Jerry W.

The lava tube is at a constant 42°F or 6°C...so dress accordingly. Bring at least 2 light source. If you are soloing, I suggest a headlamp as your primary... you might need your hands free. Please make sure your children know not to shine their light at oncoming hikers. The floor is uneven and you will need to scramble over some larger rocks. Sturdy shoes are recommended. The entrance is awe inspiring. Especially when look up and out the way you came in with lighting. When you reach the bottom of the metal stairs it will almost be total darkness. You have 2 paths select from.... under the stairs takes you 1.5 miles one way (I did not take that route) the other route is .75 miles one way. I an not going to dishonor the amazing trek but trying to describe what you will see. But it's pretty cool. I attached some pictures.

Joseph P.

First things first, there are 2 ways to go. An easy way and an extremely hard way. People, pay attention. Cell phone flashlights will NOT work for the "difficult walking" way, nor the easy way, unless you like to trip. As for the "difficult walking" way, expect scrambling 10-25 foot high rock falls. Oh in pitch black unless you have a good headlamp, don't attempt to do it with a Gas lamp, yeah don't be that idiot, or cell phone lights, or cheap dollar store led flashlights. Oh and don't eat food, vape, or think your inshape to do the "difficult walking" there is a good 8 foot pull yourself up a rope section that's not easy in the bit. Oh and take your time, no rush but do be mindful of others going through cause your not being in shape or misunderstanding what kind of "hike" this is going to be ain't other people's faults. This is a truly amazing experience if you are ready, but please just stick to the easy out and back end not the 1 way 1.75 mile over massive rock falls, and technically climbing if you are not ready.

Shauna M.

What a unique experience! This was a surprisingly difficult and treacherous adventure. Luckily we were well equipped with warm gloves and diver flashlights. I HIGHLY recommend a hands-free light source. Divers lights with wrist straps are ideal. The group ahead of us was struggling and I had an extra flashlight I let them borrow which helped them out. Get ready for crawling and jumping and squeezing!

Kim R.

Soooo much fun! We'd wanted to visit since we'd moved to the PNW, finnnnally got there last weekend. We got tickets for the first time frame, 9am, and by the amount of cars there with us at that time we assumed we'd be touring in one big line. But thankfully we were pleasantly surprised, as we were only occasionally near any other people while inside. We wanted to do the upper and lower, so we decided to go with the more challenging upper first. Wise choice...granted we are middle aged, but the upper was a good workout!! Wayyyy more bouldering and crawling around on all fours than I had assumed. DEFINITELY bring your gloves, in my opinion they were essential. And I'd recommend shoes with ankle support as being of way more importance than waterproof shoes. I had on waterproof low-tops, and while they were barely damp on the toes my ankles were spent! And for my fellow shorties out there, I wouldn't have made it by myself. Granted, I don't have the greatest grip strength or arm muscles, but my hubby had to boost me 2 times...2 spots I don't think I would've been able to traverse without use of his butt push and his thigh step. After you emerge through the teensie exit hole from the upper tube it's a mile walk back through the pretty forest to the entrance to start the lower tube. Sweaty and fairly exhausted, yet oddly energized from the adventure, we re-entered and began the lower tube. It's a simple, dark, down and back walk compared to the upper. With many more people able and willing to walk the lower, the experience is quite different in that you're really never alone or in complete darkness here. No real work in the lower, it's good for anyone...although like the upper you still must watch your step at all times. For us, after completing the upper first, the lower actually seemed boring! We finished it though...and don't get me wrong, by itself the lower would be a VERY fun adventure...it just felt desperately mild right after completing the much more involved upper. If you're going for the upper, bring gloves, long pants (my knees are bruised up) and 2 light sources...if you lose your light you'll definitely be waiting to piggyback a fellow spelunker in order to get out. In either tube you need good shoes and light sources. Just a fabulous good time...I highly recommend!!

First of all, the gift shop was amazing! And very reasonably priced. Loved it. Food the short section of the cave towards the "meatball". Had a great time.

Sydney B.

Two words: GO HERE. I've done a lot of hiking in Washington and this is by far one of the coolest spots I've ever been to. It was definitely a workout but worth the journey! My group opted for the upper caves and were equipped with headlamps. If possible, get some! Scrambling over rocks for 1.5 hours would have much more arduous if we didn't have both of our hands free. The lower caves would probably be fine with just a flashlight, however.

Quinn A.

