Horne Lake Caves

The park protects a handful of limestone caves, among them Main, Lower Main, Riverbend and Euclataws, and takes the unusual approach of leaving them essentially wild: no lighting, no concrete paths, no handrails. Two caves are open for self-exploration with a permit and your own helmet and lights, and guided trips go deeper, including a seven-hour Extreme trip involving a rappel down a five-storey underground waterfall. Formations are protected by the darkness and the effort; crystal flowstone and calcite curtains survive because visitors are few and supervised. Temperature stays around eight degrees. Visitors have come since the 1940s, and since the park was created in 1971 the caves have been kept deliberately undeveloped.

History

The caves were certainly known to the Qualicum First Nation, but the first written reference is a geological report of 1912; loggers knew the Main and Lower Main caves, visitors grew after they were publicised in 1939, and the larger Riverbend Cave, found in 1941, was a popular sight by 1945, though by 1957, when the province put a reserve around them, many formations had been stripped. Fears for the newly revealed Euclataws Cave, found in 1963 and kept secret until about 1969, led cavers to ask for protection, and the caves became a provincial park in January 1971, with gates and guided tours; after serious vandalism in Riverbend in 1984 a management plan followed in 1985 (Wikipedia, Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park).

Highlights

• The unlit passages - caves with no lighting or handrails, lit by your own lamp.
• The crystal formations - flowstone and calcite curtains on guided routes.
• The rappel trip - a descent past an underground waterfall on the longest tour.
• The karst landscape - limestone caves in a park along the Qualicum River.

When to go

Year-round; the caves hold about eight degrees whatever the season, which makes winter a fine time. Guided trips book out in summer and school holidays.

Things to know

This is real caving: crawling, mud, tight passages and cold. Helmets and lights are mandatory and rented if you have none. The access road is rough gravel. Not for claustrophobic visitors.

Nearby

Qualicum Beach lies east; Cathedral Grove is south.

Key facts