March 7, 2019

Hiking Through Central Oregon

Lava River Cave – Bend, OR

Lava River Cave entrance
Source: Lava River Cave | Penelope Peru Photography P³

Visitors are welcome to explore the mile-long lava tube located at the bottom of 55-stairs. Be sure to bundle up! The average temperature inside the cave year-round is 42-degrees Fahrenheit, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

To prevent the spread of White-nose Syndrome to the bats indigenous to the cave, visitors are asked not to wear clothing or gear they have worn to other caves or mines.

Visitors are also encouraged to bring their own source of light or rent one from the visitor’s center prior to entering Lava River Cave.

Bug’s Two Cents

My time in Lava River Cave was compromised, as I made the rookie mistake of going in a tank top. I hadn’t done my research prior, so I had no idea how chilly it would be until the rangers warned my group and I.

At that point, it was too late to turn back. I took the plunge. As someone who’s already sensitive to the cold as it is – intensified by my acute (and somewhat irrational) fear of freezing to death – I can whole-heartedly say my experience would have been 10-times better if I had dressed appropriately.

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but I was also a bit disappointed with how my pictures inside the cave turned out.

Inside of Lava River Cave
Source: Inside Lava River Cave | Penelope Peru Photography P³

Don’t get me wrong – the entrance made for some extraordinary photographs. However, the inside of the lava tube was too dark to capture without shining a flashlight or using my camera’s flash, which added an unpleasant glare or white-washed the formations inside the cave.