AYM: Lake Cave Exploration Hike

Activity Notes

Join AYM for an adventurous exploration through Lake Cave near Mt St Helens. This lava tube, a much-less-traveled alternative to Ape Cave, was created by the same eruption about 2,000 years ago. The cave offers many interesting lava formations, soaring high ceilings, and small narrow passageways. There is a small 'lake' at the end of the cave where the lava tube is sealed and fills with water during the winter, hence the name.

Reach the cave entrance after a short hike from the Trail of Two Forests Interpretive Site. In the cave, there is one metal ladder to descend (approx 15 feet), a near-vertical scramble to climb (about 8 feet), and a few sections that require crawling for short distances. The rest is walking on sand and rock under 20+ foot ceilings and climbing over many boulder piles on the floor. This is a dead-end cave: once we reach the end, we will retrace our steps to the surface. While the total distance is less than 2 miles, expect to spend 4+ hours underground. Due to the nature of caving, this should be considered a moderate to difficult trip.