Caving | Mammoth Cave Lava Tubes
Hype:
Mammoth Lava Tubes are a series of lava tubes over 2,100 feet long. They are well known and easy to get to, which makes them extremely popular. The largest lava tube is closed in the winter to protect hibernating bats.
Cave Type: Horizontal
Time: 1-3 hours
Length: 2,100 ft
Depth: 15 ft
Fees: None
Recommended Ages:
 | 0-3 |
 | 4-11 |
 | 12-19 |
 | 20-49 |
 | 50-69 |
 | 70+ |
Recommended Months to Visit:
| Jan |
| Feb |
| Mar |
| Apr |
| May |
| Jun |
| Jul |
| Aug |
| Sep |
| Oct |
| Nov |
| Dec |
Permits: Open
Links: CaveXploring.com
Navigate to 37.568409, -112.588104.
Mammoth Lava Tubes (Mammoth Cave) is located north of Duck Creek Village in southern Utah midway between Zion, Bryce, and Cedar Breaks. Access is on paved roads except for the last 3 miles, which is on nice dirt roads. We were coming from the north, and there were nice signs pointing the way.
Our gps tried to send us on some roads that didn't exist. To be safe, just follow the signs that say "Mammoth Cave".
You park literally on top of one of the lava tunnels
Tube 1 is the largest tunnel. Near the end of the tunnel, the passage gets pretty tight. After crawling through about 10 feet of breakdown, you can see daylight through another gate. Right next to the gate, there are some holes that look promising. I crawled into them, but they didn't go very far.
Near the end of Tube 1 is the second exit to Tube 2. This lava tube is a lot shorter than Tube 1, so you have to hunch over most of the time. Unlike Tube 1, which has a very rocky floor, Tube 2 is very smooth for most of it. There are a couple of crawls (knee pads were nice).
We followed an obvious trail to the southwest and ended up at the exit to Tube 3. The first part of the tube is fairly tight. Tube 3 is about 4 to 5 feet tall, so you're hunched over most of the time. This passage is interesting because the lava has several different colors: tan, white, and black.
Tube 4 was extremely wet. The ground had several inches of standing water in places. Since I didn't bring a spare pair of shoes, I had to turn back before I got to the end of the tunnel. Consequently, I have no idea how far Tube 4 goes and if there is an exit to the surface. We tried walking the surface for a bit but never found the exit.
Closest City or Region: Duck Creek Village, Utah
Coordinates: 37.568409, -112.588104
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Madilyn Dye, Greg Dye, Laura Dye, Anthony Dye, Arianne Dye, Ondylyn Wagner,
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Jake Bearnson, Elijah Wagner, Dylan Prince, Reese Barnes,
We took the 11-year-old Scouts to Mammoth Cave as part of our August camp out. We let the boys decide which lava tube to explore first. They chose Tube #2. Before long, the lava tube gor pretty small, and soon we were on our hands and knees.
Then we walked back to the main entrance and explored Lava Tube #3. Lava Tube #3 is fairly tall for most of the way. You may have to stoop, but there isn't any crawling until the last 10 feet.
Then after another walk to the main entrance, we next explored Lava Tube #1. The exit to Lava Tube #1 was very muddy, so we returned via the lava tube.
And once again, Lava Tube #4 was extremely muddy, so we were not able to explore it very far.
The boys had a blast exploring the lava tubes. When we were all done, we piled in the cars and drove to the Duck Creek Ice Cave.
By Jeremy Dye
Friday night, I explored Tube 1. Near the end of the tunnel, the passage gets pretty tight. After crawling through about 10 feet of breakdown, you can see daylight through another gate. Right next to the gate, there are some holes that look promising. I crawled into them, but they didn't go very far.
There was a path that looked like it led somewhere, so we followed it. We were hoping it would lead to another lava tube, but it just spat us out in a lava flow.
I followed Tube 2 without Tara. This lava tube is a lot shorter than Tube 1, so you have to hunch over most of the time. Tara was walking back above ground, so I handed her the camera to take a picture of me poking my head up like a groundhog. And that concluded our exploration on Friday night. We set up camp in the parking area and took some pictures of the trees after the sun went down.
Saturday morning, we had the whole place to ourselves. We looked for the other passages. We followed an obvious trail to the southwest and ended up at the exit to Tube 3. Tara was 6 months pregnant and didn't feel like doing any belly crawls, so I did this Lava Tube 3 by myself. The first part of the tube is fairly tight. You can just barely see daylight from the exit in the picture. Tube 3 is about 4 to 5 feet tall, so you're hunched over most of the time. This passage is interesting because the lava has several different colors: tan, white, and black.Tara met me at the main entrance.
Before we headed out, I wanted to explore the last lava tube. Tara waited in the entrance, while I braved the unknown. Tube 4 was extremely wet. The ground had several inches of standing water in places. I hopped from rock to rock to log as far as I could go. Since I didn't bring a spare pair of shoes, I had to turn back before I got to the end of the tunnel. Consequently, I have no idea how far Tube 4 goes and if there is an exit to the surface. We tried walking the surface for a bit but never found the exit.
Mammoth Cave was a lot of fun, and we plan on going back.
Camp Sites: Panguitch Lake North Campground
Canyoneering: 
Caving: 
Fun Places: 
Hiking: Camp Sites: Panguitch Lake North Campground
Canyoneering: Caving: Fun Places: Cedar Breaks National Monument
Sunset View Overlook (Cedar Breaks)
Hiking: Rattlesnake Creek Trail to Ashdown Gorge
Indoors: 
Caves
Headlamps required
Crawls
No Drinking Water
No Fires
Wayfinding
No Restrooms
Road Access is Dirt - Low Clearance
Access Road is 2WD Accessible
Wildflowers and Vegitation
Wildlife and Birding
Volcanoes