LAVA TUBE CAVE TOURS
EXPLORE THE LAVA CAVES NEAR BEND, OREGON!
PLEASE NOTE: Due to Forest Service closures, we will be guiding in Lava River Cave for the summer of 2025. So that you fully understand what to expect on your cave tour, please take a look at the tour details below.
Bend’s lava caves have a delicate ecosystem that few have experienced to the fullest! Wanderlust Tours has over 30 years of experience guiding in Central Oregon’s stunning cave systems. Let our award-winning naturalists be your guides!
Forest Service Closures and Impacted Tours
Due to closures in the Deschutes National Forest for habitat restoration and wild fire mitigation, we will not have access to all of our standard caves and caving options beginning spring of 2025 and ending spring of 2026.
Our Starlight Cave Tour will only be bookable from April 1 - April 30, 2025 and will re-open starting May 1, 2026. If you are booking for May 2026 and beyond, you can click here to learn more and book!
We are not able to offer our Limited Entry cave for the 2025 Summer season. If you are booking for summer 2026 and beyond, you can here learn more and book!
Our Lava Tube Cave Tour and Prohibition Cave Tour are still operating and open for booking from May 1st through September 15th. For the fall, winter and early spring of 2025/ 2026 we will unfortunately not be able to offer any cave tours. We encourage you to take advantage and join us for a stunning underground adventure this summer before we have to put away our helmets and headlamps until spring 2026!
Updated Tour Experience for Summer of 2025
Lava River 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. Public access closes at 2:00pm each day, meaning that if you join us for the afternoon tour, members of the public that were already in the cave by 2:00pm may still be inside, but no additional people will be let in besides our group.
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 during the tour.
The cave we are guiding in for the summer of 2025 is still considered a “wild” cave meaning that beyond the staircase into the cave, there is no paved path or lighting. We will outfit each guest with a helmet at headlamp.
The cave is the longest discovered lava tube in the state with a round trip of over 2 miles! Its is also one of the earliest discovered caves in the state of Oregon.
We only have access to this cave until September 15th. After that, we will be unable to guide in any caves until spring of 2026. We invite you take advantage the limited opportunity before we stow away our helmets and headlamps.
Wanderlust Tours is the premier destination for summer activities in Bend, Oregon.
Looking for more things to do with kids in Bend Oregon, or have questions about one of our tours?
Give us a call at (541) 389-8359.
My girlfriend and I did the lava tube cave tour as the last major activity to end our weekend in Bend. It was the absolute highlight of our trip by far. Our tour guide Dylan was super friendly, personable, and knowledgeable of the caves. If you’re in Bend, taking this tour is an absolute must do.
- Ben O -