Ape Cave Trail – Mount Saint Helens National Monument

If you're traveling around Mount Saint Helens, don't miss out on exploring Ape Cave. After all, it is the third longest lava tube in North America. Such gigantic caves are formed when lava cools and solidifies on the surface, while red-hot lava continues to flow through underneath.

There is a spacious parking lot at the lower entrance to Ape Cave. Before you start, you need a so-called permit between May and October, which allows you access to the cave within a certain period of time. You can get this over the internet at www.recreation.gov. This also ensures that you can explore the fascinating corridors and rock formations at your leisure. Be sure to take at least one light source, such as a headlamp or flashlight, and a jacket - it is quite cool in the lava tube, even in summer.

You descend a few meters via a metal staircase and shortly afterwards you find yourself in pitch darkness. The lava has created unique shapes around you. In some places, moss has settled on the volcanic rock and shines in the light of your lamp. The floor is sometimes uneven, so look down every now and then. Every now and then the path leads over large boulders, great climbing fun!

After a good three kilometers you climb back up at the other end of the lava tube. From there a path winds through wooded areas that open up here and there. On the above-ground way back to the parking lot you can marvel at the lava flows that essentially form the “ceiling” of the Ape Cave.