Timed reservation tickets for Lava River Cave are now available for the 2024 season. Lava River Cave opened for the season on May 3.
Today, 50% of the Lava River Cave timed reservation tickets are available on Recreation.gov on a rolling seven-day booking window while the remaining 50% of timed reservation tickets will be available on a 24-hour booking window.
Timed reservations are for a two-hour entry block each day Lava River Cave is open. Every day there will be six daily entry blocks with a new entry block opening every hour, on the hour. If there are available tickets on any day, people at the site without a timed reservation will be able to make a reservation through Recreation.gov that day. A timed reservation covers everyone in a vehicle. There is no per person charge. A valid Federal recreation pass is also required per vehicle. In addition, if visitors bike or walk to the site, they do not need a timed reservation.
All reservations are made through Recreation.gov and can be made at 7am each day. Timed reservation tickets are free; however, Recreation.gov charges a $2 service fee per transaction for processing the reservation. Reservations also can be made by calling Recreation.gov at 1-877-444-6777. The Recreation.gov call center is open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. PST. People can either print the timed reservation ticket or download it to their mobile device to show to the attendant at the site.
The change to a timed reservation system was made in 2022 in response to increasing visits to Lava River Cave, over 70,000 per year, that cannot be accommodated with the parking at the cave. In recent years, visitors have been parking along the roadways outside of the cave while waiting for a parking space to open causing serious and increasing safety concerns for the public and the staff at the site.
During 2022 and 2023, a 30-day booking window was available for 50% of timed reservations tickets. This year’s move to a seven-day booking window provides more accurate trip planning and more efficient use of the reservation system.
The goals of the timed reservation system are to increase public safety, reduce public frustration from waiting in line for unknown periods of time before getting into the site, and to spread out visits to the site to make the experience more enjoyable to visitors.
For more information, please contact the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District at 541-383-5300.
