Cougar, Washington: Ape Cave Lava Tube
An unlit, "wild" collection of natural lava tubes, 2.5 miles long (the longest in the U.S.), explored by lantern or flashlight by hardy, flexible adventurers.
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This is actually part of Mt. St. Helens National Park. You can rent big gas lanterns for the easy path, or flashlights for the hard path. The easy route is paved; The hard path feels like you're climbing into the Gates of Hell. It's about a mile of underground travel, clambering over boulders and up sheer rock walls. No path is marked and you're never really sure if you're going the right way or if you're just going to disappear forever in the bowels of a dormant volcano. They recommend that you take two or three flashlights if you take the hard route, and when I dropped one of mine off a ten-foot rock ledge, I was glad I listened.
Some parts are like climbing over an avalanche, others are smooth and wide-open as a highway tunnel. Sometimes the lava hardened while flowing and is permanently in liquid ripples. I felt like I was in the giant ant tunnels in the movie "THEM!" Everything is damp and eerily silent.
[Jason Smith, 03/06/2000][Previous 5 items] Page of 2
Ape Cave Lava Tube
Mt St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
- Address:
- USFS Rd 8303, Cougar, WA
- Directions:
- Part of the Mt St Helens National Volcanic Monument. I-5 exit 21 (Woodland). Drive east on Hwy 503/USFS Rd 90 for 35.5 miles. Turn left (north) onto USFS Rd 83, drive two miles, then turn left (west) onto USFS Rd 8303. Drive one-quarter mile to the Trail of Two Forests, then continue another mile on USFS Rd 8303 to the parking lot of lower entrance to Ape Cave.
- Hours:
- Daily to dusk in summer. Gated after hours. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 360-274-2140
- Admission:
- Self-pay fee tube.
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
Nearby Offbeat Places
Spirit Lake Volcano Destruction, Spirit Lake, WA - 12 mi.
Statue of the Tree Planter, Toutle, WA - 16 mi.
Grist Mill "Free" Bag of Flour, Woodland, WA - 21 mi.Latest Tips Across Roadside America
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