Oregon Caves National Monument Review

Interesting place, didn't partake in cave hike, bad knee injury day before, but next time..

This place has a beautifull lodge with lodging and dining. It's is a beautifull location. Very peacefull. No cell phone or computer service available at this time. Very quaint, you
Have no elevator at this time. They are slowly updating this 1930's facility. The caves are beautiful. Well worth the trip if you want a quiet getaway and beautifull surroundings.

It was so much fun my whole family had a grest time.. it was fine and informational.

Exceptional.

Every aspect of the stay was a pleasure. The cave tour was fascinating. The downstairs diner was just great. I wish I could go there every Sunday for lunch! The cozy room was such a joy to stay in. We were on the top floor and had a lovely view. The surrounding hikes were pleasant and had some nice variety of lengths and difficulty. The fine dining restaurant made for a very nice end to our day. The lodge itself is truly an incredible place inside and out, beautiful really. Every member of the staff was excellent. My expectations were well exceeded. Expensive but worth it.

I hope to visit again someday.

Really enjoyed this place. Was very interesting and beautiful.

The caves are so cool, both figuratively and literally.

Excellent trip for people interested in a toured hike through a cave. Learn a little about stalactites and stalagmites. Obviously, if you are claustrophobic or severely out of shape, not for you.
Older kids a teens should love it.
Not for babies, or the geriatric.
If you are tall, you may hit your head, so deal with it or don't go.
The Rangers giving the tour were excellent!

Got there early, as recommended and walked right onto the next tour. As we were leaving people were told a 2 hour wait. Caves were amazing! Tour guide was friendly, well informed, and very interactive. Caves were VERY cold. They say 44 degrees, but most of women despite appropriate layers all walked out with frozen fingers and noses. The tour is roughly 1.5 hours, well lit and mostly paved. 500+ steps with lots of hunched- walking and tons of stairs. Take the option to go the Paradise Lost room, and you won't be dissapointed. The park has worked hard to provide information on the caves both before and after damage was done, when they first opened in 1874. Nearby chateau diner was crowded, and gift shop overpriced, but the visitors center had wonderful offerings. We also did the Big Tree Trail which was 3.5 miles around the park. It was mild-moderately strenuous, but was complete with lots of deer, even fauns, and other wildlife and wildflowers.

Loved it! We had a great guide and we learned a lot. Fascinating place! Be prepared for a bit of a hike inside the caves. Good shoes and warm clothes are a must (ie wouldn't recommend shorts, t-shirt and flip flops!). One other note, you can make tour reservations online, but they keep about 2/3 of the spots available for first come first at the entrance.

Great long 1.5 hour hike. 44degrees so bring a jacket. Really good guide, very informative. If you are close, try and go. It is worth the drive.

Friendly and knowledgeable rangers. Cave tour was awesome. A must do.

First cave experience, loved it. We enjoyed the informative tour and truly remarkable features. If you are in decent shape it is good exercise; however if you are out of shape or obese it might be too difficult to navigate.

I don't know if the word amazing covers this place enough. It for me was truly a Hidden Gem on a trip through Oregon. There was a chateau that was built in the early 1900s European style. It had such a warm atmosphere. The rooms feel very European style but I recommend splurging and get a top floor if you can. The staff was very helpful and the food was awesome. The tour through the caves was especially neat. If this is not on your places to visit in Oregon please add it.

First time in a cave, and I loved the experience! Very well guided tour by Cody.

Hands down the best spelunking I could have asked for made it before renovations and a closure, great staff, great accommodations, great dining, and the most patience from a wonderful tour guide.

It is quite disappointing that the website for this monument does not make it obvious that the only option for going into the caves is after paying a fee to have a short tour. It is also disappointing that being a supporter of Federal Lands and owning a National Parks Pass does not cover the fee for the tour or even provide a discount. This is a poor example of public lands being turned into a theme park by using money from large mandatory fees to walk through a cave I should have unlimited access to. I doubt this is what President Taft had in mind when he set this aside as a National Monument in 1909. This is all not to mention how upsetting it was to drive all the way to the middle of nowhere Oregon just to turn around in disappointment.

Beautiful caves in a very remote location. Make sure to bring a very warm jacket- the caves are a balmy 44 degrees. Also, make sure to take the road from Cave Junction. Otherwise, you may get stuck in the forest.

Love this place! Want to go visit again. Even my wife who hates the a outdoors loved it

Excellent. Ranger Gracie was the best tour guide ever. Highly recommend!!!

Awesome people, wonderful guide, thank you so much Neil... such a great land mark to see!! Looking forward to be able to do the off trail guide through the caves!!

Brought a 4 year old who is great at climbing and gymnastics, not afraid of the dark, but has generally been feeling very clingy & unsettled lately with the new baby in the family. She was somewhat interested before, and said she had fun with it afterwards. But she did complain about too many stairs.

For me, this was a great experience. Lots of good history & a great guide to tell it. It's a pretty sizable cave, and you never have to crawl to get through (and the guide himself was at least 6'3"). We saw bats, an underground stream, stalactites, stalagmites, and several types of rock formations.

Make sure to protect the bats from White Nose Syndrome. Don't wear clothes you wore to another cave.

There are some coin-operated lockers in the nature center at the entrance if you accidentally bring forbidden items like food or flashlights along.

There's also a small coffee shop / restaurant at the entrance if you have time, are hungry, or end up having to wait for an hour like we did. Spots are limited, so show up early in the day.

Fun tour through the caves. We stopped here when traveling from the Crater Lake National Park to the Redwoods in Northern California. We have a National Park pass, which is supposed to give you free entrance to all national parks and monuments- but apparently this place doesn t count. I was annoyed about that. But the tour guide was really nice and knowledgeable and caves are always fun. Don t go out of your way to stop by, but it s a fun experience if convenient.

