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(650 ft/198 m). Visitors once ice skated by the lantern light on an enormous ice floor at the bottom of this cave. Changing air flow patterns are the suspected cause of melting, and today you can see small ice remnants from a viewing platform at the bottom of a stairway.
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Balcony Cave (2,903 ft/885 m) and Boulevard Cave (759 ft/231 m). Short trails lead to these caves from the parking lot. They have sections of low ceilings, and an optional crawl up onto a balcony created by changing lava flow levels. The "boulevard" was named for the smooth floor created by a lava cascade.
Big Painted Cave (266 ft/81 m) and Symbol Bridge (148 ft/45 m). Historic Native American pictographs adorn the entrance areas of these two shallow caves, and many are visible without lights. An easy 0.75 mi (1.21 km) hike is required to reach them.
(580 ft/177 m). Named for the bones of antelope and mountain goats, bighorn sheep skulls, and two human skeletons discovered inside. It is a remnant of two very large lava tubes, one on top of the other. This allows cold winter air to be trapped inside and create a year-round ice floor on the lower level, accessible via a smooth trail and down a metal stairway to a platform.
(170 ft/52 m). Walk a short trail to this short twilight-lit cave with a small pool that is frozen most of the year. A spatter cone, huge collapse pit, and several other short cave passages can also be explored nearby.
(2,229 ft/679 m). Beware of "headache rock" when entering and exiting the cave via the ladder. The downstream portion of this cave (heading north) is the easier route but still requires some stooping. The back section where the "Golden Dome" is located is a figure-8; take note of your location so you don't go around in circles. The golden ceiling in this and many other Lava Beds caves is the result of light reflecting off water droplets that bead up on a coating of hydrophobic bacteria. The bacteria are not harmful to humans but are protected, so please do not touch. The upstream portions of this cave are more difficult and require more stooping and some crawling.
(1,405 ft/428 m). Named for the rich brown color of lava coating the ceiling and walls. Stooping is required in a couple places, and there is one passage with a ceiling height of 3 ft (0.9 m) that requires duck-walking.