Lava Beds NM to Tule Lake NM & NWR

Lava Beds National Monument was established in 1925 and is over 46,000 acres. It serves to protect and interpret this incredible volcanic and wild landscape as well as the early human occupation of the area. The park offers a variety of ways to explore the park, both above as well as below ground, and we plan to cover as much as we can in the few days we’re here.

Lava Beds National Monument (Above Ground)

Indian Well Campground

The campground here is first come, first serve; so the first order of business is to walk around the campground to pick our site. As we’re doing this, we come across this view down to Tule Lake; which shows clear evidence of the 2020 Caldwell fire.

After setting up camp and having a quick lunch we head out on the bikes to visit the visitors center for our cave permit and get a feel for the area.

Visitor Center & Cave Loop

As we approach the Visitor Center we get a good view across Lava Beds Wilderness all the way into Tule Lake.

Once we have our cave permit and visitors guide, we decide to head up the hill to see Cave Loop. As we ride through, we stop and see some of the sights to be found above ground.

Garden Bridges

Garden Bridges is a short trail that weaves around a few of the cave openings and highlights some of the small natural bridges that were formed during the volcano eruption. Some appear pretty dark and shallow; but others you can easily see all the way through and have enough light that there is an abundance of plants growing underneath.

Natural Bridge

Our next stop is Natural Bridge; which is a much larger rock bridge that is sturdy enough the road is built on top of it.

Ancient Juniper Tree

Following the trail beyond the Natural Bridge Viewpoint we see this incredible ancient Juniper Tree.

Ovis Bridge

And a little further along we find Ovis Bridge.

After an incredible nights sleep (this place is so quiet), we decide to take the truck into Tulelake with plans to stop and explore many of the historical points and sites along the way.

Schonchin Butte

First stop is Schonchin Butte Trail; which was created by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Great Depression. We hike the 0.7 mile trail, climbing over 500 feet up to the fire lookout; which was also built by the CCC.

This butte is one of the many eruption sites on the Medicine Lake Shield Volcano. It was formed 65,000 years ago when an eruption threw fountains of scoria (a glassy rock filled with gas bubbles) high into the air, forming Schonchin Butte’s large cone. As the eruption progressed the cone was pulled apart, creating the bowl-shaped crater where the fire tower now perches on the edge.

Devils Homestead

Second, we stop at Devil’s Homestead; which is the end of a massive Lava Field as well as the northern flank of the massive Medicine Lake Shield Volcano. Medicine Lake is the largest volcano by surface area and volume in the Cascade Range.

Gillems Camp

Third stop is Gillem’s Camp; which was the site of a U.S. Army command post during the war with the Modac Indians between 1872 – 1873. At the time, this camp was on the edge of Tule Lake. The Modac, trying to defend their homeland, holed up in Captain Jacks Stronghold just a few miles away. The soldiers made two major raids on the stronghold with little to no success and many soldiers lost their lives during the process.

Captain Jacks Stronghold

Walking through here it’s easy to imagine the fear and anger on both sides. The path is narrow, steep, and requires some flexibility to traverse. If you don’t watch your feet you’ll be sure to suffer an injury; which would make it really difficult to evade an enemy. Add multiple places to hide for an ambush, and it’s no wonder the Modac were only defeated after their water supply was cut off, forcing them to surrender.

Hospital Rock

Hospital Rock was the second military installation created after the Modac Indians soundly defeated the soldiers on their first raid. This prompted the Modac to act, and their offensive on the camp would spark the second battle for Captain Jack’s Stronghold.

Petroglyph Point

Petroglyph Point was once part of a peninsula jutting into the shallow waters of Tule Lake. Over several millennia, naturally occurring drought and deluge caused the lake levels to vary, causing the marks left by these changes in depth to provide a means for dating the petroglyphs. Most of the petroglyphs we see today were carved between 4,500 to 2,600 year ago.

Tulelake, CA

On our way to Tulelake National Monument we decide to go into the town of Tulelake to look around and have lunch. The only place open is Señor Tequila; which is on main street and directly across from Veteran’s Park where this mural resides. Lunch was VERY good and we would recommend it to anyone in the area.

Tule Lake National Monument

Tule Lake National Monument is a very small patch of land that exists to preserve what remains of one of the 10 remote WWII Relocation Centers.

In early 1942, president Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the US Army to remove and relocate ~110,000 Japanese people (80,000 of which were US Citizens) living on the West Coast to relocation centers. Enclosed by barbed wire, the local center covered 7,400 acres and contained barracks, mess halls, and other buildings to house the Japanese Americans and the ~1,200 military and civilian staff between May 1942 and March 1946.

After the segregation center closed in 1946, homesteaders repurposed the barracks for homes and moved them throughout the Tulelake basin. Many of the other buildings were also removed or demolished; but concrete slabs of the latrines and guard towers can be found. And, the high security center is still standing and is available for tours with a ranger.

Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge

At one time Tule Lake was seven times it’s current size; but over the years it has been slowly drained to provide agricultural lands as part of the Klamath Project. I imagine this is also what led to the creation of the National Wildlife Refuge, in order to protect what’s left.

Covering over 39,000 acres, Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a hive of activity for migrating birds and other wildlife. The scenery is pretty incredible as well.

Lava Beds National Monument (Below Ground)

On our last day in the park, we spend the day exploring the caves via our bikes. Due to White Nose Syndrome (a fungus spread by people into the caves that kills the bats) we opted to do all our exploring underground in one day. That way we only have to decontaminate everything once.

Merrill Cave

In the early 20th century, a group of intrepid adventurers came into the area to establish homesteads and explore the uncharted underground territory. Two of those explorers (Guy and Polly Merrill) established a resort here. Early visitors actually skated on the ice floor of this cave under the lantern lights, danced the evening away on a wooden platform above ground, and stayed overnight in canvas cabins. In the early 2000’s the ice in this cave began to melt; but the cooler temperatures and significant rain and snowfall this year have helped.

Skull Cave

Hundreds of large animal bones were removed from this cave by early settlers giving this cave it’s name. This cave was and is of significant importance to the Modac people. Since Lava Beds has no surface water, this and other caves like it, have sustained both humans and wildlife through millennia of dry seasons.

Symbol Bridge

This lava tube cave was discovered hundreds or maybe thousands of years ago by early Native Americans and became a place of cultural and spiritual significance. Over many years, the visitors here documented their presence by painting pictographs on the walls and boulders within the cave.

Big Painted Cave

This cave was touted to have pictographs, much like Symbol Bridge; but we were unable to find any here.

Sunshine Cave

There are two collapses in this cave allowing sunlight to enter and abundant vegetation to grow. As we progress through the cave we find we need to stoop/crouch down in areas to get through and at the very back of the cave the floor is steep, wet, and very slippery. But, once we’re down we see what appears to be metallic veins on the ceiling that glow in low light. It’s an incredible sight to behold.

Sentinel Cave

This is one of the only developed caves with two entrances (Upper & Lower). We go through the upper entrance and followed this easy path through the entire cave to exit at the lower entrance. We probably should have done this one earlier; because our impression is… it was long; but not very impressive given what we’d already seen.

Mushpot Cave

Ironically, this is the last cave we visit even though it is the one recommended as an introductory cave. It’s lighted and has interpretive signs along the path explaining formations, ecology, and cave climate.

For such a small, out of the way place, there is so much to explore here. And, the campground is so quiet and peaceful that we slept incredibly well at night. It’s also relatively dark, allowing for some amazing stargazing.

Next stop… Newberry National Volcanic Monument.