Ape Cave
When I moved to Oregon and met other transplants, one of the popular things they did as they explored the area was to hike Ape Cave.
I never went. I had always heard that you had to go really early because there were heavy crowds. Both of those things didn’t appeal to me, so I always passed. But as I was working on my X-By project and building out my 50 x 50 bucket list, I figured it was time to go.
Reservations Equal Fewer Crowds
Just like many things during 2020, Ape Cave was closed. The enclosed quarters didn’t make it an ideal location with all the precautions we had to take for COVID. So, while I had more time and flexibility to go, I didn’t even have that option.
As vaccines started rolling out to the general public and much more was known about how to better protect ourselves against COVID, Ape Cave did reopen in May 2021. To help with physical distancing, they instituted a reservation system which helped with my crowd-aversion issue.
Each day has 4-5 time blocks you can choose from. They are listed as starting times and are valid for 2 hours. For example, you can reserve the 9 am-10 am starting time and need to be done by 11 am. The last starting time block is either at 3 pm or 5 pm, depending on the day.
It looks like there are 40 reservations per time slot, allowing between 160-200 people a day. The volunteer we spoke to said that in past seasons, they could see up to 1000 people a day. So, you can see how crowds are so much less of an issue right now.
When I last checked, the schedule looked really open. As of this writing, there were time spots available every day in August and September.
The reservation fee is $2 for each vehicle allowed in. It must be purchased before getting up there as the forest rangers are only there to check your pass. You also need a NW Forest Pass
Ape Cave
Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington
67 miles from Portland City Center; 94 miles from Chehalis, WA
Trail Type: Lower Cave is an out-and-back; Upper Cave is a loop
Distance: Lower Cave - 1.5 miles; Upper Cave - 3 miles
Terrain: Lower Cave is relatively flat and family-friendly; Upper Cave has rock piles, a rock wall, and a ladder that must be maneuvered.
No dogs allowed. No lights in cave; bring headlamp and/or lantern.
Requires NW Forest Pass
Ape Cave: The Upper and Lower Caves
There are two paths you can take: the Upper Cave and Lower Cave. When there wasn’t the 2 hour time limit, you could have easily done both. However, the time limit makes this more challenging. If you wanted to try, I would do the Upper Cave first then check if you had enough time to do the Lower Cave too.
We did the Upper Cave. It’s a longer route with rock piles you need to scramble across and a lava wall you have to scale. And at the very end, there’s a ladder to climb up through a hole and get out of the cave. From there, you hike down a relatively simple trail through a forested area back to the parking lot.
Upper Cave
The 8 foot wall you have to scale was where a lava fall happened. There is a small indentation in the wall you can step into to start. It’s pretty shallow and is not a space that lets you stand. Rather, you use it as an initial foothold to boost yourself up and hoist yourself over. There was a gentleman at the top who did help pull me up. If he hadn’t been there, my husband would have had to push me up from below.
The Upper Cave hike is listed as 1.5 miles one way. Since it is an underground cave and pitch black down there, you need a strong light. Also, since the reservation system limits the number of people down there, there are times you’re by yourself so your personal light source will often be the only one you see. Being alone like that made me have moments when I wondered if we were going in the right direction, even though we were in single-path cave. LOL. I would recommend a headlamp over a lantern so you can keep your hands free for the climbing.
Look Around. You’ll See Cool Things.
Besides the rock piles that took up the entire space, there were also areas that were wide and cavernous and the floor flat and sandy. I could imagine the flow of lava gushing through centuries ago, pushing and melting everything out of its way. Boulders had dimpled indentations and walls had “cutouts.” Some were big enough for people to climb into and others looked like cubby holes where you could keep a TV or decorative knick-knacks if it was a rustic living space.
At 1.2 miles in, you reach the “Skylight,” which opens the cave to the outside world. It’s the first spot after the entrance where you get natural light. It was sunny the day we went, so we could see the blue sky above and got back the feeling that we’d make it out of there alive.
Lower Cave
Ape Cave Background
Per the Washington Trails Association website, the Ape Cave was formed nearly 2000 years ago by lava that streamed out of Mt. St. Helens. As the outer edges of the lava cooled, the molten lava on the inside was able to drain away before it hardened…leaving the hollow tube behind.
Around 1950, a logger found it and told his spelunker friend. That spelunker explored the cave with his sons and their friends, who called themselves the Mt. St. Helens Apes. This led to the name of the cave.
It is 13,042 feet long, making it the third longest lava tube in North America. The cave is often referred to as the plural “Ape Caves” even though it’s just one cave. The main entrance just happens to be in between the two caves, so people think of it as two.
Directions
- Take I-5 to exit 21 for WA-503 E toward Woodland, Cougar
- Turn right on WA-503 S/Lewis River Road
- At the traffic circle, take the first exit onto Lewis River Road
- Take a left onto NF-83
- Turn left onto NF-8303
- Take a right onto FS-8303060
There will be a lot of signs pointing you to Ape Cave, so you don’t have to pay too much attention to all the Forest Road numbers.
