Bend Oregon Guided Lava Tube Cave Tour
Overview
Available languages
3 hours
Mobile ticket
Join us for an epic subterranean adventure deep below the Earth’s surface! Bend is home to a vast amount of lava tube cave networks, that were formed thousands of years ago by volcanic activity. During our two hours underground in the darkest, quietest spot the Earth can provide, our naturalist guides will impart their vast knowledge of the region's geology while we adventure through this incredible cave system. Wanderlust Tours is the only guide company permitted in these lava caves. These caves are wild caves, meaning there is no paved path or lighting. Wanderlust Tours will outfit your group with helmets and headlamps. We also recommend wearing hiking boots or sturdy shoes to help navigate the uneven, rocky terrain as well as a fleece jacket and jeans as the caves stay at 45 degrees Fahrenheit year round! These volcanically formed geologic wonders are a truly breathtaking place to explore!
** Please read through the "Additional Info" section for details about the caves difficulty.
Additional Info
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Closed toed shoes (boots or a sturdy pair of running shoes) are a must! These are wild caves with uneven walking surfaces.
The caves stay at 45 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. We recommend a fleece jacket and jeans/ pants. Expect to get a bit dusty while in the cave.
All guests must fill out a waiver. Waiver's can be filled out with your cell phone in our office prior to departure.
Recommended for children 5 and older.
Guide gratuities are not included in the cost of your tour. Please extend the customary gratuity, when warranted, on a voluntary basis.
Updated Tour Details for Summer 2025: Due to Forest Service closures impacting the area where our usual caves are located, we will be guiding in Lava River Cave for the summer of 2025. The cave is open to the general public (via ticket, in an un-guided fashion) each week, Friday - Monday. If you join us on a tour during these days, it is very likely you will see other people exploring in the cave as well. For tours booked Tuesday - Thursday, the cave is not open to the public but is open to educational experiences such as school groups so it is still possible there will be others in the cave.
Not recommended for travelers that have difficulty with walking/ balance on uneven, rocky terrain
While we've had guests on our cave tours ranging from 5 to 85, we describe our cave tour as having an easy to moderate level of difficulty. It is a wild cave with no lights or path (we provide helmets and headlamps). You will be walking on uneven terrain, have to scramble over some rocks, etc. If you have questions about the cave's difficulty, it is best to contact us directly!
Cancellation Policy
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
What‘s Included
We will outfit each guest with a helmet and headlamp
Award-winning Naturalist Guide and interpretation
You are more than welcome to bring a snack, granola bar, etc.
Please bring a bottle of water with you, preferably a reusable one!
Guide gratuity
What To Expect
Join us for an epic subterranean adventure deep below the Earth’s surface! During our time underground your Naturalist Guides will impart their vast knowledge of the region's geology while we adventure in the longest known lava tube cave in Oregon! Wanderlust Tours will outfit your group with helmets and headlamps. We also recommend wearing hiking boots or sturdy shoes to help navigate the uneven terrain as well as a fleece jacket and jeans as the caves stay at 45 degrees Fahrenheit year round! These volcanically formed geologic wonders are a truly breathtaking place to explore! The cave is considered a wild cave. During the tour, we will encounter uneven, rocky terrain, rock features that will involve stepping up and over, etc.. If you have questions about the cave's difficulty, it is best to contact us directly! ** Updated Tour Details for Summer 2025: Due to Forest Service closures impacting the area where our usual caves are located, we will be guiding in Lava River Cave for the summer of 2025. ** Please read through the “Additional Info” section to learn more about the new cave experience and difficulty. ** Recommended for children 5 and older!
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Bend Oregon Guided Lava Tube Cave Tour
Reviews
19 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
A must see when in Bend
lisa z,
Apr 30, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00The lava tube cave tour was amazing! Our guide, Jose, was so knowledgeable about the area and landscape around the cave. He was patient and answered all questions. You will get dirty crawling through some small spaces along the cave floor but it is so worth it. There are some spots that require climbing over rocks and bending over and kneeling down so having some level of fitness is necessary.
Super fun and well worth it.
Zen D,
Mar 27, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Super fun! My 11 year old was nervous about being in a cave. He had the best time. He said he felt totally alive and happy. Jose was a great guide. I highly recommend this activity.
Be aware of the difficulty of the lava tube.
David C,
Oct 25, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00We had a very interesting tour of a lava tube with this company. The naturalist was enthusiastic and knowledgeable about Oregon geology, the formation of lava tubes, etc. however, I reread the tour description and there's a sneaky phrase at the end that says see additional information for discussion of lava tube. Difficulty. This exploration is difficult. You are climbing over large boulders and the overhead space gets narrower and narrower. With a replacement knee I was unable to continue the tour to the end. This actually worked out okay, allowing us time to slowly hike out of the tube and make more detailed observations than on the way in.
Fun time!
I9494AKnataliek,
Oct 23, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Fun, physical scramble thru lava cave lead by knowledgeable and considerate guide! Moments of total darkness when we all turned our headlamps off were very peaceful. Seeing bats at rest was beautiful.
Not worth the money.
Dotian M,
Jul 31, 2024
- Review from Viator
2.00This is a terrible experience for an 81 year old person. On the Web Site there is no warning about the climbing, poor footing, or crawling. I recommend this experience to the young and agile. But I certainly wasted some of my retirement money on this.
Great trip best for a hot day
N8606DVnathanj,
Jul 28, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Great 1/2 day (morning or Afternoon) … but I recommend afternoon when it is hot out as you escape the heat and get full use of your afternoon. Very cool tour even if you Do not like tight places.
Harder than advertised
Charles S,
Jul 21, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
3.00I’m giving a 3 because I felt the guide did not provide enough information to match the complexity. The tour requires a fair amount balance, stability, and mobility. I wouldn’t recommend to anyone with physical issues. The tour includes some history, which adds meaning. Overall, the tour was more taxing than expected, but we had a good time.
Highly recommended! Dylan was great
Kristen21414,
Jul 21, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Our guide Dylan was great. He was very informative and friendly. I’m glad we went with a guide, as the helmet and headlights were essential and we went farther into the cave than we would have on our own. We booked through a third party company vs wanderlust, so I didn’t read the website description about the temperature. Wanderlust was great and loaned us pants and a sweatshirt. Glad we booked the early morning tour, as we had the cave to ourselves. Locals and tourists without guides started to filter in as we were leaving. Highly recommend this tour
First time to Oregon
shaynapetm,
May 23, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00I had an amazing time on this tour not only was the customer service very helpful from the get-go of setting up a reservation they were very accommodating for a solo traveler when I arrived at the location for the tour I was greeted very kindly my tour guide went above and beyond I had a fabulous time I would highly recommend this tour very very kind and also at the end we had desserts at the stargazing and for my birthday they went above and beyond with candles it was beyond kind and sing me happy birthday!!
Even better with Benton as our guide
Susan T,
Apr 27, 2024
- Review from Viator
5.00Exceeded our expectations. Benton was extremely knowledgeable about the area and history of the caves. The entire adventure was a rush!
From $140.00
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