The Best Caves to Explore in Bend Oregon

When planning an Oregon vacation most people consider the coast, waterfalls, and maybe hot springs for their road trip stops – but definitely NOT caves. In fact, I didn’t even know Oregon had caves until a very thorough Pinterest search – when I was trying to fill up my pin queue for the next 10 months. But this accidental discovery quickly became the highlight of my Oregon trip, and I realized there is so much more to the Beaver State than Highway 101 (has anyone ever seen a beaver in Oregon? I haven’t).

Though these caves may be a little out of the way for those traveling up the coast (Bend, Oregon is about 3.5 hours from Portland and about the same distance to Newport – the nearest coastal town), they are well worth the detour. And if spelunking alone doesn’t seem worth it to you, I have a list below of several other scenic stops near Bend to make the trip even more enticing. OR, if you just want me to shut up and get to the caves, scroll on 😉

More Scenic Stops Near Bend, Oregon

* Distance from Bend listed next to location

Sahalie Falls (1 hr 8 mins, 57 miles)
Koosah Falls (1 hr 12 mins, 58 miles)
Tamolitch Blue Pool (1hr 16 mins, 63 miles)
Bigelow Hot Springs (1 hr 18 mins, 66 miles)
Terwilliger Hot Springs (1 hr 48 mins, 88 miles)
Painted Hills (1 hr 53 mins, 87 miles)
Mt. Hood National Forest (2 hours, 108 miles)

But before we get to the good stuff, a few tips on cave exploring:

Cave Courtesy + Tips

Check your boots! You’ll see tons of signs about this, but it’s important that you don’t wear boots that you’ve worn into any other caves (or if you do, wash them beforehand). This is to protect the inhabitants of the caves (a.k.a. the bats). There is a deadly disease that has spread among bats called white-nose syndrome. Whether you like bats or not, it’s important that we don’t put them in danger as they contribute a lot to our environment. And just an FYI, they won’t bother you at all in the caves so there’s no need to worry!
Bring a light source, plus another light source. It’s important to have a light down in the caves, for obvious reasons, and if on the off chance that one dies you don’t want to get stuck in the dark. Headlamps are preferable, as they are hands-free. I love this cute, Black Diamond headlamp from REI!
No dogs. All of these caves have a no-dogs policy as dogs have a larger potential of carrying diseases. We just took turns exploring while the other entertained him outside.
Wear good shoes. I stubbed my toe a time or two down in the caves. The ground is very uneven and sharp! Wear thick boots to protect your little toesies.
Dress warm. The caves are COLD. I kind of wished I brought light gloves.

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Now that the boring [but necessary] stuff is out of the way, let’s get spelunking!

* There is a map embedded at the bottom of this post, for your convenience. Just keep in mind, the map will not guide you directly to the cave entrance.

Francis climbing over the caves biggest boulder at Hidden Forest Cave

1. Hidden Forest Cave

The location of this cave had me all sorts of confused – and I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised given the name. After a quick hike up a dirt path, I reached what I presumed to be Hidden Forest Cave. But I was disappointed to find that I’d actually have to possess some sort of upper-body strength to get down into it as it was essentially a rock wall. I kept walking (down an even dustier, less-trodden path) only to nearly fall 150 feet to the entrance of Hidden Forest Cave – and probably my death.

The actual path to the cave is much, much easier than the “path” to the decoy cave and if you circle the crater, you’ll eventually find it quite easily. It’s a gradual and short descent, and no skill is required to complete it (my favorite kind of trail).

Once you reach the mouth of the cave, you can either admire it from the outside (it’s quite shallow) or you can scramble over some boulders to view it internally. You’ll need to watch your footing, but again, it’s not too difficult. The most beautiful view of this cave is from the inside looking out – the light rays shining through the trees is quite pretty – so I’d definitely recommend getting all up in that cave. Just be sure to follow my “cave courtesy” tips, above.

Standing on the staircase that leads down to Boyd Cave

2. Boyd Cave

Our second member in this magical list of caves, is only a short drive from Hidden Forest cave. Your GPS will take you almost right up to the entrance.

This cave is much larger (and colder!) and features a cool, metal staircase to make the descent easier. Otherwise you’d have to repel down, which would be really cool but also really difficult for noobs (like me). From the staircase, you can turn either left or right and explore further – with your handy headlamp. I recommend bringing a 2nd headlamp, just in case. I know expert cavers would tell you to bring like 4 or 5 headlamps total, but nobody has the headlamp stash for that kind of nonsense and this isn’t that intense.

The most beautiful feature of this cave, though, is definitely the staircase – and it’s where you’ll get the best and brightest photos. We hung out there for most of the time and even came across an adorable family of ground squirrels.

Standing underneath the 2nd of Skylight Caves three skylights

3. Skylight Cave

Last but not least, Skylight Cave. Out of all the Oregon caves we explored, we probably had the hardest time finding this one (but that was our bad). The GPS will lead you to a dirt lot where you can park, and it shows the location of the cave to be just a short jaunt up the path. We walked, saw nothing, and proceeded to wander around in the woods for about 30 minutes looking for the entrance. Eventually we found the cave when my dog almost fell into one of the 3 skylights. Yikes.

Anyway, after that mishap, we walked back to the trail and saw that if we had just followed the trail a little further we would have eventually seen a giant sign right next to a big hole in the ground. Moral of the story: follow the trail.

Once you reach the entrance, you’ll have to descend a short ladder and enter through the larger of the 2 openings to reach the skylights (the other cave opening is fun to explore, too – if you have the time). You can continue past the skylights for a short distance if you like, but the cave quickly closes in and becomes impassible. Literally. It’s just a rock wall back there.

I only got one, half-decent photo of this cave before my camera’s battery died and honestly, it doesn’t do it justice at all. The skylights are magical – and I imagine even more magical when the sun is higher in the sky. You should also note, the cave is much darker than it appears in this photo, and the skylights are much more visible. This cave is definitely a must-see!