Oregon Caves National Monument Reviews

This review is not for Oregon Caves...it is for Big Cat World in Cave Junction...
Amazing, wonderful, and humane. These cats are pampered and up close and personal. Very cool and well cared for. The tour guides interact with the group and cats, to a certain extent, giving everyone as much knowledge about each species circumstances and behaviors as possible. They also breed there and some times the babies are shared to the public. It's a bit pricey @ $15 each but I've been 3 times and plan to go again. It's a go to spot for friends and family when visiting the area.

Awesome caving experience. Our guide was knowledgeble, informative and expertly guided us through the entire cave experience. I had been here before, but I learned many new things due to his narration. Great hiking in and around the surrounding area. So why not 5 stars? They have a time-wasting check in system and the young woman who was heading up the check in process at the end of the parking lot was condescending and seemed to have control issues. A little customer service training would go a long way for her as well as the individuals at the lodge (who were nice enough). The woman at the check in station provided no information upon request, simply saying that all people in the party had to appear before her. She was reluctant to explain why, but upon my questions, said she didn't want to have to repeat her talk. Okay. Fair enough. Seems like she could provide basic info like the cost of admission without needing everyone in the party to be present. She could also have provided information on how long of a wait we had in front of us (we needed to decide if we had enough time to eat lunch). Both my husband and I were present, just waiting on our older teens to get their coats and our lunch from the car, but wait we did. The woman asked me if I knew how tall my youngest one. I told her he was more than 42 inches as we had him measured last year. She gave me a token and said he would need to be measured as he had to be at least 42 inches to enter the cave. This sounds innocent enough, but the way she demanded an answer then discarded my answer out of hand was rude. Rangers should not ask patrons how tall their children are and expect answers, only to turn around and demand they are measured at the lodge. Just state all young children are measured as a matter of procedure. This young woman Ranger angered the next group as well, resulting in a shouting match. Apparently, the Ranger had demanded all in their party be present, even the non-cave exploring, non-hiking disabled mother who wanted to wait in the car. Again. Customer service training and some common sense will go a long way with this group. I will reiterate, however, that our guide in the Cave WAS AWESOME! If you can brush off the foibles of the few, you are in for a treat. Great cave and we all had a good time.

Well informed and friendly guide through the unique caves. Interesting history. Some of the formations have been broken off prior to the State taking ownership of the caves. Curvy road to get to it, but worth it.

Great place for anyone interested in geology or natural processes to visit.

Good view of Southern Oregon geology. Rare water eroded marble cave with the usual cave features. Guided tour (90 minutes) with improved pathways, moderate difficulty. Passages are tight in areas, definitely not for claustrophobic people. Paths on bluffs surrounding the cave entrances provide good hiking opportunities. Neat CCC-built historic lodge and facilities, good gift shop. Well worth the visit, highly recommend.

We stopped off as Last minute detour. The road was an adventurous undertaking on its own as it was very curvy road. Not knowing what we were getting into I'd recommend a light jacket, good walking shoes, shorts ok. The story behind the caves was interesting from the discovery to the upkeep and preservation. There are two exists during the walk but it isn't to difficult making it all the way.

Take the 90 minute Discovery Cave Tour to see the inside of the caves. It's a good idea to make a reservation ahead of time on their web site as the tours fill up quickly.

Great place to take the family. Beautiful scenery and lots of wildlife ,

Love this place..the guided tours are so informative and the rangers really make it fun and interesting.

This place is seriously so awesome and the prices are great!

Excellent monument. We did the candlelight tour and the normal tour and both were great and different enough to justify doing both. The camp grounds there were excellent too

Great experience. Lots of camping spots and with the drive.

Don't miss out on a tour of this natural wonder. (moderately strenuous) We go every year.

This marble cave is well worth the side trip on the Redwoods to Crater Lake itinerary. In addition to a fun cave tour, the Chateau is a very cool place to stay, a historic lodge sided in cedar bark with none of the distractions of modern life. The Monument trails access the largest Douglas fir tree in Oregon, which is roughly 20" in diameter and grows astride its own spring.

We took the cave tour, and it was so much fun! The caves are chilly so wear warm clothing... though they have loaner jackets in the visitors center in case you forget yours. There are lots of stairs in the cave, but it's not too strenuous. If you're short like me, you'll have an easier time with the low ceilings. We saw 1 bat on our trip who was really cute. I highly recommend this trip!

A nice long drive we enjoyed the scenery. Seeing the changes of the landscape to our destination. We went late and only hiked the scenic trail for a bit but it sure made for a spectacular view and picture opportunities. Unfortunately the caves are closed on Tuesday and Wednesday the trails are still accessible.

Honestly, not spectacular formations.
Tour leaders very knowledgeable, well presented. Be sure to visit the lodge.

Cool caves. The guy that took us in was very informative.

So cool!! Our family of four had a great time on the candlelight tour. We only had two other people in our group so it was very intimate and slow paced. Our guide was really nice and knowledgeable, even in his first season of being a guide here. You could tell he loved his job!

