The Magic of Exploring Caves
Cave exploring in Bend is like entering a new world. As you descend, the temperature drops, the light fades, and your in a whole new landscape. It is truly magical. My caving experiences in Bend, OR have been exciting mini adventures. Not only going in side but also finding the caves creates memories.
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Basic Rules for Caving
There is fungal disease called white-nose syndrome that is deadly for the bats in the caves. Do your part to prevent the spread of this disease. Here’s what you can do:
- Make sure that if you are visiting multiple caves in the same day, bring a change of clothes and shoes.
- When leaving the cave, wipe any dirt off your shoes
- Wash your hands, and any other exposed skin
Skylight Cave
Sisters, Oregon
The Skylight Cave near Sisters, OR (about 30 minutes North of Bend) is by far my favorite so far. If you go at the right time. beams of light shoot down through holes in the ground above. This is a great place to go if your looking for something off the beaten path. We were the only people there. The only time we saw another person was when we were leaving.
Know Before You Go
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Of course, bring a flashlight, headlamp, lantern, or something so you can see. We had a 700 lumens flashlight and it was perfect. Your sell phone flashlight will not be enough.
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It gets cold in the caves. It may be 80 degrees on the service, but once your inside it is about 40 degrees. Bring a jacket and wear long pants.
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A high clearance car is a must. The road gets pretty rough with areas having tree roots across that you have to drive over.
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Where non slip boots. Areas of the cave can be wet and slippery.
How to Find the Caves
Skylight Cave is hard to find. We used Google Maps to find it. It took us close, but not quite there. When using maps, you will be led to about a half a mile away. Use exact coordinates. Once you get there, parking is only a few feet from the opening, a whole in the ground with a ladder down.
Coordinates: 44°20’55.3″N 121°42’55.9″W
The Best Time to Visit
We visited the cave in early May. The goal was to get there at 11am to see the light beams that shine though the cave from about, hence the name Skylight Cave. Needless to say, we got lost. After wandering around about 1 square mile if the area, once we found the cave, it was about 12:30. Luckily we got there just in time to catch the end of the beautiful light beams.
Wildlife on the Way
Right when we hit the road leading to the caves, we saw something big run across the road a little ways ahead. It was a coyote! Once we got to the location where it crossed, we stopped and looked into the trees, and there it was. Such a beautiful and rare sighting (for me anyways).
Boyd Cave, Bend
Bend, Oregon
Boyd Cave is just minutes South of Bend, OR. Out in the desert, it was a different vibe then the tree covered Skylight Cave. At the entrance to Boyd Cave, there are panoramic views of the snow capped mountains in the distance. This cave is a wonder to explore. Since it is a lava tube, some areas inside look like a river where the lava cooled.
Where is it?
Unlike Skylight Cave, Boyd Cave is very easy to find by simply typing in the cave name into google maps. It is only minutes South of Bend.
What to Know
When cave exploring at Boyd Cave, the temperature difference from the surface to inside is very drastic. On the surface it was hot! Once inside it is much colder and the further in you go, the colder it gets. Remember to bring that jacket.
Since it is not a secluded as the Skylight Cave, there were several other people there. I wouldn’t say it was crowded, but there were about 4 to 5 other groups in the area.
There is a staircase leading down into the cave rather than a ladder.
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