Horne Lake Caves

Useful Information

Location:	3905 Horne Lake Caves Rd., Horne Lake, B.C. West of Qualicum Beach on the east side of Vancouver Island. From Nanaimo, head north on the Inland Island Highway to Horne Lake Road, just north of Qualicum Beach. (49.3452238, -124.7548281)
Open:	See website. Achilles Challenge: JUN to SEP. Max Depth Adventure: MAY to SEP. Caver's Odyssey: MAY to SEP. Online booking madatory. [2025]
Fee:	Riverbend Cave Explorer: Adults CAD 54. Multi Cave Experience: Adults CAD 79. The Action Pack: Adults CAD 79. Achilles Challenge: Adults CAD 139. Max Depth Adventure: Adults CAD 199. Caver's Odyssey: Adults CAD 185. High Water Day: Adults CAD 49. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Cave Karst Trail
Light:	torch provided/rented/bring own.
Dimension:	T=8 °C. Lower Main Cave: L=40 m, VR=15 m. Main Cave: L=136 m, VR=30 m. Riverbend Cave: L=384 m.
Guided tours:	Riverbend Cave Explorer: D=105 min, MinAge=6. Multi Cave Experience: D=105 min, Max=8, MinAge=8. The Action Pack: D=90 min, MinAge=8. Achilles Challenge: D=4 h, MinAge=13. Max Depth Adventure: D=5.5 h, MinAge=13. Caver's Odyssey: D=5 h, MinAge=16. High Water Day: D=1 h, MinAge=8.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Horne Lake Caves, 3905 Horne Lake Caves Rd, Qualicum Beach, BC, V9K 2L7, Tel: +1-250-248-7829. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1912	karst area discovered by local geologist.
1939	cavers discovered Main Cave and Lower Cave.
1971	Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park created, Riverbend Cave gated to protect speleothems.
1986-1988	first tours offered by local caving enthusiasts from the Canadian Cave Conservancy.
1989	Richard Varela and partners started professional cave trekking.
2011	Canada’s first and only cave interpretive centre built on the site.

Description

Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park is a small park in the centre of Vancouver Island. Composed of uplifted limestone and weathered by the melting water of several Ice Ages and the typical West Coast rains, numerous caves have formed on the island. This area, discovered in 1912 by a local geologist, was protected as a park in 1971. There are numerous caves, some are open to the public in several tours of all difficulties.

Main Cave (aka Horne Lake Main) and Lower Main Cave are open for self-guided tours. Safety helmets, maps, and flashlights can be rented at the park office during operating hours.

Riverbend Cave is the main attraction of the park, with numerous speleothems. It is visited on different guided tours, helmets and lamps are provided for the tours. The Karst Trail, leading to various karst features of the park, leads also to the cave entrance after a 20-minute walk. The cave entrance is covered by a steel door, looking like a manhole cover, below is a steel ladder leading down into the cave. The tours of different length show various passages of the cave with different formations. The longest and most demanding tour is called Extreme Rappel and includes a rappel down a seven-storey waterfall and then a climb out on a cable ladder.

The operators offer various different tours, and it is necessary to book caving trips in advance. Choose a date on the online booking system. There are tours in different levels of difficulties, the longer and more difficult ones include climbing and abseiling. Normally we do not list extreme sports, and this case is actually on the border, most tours are not cave trekking, they are real caving. However, there are very easy self-guided tours and two basic cave trekking tours. Also, the operators are definitely quite professional.

These are the most accessible of the Vancouver Island Caves. Horne Lake has three caves open for exploration and attracts 50,000 visitors annually. For the truly adventurous, there are five hour of caving instruction using ropes and harness in the second section of Riverbend Cave. If you have ever wanted to rappel down seven storeys, then these are the caves to visit. You must be 19 or older to participate in the caving instruction.

Text by Tony Oldham (2002). With kind permission.