The cave tour was only an hour but we were really impressed and can't wait to return for a longer tour or even guided spelunking.
Afterwards, we were hoping to grab some ice cream sundaes in the cafe of the lodge.
We walked into the cafe, 20 minutes after they had closed but the ladies working were still generous enough to fix us up two milkshakes for the road home. That was really nice of them, and meant a lot to our memory of that day.
We'll be back next summer!

I went as a chaperone for my sons class and had a great experience there. I learned a lot and would recommend it to anyone.

Stunning geological firmation. And the drive is almost as amazing as the caves itself. DO NOT TOW a trailor or 5th wheel up to the caves. The road is narrow and has hairpin curves so sharp that no trailor could make the bends. Tge standard tour is over a mile and lots of stairs. They warn that people with heart conditions and poor mobility will not be able to traverse the caves

Really cool caves, figuratively and literally (44 degrees).

Very awesome and knowledgeable tour guides. Would recommend for any explorer!!

Great spot to spend a weekend. Beautiful hikes in the area and the cave tours are great. Stayed at the lodge it was fantastic.

Nice people and amazing scenery! Althought it is definitely a vacation road trip kind of place, I would definitely put it on your list.

We are caveaholics. We spent two days at OCNM. The first day started with the non standard cave tour. We had a blast crawling around in the little nooks a crannies of the upper portion of the cave not shown on the standard cave tour. That afternoon we hiked up the mountain to get some amazing views. Spent the night in the lodge. Both dinner and breakfast meals at the hotel were good and kept inline of our expectations. Overall the accommodations were nice. A very nice historic hotel. The second day we went on the standard cave tour. I would have loved to spent hours in the cave taking photos but had to keep up with the tour. If left to my own devices I could easily spend a couple of days in there taking photographs. The standard tour was very easy to get through if you want to have fun crawling around go on the extra tour. Do both tours don't skip they are so different.

Great place to be one with nature! You can't explore the caves by yourself, only in a guided tour. But it's only $10. We had to wait for 1.5 hr for next available tour, so you might want to call in advance and ask how busy they are. The tour is 90 min, but honestly, you can walk the whole tourable route in 30 min. Everything else is taking pictures and listening to the guide.

A bit of a windy road up there, but it's beautiful. Great to experience such a hidden gem of Oregon.

Very cool place to visit. Tour guides are lively and kind. Walk through the caves is about 1 mile. Lots of up and down, stairs, and low hanging rocks. You must crouch to 45 inches at one point. Interesting and fun to go through, and not too strenuous. Many trails and other options after cave tour. Would recommend.

Great hiking trails. Some trails had areas where a tree had recently fallen. The caves were closed due to covid.

Interesting history behind the cave's discovery. Beautiful formations; the guides are excellent.

The group and the ranger we went with were rude. The caves themselves were cool

The caves we're amazing and our tour guide, Ethan, was exceptional.

I'm sure this National Park would get a 5/5 in any other year. Because of Covid19 the tours of the caves have been shut down, despite what the website says. There are more to this place than caves. The amazing hikes and views coupled with the various waterfalls make this a definite home for Bigfoot. The Chateau is historic and beautiful, also not open, going thru a refurbish until 2022. Camping however is open and still a blast, stay safe.

Went there as a kite d and fell in love with the caves can't wait to go back

We had an amazing day here exploring. We arrived early on a holiday weekend, at 10 am, and we waited only a half an hour for a tour without a reservation. Everyone was extremely hospitable and the tour was great value at 1.5h for 10$. Our ranger was fun and had a host of bad jokes, and he let us dawdle even though it made us run late. There are some really spectacular formations here that are well preserved and impressive.

The surrounding area boasts an impressive infrastructure including an expansive chalet with a truly historic feel. A beautiful, rustic hotel with 25 rooms which has been maintained and restored authentically. There is great meal options available here aswell, milkshakes were delicious.

Finally, the hiking trails are relaxing and a great way to work off the meal you will inevitably devour. Thank you so much for an amazing anniversary celebration. We felt like little kids again, had so much fun exploring.

Very cool tour of the caves, which is the only thing to really do. Definitely some cool views and stories, hopefully it's the same for all tour guides. Remember that caves are cold so dress appropriately.

This place is absolutely beautiful educational amazing experience and has a really great gift shop

We had a great time walk in caves. This is a great to visit for family.

L o ve the cave tour and mountain trails I'll be glad when the Chateau ope n s after the refurbishment in 2020

I had not went on the cave tour but hiked the trails on the location, which were beautiful, the drive up to the cave is gorgeous and curvey. 20 miles in total to get to the monument from hwy 199, which dead ends at there parking lot, so 20 miles back out. I did read that the caves give their last tour at 4 and it is almost 2 hours long with 500 stairs to trek once on tour so keep this in mind asking with other need to know info that should be considered before your venture to the monument. The chalet is gorgeous, huge, and almost like art in itself with it's rustic beauty. The trees were big and the air was brisk. Some nice spots to explore asking the way, just look for the signs, accommodation are at the chalet of course, a couple RV parks, and a campground that is seasonal, (they are all seasonal) but the campground is closed now till May ,2019 as of today which is Oct. 14th 2018. All and all...gorgeous, worth the drive, wish I'd done tour but didn't do my research first, so I recommend doing so prior, I can add the people coming from the tour were energized and in happy spirits from the tour. It's a go!!

