My 4 star rating is a combination of two experiences, mine and my husbands.
For him, this was a 5 star experience as he is fit and had on good walking shoes. For me, this was a 3 star experience at best because I am overweight and have a small senior dog that is with me pretty much all the time.
The walk from the parking area to the caves is not a difficult one. There are some small altitude changes, some rocky terrain and the path is narrow, so there are times when you will have to wait for people going the opposite direction and it can be tricky to try and "pass up" a slower walker in front of you. It was beautiful weather when we went, warm and cloudy, and we wore t-shirts but it didn't feel as peaceful as most hikes we do because the busy road is always in view and in earshot and the cars are quite noisy.
When we reached the caves, there were a lot of people. There were people waiting around, people up at the caves, people walking on the cliffside. You have to traverse a steep cliff and incline to get up to the path where the caves are and there are no signs so it was quite chaotic. There was no designated path and I saw numerous people slip and fall including a small child. I had intended on heading up to the cave but after watching other people and watching a much bigger and younger dog than mine struggle to make it up the cliff, I decided to stay at the bottom.
My husband was able to make it up the cliffside and walk the path to the caves. He said it was narrow up top as well and you have to be careful when passing people or meeting people going the other direction. He stated that it was very cold up top in the caves and if you go in far enough it gets pitch black, so in addition to good hiking shoes, I would recommend bringing a jacket and a flashlight. He had to slide on his way back down and was quite sore the next day. Still for him, it was a fun experience.
There are some amazing photos of the caves on this page, but I assume the folks who took those pictures came very early because it was packed with people when we came and I heard many people talking about how rude others were being and how long they were having to wait for people to move so they could get a photo. It took us a little over 2 hours to park, hike do the caves and return but if you are fit and young with no kinds or dogs you could probably do it in half the time.
I hope this information is helpful to anyone deciding whether this location is worth the stop. Happy travels! read more