Remember when Mt. St. Helen erupted in 1980? I was 1,050 miles to the south and we were covered in its ash for days. Now I live in a place where I can see the flat cone of the volcano on clear days, and the thought of standing in my yard and watching it erupt makes me shudder. Were you here? What was that like? Volcanos have always fascinated me, having grown up along the Pacific rim. The opportunity to explore a lava tube, the longest one in the continental U.S., is just to enticing to pass up. Summary: don't miss this opportunity. There are two lava tube trails, a short manageable one good for small kids and folks who can't climb and scramble, and a much longer, harder one that will challenge your up and over skills. They limit the number of people and you'll need to go online and get a $2 ticket for your car. Load as many people as you want in it, the ticket is for the vehicle. They check and they can't be sweet talked if you pull up without a ticket, so just do it. You also need either the nw forest pass or the Washington discover pass. You can get those at various retailers, on line, even at a gas station down the road from the park. Please also take precautions to protect the bats who live in the caves. There is a fungus in the U.S. that is spreading to bat populations. We can stop it by making sure our shoes and boots are clean. I scrubbed my boot soles with soap and water, and washed my gloves at home. Then I didn't put them on until I got there. You don't have to do all that, but if everyone did it would help. There are boot scraping stations where you can scrape off schmootz before descending. Okay. The lava tubes. I'm really surprised they don't have to rescue people every other day. It was not an easy walk. We took the longer, harder route. We had headlamps and back up flashlights, as well as spare batteries. A couple of times we turned off our lights and stood in the dripping pitch black. My eyes desperately tried to find anything, and it reminded me of a camera lenses that clicks back and forth when it can't find the focus. The other people got on my nerves. Kids, the chattering monkey sound is funny *once*. And there was a couple that simply would not stop talking. We were able to let them pass and get some space between us. It was good to be able to hear the water dripping, and the wind moving through. It's mostly clean, but the graffiti and discarded trash made me sad. People really suck. We had to scale several places where the rock wall was taller than we are. The surface of the tube is grooved and uneven, and throughout there are piles of stones and boulders that have to be carefully passed. Several times I had to hunch over and get through narrow passages. No guide ropes, no marked paths, you just keep going and find your way. It was great!! 2.5 miles later we emerged through a small opening a mile and a half from the visitor center. We sat up at the top and watch other people emerge. Smiles all around, pleased at having done the entire tube. The trail back down was typically gorgeous Pacific northwest rain forest. This was a great time and I'll probably go again. Remember your lights!

Greg n.

Had a good time. Wish the parking slots were long enough to do both halves of the tube.

The trails are not very well marked. As you go down into the metal stairs you can go straight into the lower section which is almost the same look the whole way through until the end it gets smaller and then you can't go anymore. It you go behind the stairs that is where you can get to the upper caves where there are obstacles to climb over and around and then at the very end you exit the cave and hike back on the dirt trail. They need signs explaining this. Everyone at the beginning had no idea where to go. A good 600+lumens headlamp is good and around a 1500 lumens one would be ideal.

Very fun hike! Definitely chilly inside the cave but once you're moving you'll get hot. I recommended a headlamp and possibly gloves since I was using my hands quite a bit making sure I didn't slip while climbing on the rocks. There is one spot that was very tough to get up, I needed some help (a rope used to be there but know it's gone). The trail afterwards was very pretty too. Overall a very fun hike!

Gene W.

Mt. St. Helen's National Park isn't only about the volcano, though that is way cool too. Ape Cave is a lava tube located about a 2 hour drive away from the volcano observatory. Driving time-wise, its actually close to Vancouver, WA, then the volcano. There are nominal national park fees to visit (or use an annual pass), but the trip is worthwhile. Ape cave is the 3rd longest lava tube in North America. We walked the shorter lower cave which was just shy of 1 mile long. The upper cave, which we did not explore, is longer and more strenuous, requiring clambering over rocks. Both caves are pitch black with rough floors so flashlights (and a spare), and preferably hiking boots are a must. As the cave stays a comfortable 45 to 50 degrees, dress accordingly. There is a parking lot near the cave trailhead that could contain roughly 80 cars. During summer weekends, parking could be limited and the cave and trails could be busy (not an ideal nature experience). We went during a weekday so we experienced the tranquillity of nature and the undeveloped cave. The surface trail from the cave entrance north towards Mt. St. Helen's offered a beautiful view of the mountain and some lava flows; don't miss this walk. While this cave is not spectacular with stalagmites, etc., (e.g., Mammoth Cave), it is a unique site to see.

Miles H.

Please support our beautiful natural resources! The Ape caves were exciting and worth the windy drive to Cougar. If it's a hot day, just mozy on down here to 46 degF temperatures underground and learn about how the lava tubes were created. Shine a flashlight on the most eerie caverns in southern Washington. Cheap date, too!

Erica P.

SO. MUCH. FUN. I have been wanting to check out the Ape Caves for such a long time and I'm glad that we finally had the opportunity to do so! First things first: right now, you can only visit by reservation which costs $2 and can be taken care of at recreation.gov. If you are planning a trip, book early because those spots can go fast, especially on popular weekends. The reservation system is nice because it doesn't get too crowded. I can't imagine how bad parking must have been before that. On to the fun! We explored the lower cave on this visit, and it was pretty cool. We heard there were bats in the caves so we were half hopeful and terrified that we could come across them, but I guess they stay in the upper cave because we didn't see a single bat. The cave is cool, temperature wise, so make sure that you bring a sweatshirt or similar to keep you warm. Hiking boots are a plus as the floor is rough in spots and you will want that ankle support. We brought headlamps which were great for lighting the pathway. Definitely bring a light source because it is, as one would expect, totally dark down there. If you forget to bring one you can rent one at the little store in the parking lot. Your cell phone will NOT provide enough light, so don't rely on that. We did not explore the upper cave. We had heard about having to scale an 8-foot wall and crawl through bat guano and that pretty much put paid on that for us. The people that did go up top seemed to enjoy it and think it was good fun.