What a fun adventure for the whole family. It rained the day I was there and everyone still had a great time.

This is a little gem most people are not even aware of. We stayed at the historic lodge and loved the charm and great customer service. The lodge will be closing for the next few years because it has just changed vendors to Aramark ( same company operating several other historic lodges for the NPS including Yosemite and soon to be Crater Lake) for much needed renovations. Even without going inside the lodge, the cave are spectacular and the park is a beautiful setting.

A fantastic climb inside for people who can walk briskly. Guide was very nice and interesting.

Great experience while in Southern Oregon!! It s only $10 for a tour and well worth it. We had Ranger Neil and he was soooo nice, patient, kind and FUNNY!! Super knowledgeable and able to talk to our level of cave intelligence. He had adults and kids laughing in our tour group. The pace is a little slow but that s good when you re in a dark cave. Dress warm as the temps are 45-ish degrees inside the cave. Make sure all parties are comfortable with lots of steps UP as well as crouching down in a few smaller spaces.
There is a cafe in the chalet with food and drinks along with a cute shop.

Second time I have been here always a good time and really cheap to take the tours really informative and great tour guides

We played in the snow the cave is closed in the winter.

These were the first caves I've been in and I absolutely loved it! The caverns were breathtaking and really make you think about how long it took for all the different formations to form. I want to come back at some point to do the off trail tour and explore the caves further!

We had a great time going to cave. It's good to see at least one time. Thank you

This was a GREAT experience and super educational! Our guide was Rain, and she was amazing. Staff was exceptional all the way around.

This is a slice of American pie not to be missed. The drive is gorgeous and the chateau is well on par with the craftsmanship and earthiness of all the great CCC projects. The restaurants available include an authentic 1930s "malt shop" with incredible icecream and a fine dining experience that well surpassed my personal expectations. The Chateau staff are attentive, friendly and happy.

The caverns are modestly challenging in that one must be fully ambulatory and have reasonable flexibility. That being said, it's unique and adventurous in a safe, controlled manner. As a side note, do remember that there is a minimum height requirement for the tour (small children) and children must be at least 16 years of age to go on the tour without an adult.

This is an amazing place to experience. The rangers are very friendly and knowledgable. The caves have some areas that are rather small which made it more enjoyable for me. It makes it feel like you're actually exploring instead of just taking a tour.

The formations are not the most impressive in the world, but they offer a very unique cave spelunking tour which was very fun for the adventurous. You don't get to see much formations in the spelunking tour, so be sure to also catch the normal walking tour to fully experience these caves.

A tour is required to visit the caves. Lots of stairs, but well worth the visit if you're ever in the area!

Fun-nominal!!! Talk about a great tour visit. Beautiful park. Really wish we had more time to hike the trails. We can t wait to return (from Utah) and do the in depth cave spelunking.

Beautiful place to hike even if you don't take the cave tour.

Great hike, uphill, but not too difficult, benches along the way. Wide trails, but more narrow right before the top. Great veiw.

Went as a family of 6 to enjoy the adventure, we were having a pretty great time as we brought 3 children (one of them being 43 tall and the requirement is 42 ). We got a tour guide from one of the lady employees who automatically started projecting some pretty rude comments and attitude towards our group. Insisting we not hold our 3 almost 4 yr olds hand while walking up the stairs as we were only trying to assist him for safety. She was stating for our safety we not hold onto him, which we abided her wishes. She then stated we couldnt guide him by his back, and instantly started getting bossy saying she d have to ask us to leave. We told her we understood but are protective parents and felt more comfortable assisting him. She said it wasn t allowed and we asked her if she could then just let us out. All 6 of us leaving the tour early she then comments on why all of us needed to leave. We simply said we came as a family we leave as a family. Was a real disappointment. Suggest some of the tour guides have a friendly attitude towards families.

One of my favorite Oregon experiences. I absolutely loved the caves and there were great souvenirs in the gift shop.

Beautiful I took my granddaughter's there so they can experience what I did when I was a child it was amazing making memories

You need a reservation. Found out the hard way. Still beautiful though.

Really neat adventure...awesome and informative guide. I can't wait to go back for a longer cave experience, hopefully this summer.

Although we didn't go into the caves, the lodge and grounds are great places to explore... And the cafe was great! Caution - very windy road into this location!

The only reason I can't give 5 stars yet was that I wasn't able to personally enter the caves because it has to be entered with guided tour with one of the Rangers (free of charge). But this place has more than just caves. It has several trails, from short to medium ones. Beautiful scenery all over. It has Some kind of a lodge but currently under a revamp (will take maybe 2 to 3 years, according to one of the rangers). Parking is free. Bathroom clean. That's all you really need.

Awesome experience going through million year old caves. Only $10 for the tour, so it's cheap for those who are in a budget. Get there early I hear it's hard to get a tour later in the day but I got the first tour and hardly anyone there yet on a Saturday morning.