Very easy access place to have a lunch all maps of our area and how to get the r and the people are kind easy to speak to good place to stretch your legs.

The 90-minute tour of the caves was fun and the guide was really knowledgeable. More technical of a tour than Carlsbad but not bad at all.

Pretty cool place. Not as grand as Mammoth Cave in Kentucky but the fact that it is granite is amazing. Definitely on the harder side as far as getting around in the cave. Really enjoyed the trip.

Great cave tours and some pretty hikes around the area as well.

Very nice tour of the cave. Interesting roads to get to the cave.

Always a great time. Did the Haunted candlelight tour. I don't like to be scared. But they did a great job with the right amount of scare. Walked the trail afterwards. Such a great walk and of course view. Gotta love Oregon!

Amazing, cold, very concerned about a bat disease and if you've visited other caves in the shoes you're wearing. Awesome history with the tour (:

Great place with wonderfull service and lots to learn about the history

Ranger that s older and retired rock scientist was the best! Worth the tour! And funny!

Had a wonderful tour with Ranger Gracie. Informative and entertaining experience discovering these beautiful caves. Wear good shoes and be prepared for a nice workout. Lots of trails to explore if you have extra time.

If you have not been here do yourself a favor and go and buy a ticket for a tour. That you are guys are awesome and so knowledgeable they can answer any question that you have for them. The caves are amazing it's super fun relatively easy and short for a quick trip. There's so much to do here if you have more time. There are several different hikes you can take and you can also do an extended tour of sorts where you take a Trail that you need to climb and use ropes and helmets and jumpsuits for. Whether it's a date or you're taking your family on a vacation, this is a must visit for Central Oregon.

Pretty cool but be warned you can not bring back packs in the caves.

Had a great cave tour with Ranger Hope. The NPS always comes thru with THE BEST programs. We are sad the Chateau will be closed for 1-2 years but will anxiously await it's makeover and re-opening In 20/20. The food was super and the rooms very comfortable. We also very much enjoyed the vintage rooms and decor.
Great site!

Great experience. I am a bit closterphobic, and thought I would be too scared to do it. But I made it, and didn't get freaked out. It was very educational, and interesting, plus beautiful!

So cool! Plenty of decent hikes caves are amazing and I want to go back.

Wonderful cave tour and everyone was friendly. Trails were beautiful kept up.

1st time caving incredable adventure .Not too difficult but there is over 500 stairs to climb gver 1.5 km Very knowledable staff . 90 minute tour for only$10.00

A beautiful area of the forest, and great cave tours. Just watch your step and you'll be fine :)

You have to go at least once. (Don't go if you're claustrophobic or scared of the dark. But hey, it's a cave what do you expect?) Bring a jacket because it gets cold and bring your camera.

It was great! Beautiful place for visit and learn! Very interesting!

Awesome tour, very nice location...lots of nice hikes in the area!

Awesome! Trees and Scenery are out of this World! Beautiful!! Words cannot discribe what I saw! Nature at it's best! ! So, so Green! So glad I decided to visit Oregon! My first visit!.Beautiful Area!

Say yes to the tour! Great to see stewardship, education and entertainment wrapped up into one enjoyable afternoon. Hats off to the National Park Service. You are simply marbelous!

Ranger Sheryl Nelson was the best guide we could have had. Informative and funny. She handled our group leader with a salute. Love her. (We were told the tour would last 90 minutes. We got back and got in trouble for making everyone "wait for an hour and a half")
The view of the mountains was worth the short hike.

It's the most beautiful place on the planet. The Chateau is one of the Pacific North West's great lodges; the place for great food, fantastic Gift Gallery, 30's diner, fine dining, and "what a view ".

We were able to get a private flashlight tour when we stopped by in the spring. It was pretty chilly and the area still had snow. We loved the cave though! The formations were amazing and our guide incredibly knowledgeable.

It's definitely something you want to see at least once. There's nothing like it anywhere around. It's not like the books. I'm a big dude and I was able to get through the caves. I'm middle-aged too. There is over 500 steps. There are two parking lots. The first parking lot looks like the right parking but it's not. Go to the second parking lot is a lot closer to the caves.

This was the highlight of our vacation. Erin gave a great tour. We enjoyed the Nature Hike that begins at the end of the tour. It's definitely worth the time. If it hadn't started raining we would have really enjoyed exploring more hikes. This has become one of my all-time favorite National Parks.

Ranger Niel was the best! He was so great with our kids and made the cave tour fun and very informative!

make sure not to overlook this stop!!! the tour was great and fairly easy walking considering you stop for information frequently!

Great little tour, make reservations in advance. The resort hotel is closed so not much to do here except a few short hikes and the cave tour. Nice visitors center with lots of swag.

Very impressive, great for families or adults, also group trips.....

Me and my family had a great time here! I live in Northern Oregon, so it was a bit of a drive but it was certainly worth it! The caves are about an hour's drive from Medford. The landscape around the caves is beautiful, and the inside of the caves are absolutely stunning.The walk through the caves is around a mile, with lots of stairs. Everything is a bit wet, so watch your step, as it is very slippery. Be sure to bring a sweatshirt or light jacket, as the caves are around 40 degrees F year-round.There are some tight spaces, and you will have to duck, so be aware of this if you tend to get claustrophobic. Overall a great experience!

Interesting and entertaining tour with Ranger Neil! Lucky to have gotten him as our guide. The caves were beautiful. Visit this Nat'l monument!!

So beautiful! Our guide, Ranger Melissa was really amazing too. Super fun and informative.