Craters of the Moon caves! Fun walk inside Boy Scout Cave lava tube 🌋 Idaho national monument park

Hi there!

As it goes in Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho, there are a number of caves that you can go into!

These Craters of the Moon caves are lava tubes. This means that the caves were formed as a result of volcano activity and lava flowing through underground, which eventually formed the cave.

The Boy Scout Cave in Craters of the Moon is one such Idaho lava tube that you can walk into.

You’ll be climbing down over big boulders to get into the cave.

Once down there, you can take a walk further into the darkness of the cave.

 

Watch the Boy Scout Cave video on youtube!

 

 

Walking the Caves Trail

 

You will find the Boy Scout Cave directly along the Caves Trail.

 

 

Even if you decide that you’d rather not go into the cave, the Caves Trail is worthy as an above-the-ground activity as you can take a walk with lava fields all around you.

Lava fields are areas where you can find a vast “field” of old lava flows.

And, know that any cave in Craters of the Moon that you walk into is considered to be a wild cave!

This means that there are dangers associated with going into Boy Scout Cave.

That said, if you are reasonably physically active and as long as you are reasonably careful, watch your step, and bring along adequate lighting, then the Boy Scout Cave does not have any extreme risks.

But still, it’s nature, and things can happen unexpectedly. So, take care!

 

👆 Boy Scout Cave is a wild cave. Beware of the hazards. This includes falling rocks and low ceilings.

 

👆 For your own safety, don’t go behind the barrier inside of Boy Scout Cave.

 

Officially, the National Park Service rates the difficulty of Boy Scout Cave as difficult.

 

 

You need a cave permit for Boy Scout Cave

 

You are supposed to get a Craters of the Moon cave permit before going into any cave in Craters of the Moon.

This means that you need a cave permit for Boy Scout Cave.

As of 2021, the cave permits are free and they are easy to get.

It is just a matter of stopping by the visitor center to get one after answering a few questions.

Or, you can get one when at the Craters of the Moon park entry booth.

The purpose in requiring a cave permit is basically to quickly educate you about bats… and so you can help save the bats from disease.

There is a disease that has killed millions of bats.

This disease is thought to be spread by humans who bring in the disease after visiting different caves.

Bats are considered to be an important part of the ecosystem so it is said to be important to care about their well-being… and to try to prevent the death of bats by the millions.

Currently, this disease is not known to exist in Craters of the Moon, and the Craters of the Moon park rangers would like to keep it that way… and need your help!

So if you have been in any other cave in the past 15 years (yes really – I was asked about the past FIFTEEN YEARS by one park ranger!) then you are asked not to wear anything in a Craters of the Moon cave that you wore into another cave… and further it would be even better to not take anything into a Craters of the Moon cave that you took into another cave.

Likewise, after you have gone into a Craters of the Moon cave, you’re asked not to wear anything that you wore then into another cave anywhere in the world.

Take a full-body picture of yourself in front of Boy Scout Cave!

 

 

What to pack for Boy Scout Cave

You will want to be wearing good shoes for going into Boy Scout Cave.

Long pants can be a good idea for added layers to protect your skin in case you slip and fall onto the rocky surface.

You might want to wear a long sleeve shirt or a light jacket since the cave can be on the cooler side compared to the daytime outside temperature if you’re going in summer or fall.

And definitely bring a strong flashlight or headlamp!

Once you get away from the cave opening where there’s natural light, the cave is DARK!

You will be walking into the darkness of the cave.

You are the only one providing the lighting.

Don’t rely on your cell phone light, although that is nice to have as a backup in case the batteries go out on your flashlight!

 

More below about a walk into the Boy Scout Cave!

 

 

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Now…

See a lava tube in Idaho: Caves Trail to Boy Scout Cave

So there one main road that goes along the main attractions of Craters of the Moon National Monument.

And it’s along the main road that you’ll find a turn off of the main road for the caves area. You’ll see a sign for it. The Boy Scout Cave is located in this cave area.

 

 

So once you arrive at the Caves Trail parking lot, you can start the walk on Caves Trail! This is a paved path through lava fields.

 

 

Then after around 10 minutes of walking, maybe less, you’ll see the first cave opening. This is the Dewdrop Cave.

If you have time, then take a climb down into this cave. It’s a small area once you are in the cave.

I spent around 10 minutes inside the Dewdrop Cave.

This can be your little intro to Craters of the Moon caving.

 

 

If you are trying to save time, then you can continue onwards to the Boy Scout Cave.

The Boy Scout Cave gives you more of a feeling that you’re walking through a cave since there’s a longer path compared to the Dewdrop Cave.

So when it’s Boy Scout Cave vs Dewdrop Cave for your Craters of the Moon cave experience, then I would say the Boy Scout Cave is the better lava tube.

So just past the Dewdrop Cave is where you’ll see an intersection where the trail goes in 2 directions. You’ll follow the sign to Boy Scout Cave.

Then, you will see the Boy Scout Cave directly along the side of the trail. Walking directly from the Caves Trail parking lot to Boy Scout Cave might be around a 10-15 minute walk.

 

 

You can then look for the Boy Scout Cave entrance.

 

 

And then you can climb down the rocks for a closer look at this lava tube in Craters of the Moon!

It’s a rocky entrance and you’ll be climbing over big rocks (boulders) to get down into the the cave.

You will be going DOWN to get into the Boy Scout Cave.

Once you are in the cave, you can continue walking deeper into the cave!

 

 

You will then come to the “end” of the cave, where you can walk around a little more in the area to see the different sights of the cave.

 

 

Then, you will walk back the same way you came to see daylight once again!

 

 

I spent around 30 minutes in total in the Boy Scout Cave.

Then, you can get back on the Caves Trail to hike to onwards to the Beauty Cave!

 

And that’s a bit about a stop to go into an Idaho lava tube at Craters of the Moon!

 

Plan more of your trip to Craters of the Moon: Best things to do in Craters of the Moon

 

Plan more of your trip to Idaho and Wyoming:

• Yellowstone to Craters of the Moon
• How to spend one day in Yellowstone
• Grand Teton to Yellowstone
• One day in Grand Teton National Park

 

Explore more volcanoes around the US:

• Wild caving in a Hawaii lava tube
• Where to see old lava flows in Hawaii
• Black sand beaches in Hawaii (These beaches are black as a result of the volcano activity)

 

HAPPY GOING INTO THE BOY SCOUT CAVE LAVA TUBE!