it opens up into a room that is probably 1/4 the size of the room in the bigger tunnel. In all honesty, there isn’t much to see in this one. It was a bit more about overcoming fear going through the tiny entrance. 

 

Beauty Cave

 

After we left the Boy Scout Cave, we headed to the 4th and final cave at the Cave Trail at Craters of the Moon, The Beauty cave. This cave has a pretty wide opening. This is a really nice sized cave, around 300 ft long, with a fairly easy to navigate but rocky entrance. Once you are inside, you will find yourself in a nice symmetrical room. The cave would be longer but most of it is gated off due to an unstable ceiling. There was also ice in this cave. Beauty cave also covered with the most moss and lichen.

 
 
Here is how the 4 caves stack up in our opinions:

Size: (biggest to smallest)
Indian Tunnel
Beauty Cave
Dewdrop Cave
Boy Scout Cave

Most awesome: (best to least)
Each of the caves has its own uniqueness, but we have our favorites. 
Indian Tunnel
Boy Scout Cave 
Beauty Cave
Dewdrop Cave

After visiting Cave Trail at Craters of the Moon, don’t forget to check out Inferno Cone and Spatter Cones/Snow Cone. If you are looking for more fun adventures around this part of Idaho, don’t forget to check out the Boise River Float or Kayaking to Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls.

Happy Adventuring. Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, subscribe to our Youtube channel, and sign up for our newsletter!

RECOMMEND GEAR:

Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.

•  Sunscreen
   It gets really warm here. There is not a lot of shade so make sure you use plenty of sunscreens. We use eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen. Alba Botanica Hawaiian Sunscreen.

•  Good hiking shoes with traction, better with ankle support for rock scrambling and cave exploring.
   Vy’s shoes are North Face HedgeHog GTX. 
   Dustin’s shoes are Coleman Tasman Hiking Shoe.

•  A jacket
   If you are going into the caves, this is a must! The temperature drops significantly inside.

•  Lunch and snacks
   The trail is very short so you won’t need lunch for it, but you will need food if you’re visiting Craters of the Moon. There is nothing around here.

•  Good headlight or flashlight. This is mandatory if you are planning to go inside the caves.
   We both used the Black Diamond Cosmo. 

•  Lots of water!
   It is a short hike, but there is no shade on the trail and it will get very hot during the summer or in full sun.  
   Vy uses the Camelback L.U.X.E. Dustin uses the Clik Small pack (sadly Clik is no longer around).

CAMERA GEAR:
•  Camera:
   Sony a99  

•  Lenses:
   Sony 24 -70mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T Zoom Lens 
   Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX   

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