A ticket is required to visit Ape Caves and go inside- see: https://www.recreation.gov/timed-entry/10086990/ticket/10086991

A Northwest Forest pass or equivalent is required for parking here.

I volunteered for the Mt. St. Helens Institute at the Ape Cave Interpretive Site in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument on June 16, 2024, doing public outreach -- so basically answering questions and providing information. A lot of what the other volunteer & I explained to folks was that the 2 sections of Ape Cave are very different. The lower cave is a pretty easy stroll with a high ceiling, 1.5 miles round-trip. Go straight from the bottom of the stairs that descend into the lava tube. Just keep an eye out for the uneven floor and the occasional bumpy rocky patch. The lava tube tapers and the ceiling drops at .75 miles into the lower cave and you'll be forced to turn back- you can't miss it. Also there is a rock nicknamed "the Meatball" to look out for! Lots of families were opting for this choice on this Father's Day. In contrast, the upper cave requires near-constant boulder scrambling using your hands and feet with about 27 piles of boulders in 1.5 miles. From the stairs that descend into the lava tube, do a 180-degree turn. If you don't eventually start hitting large piles of boulders, you went the wrong way! ;P Plus at one point you need to clamber up and over an 8-foot rock shelf, and the ceiling height varies, so you might feel more claustrophobic. The upper cave has a dramatic natural skylight where a section of the lava tube's roof has fallen in, which is close to the endpoint, where you'll exit by climbing a vertical ladder. Once you're back in the daylight you need to walk about 2 miles on a gentle trail back to your starting point and the parking lot. 

Probably 95% of the 400-odd visitors we counted between 9:30am-3:30pm opted for the easy lower cave, but some hardy souls very much enjoyed their trek through the upper cave!

The lava tube was 42 degrees as always and extra-drippy since it had rained the day before. The small store by the parking lot offers supplies and souvenirs of various kinds. Vault toilets available. Also, I got pretty decent cell phone service in the parking lot for Verizon. 

First time visiting for myself; very much enjoyed doing both sections of the Cave!  Upper Cave is a blast, but be prepared; lots of scrambling around in the dark, and some sections are wide and the path forward is far from clear.  Part of the fun in exploring!  :)

The Wall has a rope, which makes it kind of a non-event to get over.  Aside from a couple of areas to duck under, assuming one to be in decent hiking condition, with a good light source this is a fun change-of-pace from covering tread up above!

Cave was cool, but moving and scrambling I didn't need more than a jacket and thin long sleeved shirt.  Sturdy shoes a must.

Parking lots were all full, and reservations were being checked.  However it didn't feel crowded at all, and in the Upper Cave we only hit two other groups as we went.

#HikeTheState

Hiked both lower and upper cave and the return path. No issues throughout!

When we arrived at the booth, they were checking for reservations and at least 3 cars ahead of us got turned away because they didn't have one. You'll definitely want to get your reservation online before coming here if this is your main destination!

We started this at 3:30pm on Saturday (we booked the 3pm-3:30pm timeslot) and completed both the upper and lower trails and got back to the trailhead by about 6pm. We hurried through though because this was our first time here and we thought we had to be out by a certain time. There was a FS info booth at the trailhead and they told people they wouldn't have time to complete the upper tube which is where the timing panic came from. In reality, nobody from the forest service was at the trailhead when we got back, no gates were locked and there were still at least 5 groups in the upper tunnel that we had passed so I'm not sure why they tell people they won't have time, but we essentially panicked for nothing lol

The lower cave is very short and easy. The upper cave is a different story. While we had such a great time jumping over boulders, climbing up the rope and balancing on rocks, others seemed to have a very hard time getting through this obstacle course of a trail. You definitely need good shoes, pretty stable/confident footing and the ability to climb up and over and through narrow spaces on this upper trail. The caves are drippy and not as cold as I was expecting, but we were practically running through them thinking we were going to get locked in or something lol 

This was a super fun trail and I can't wait to come back without the anxiety of needing to be back at the car at a certain time next time! 

Such a fun experience and gorgeous views on the way to the caves! Pretty easy hike, bring a headlamp it’ll make your experience even better. Make sure you take your time to look around and explore all the crevices. The different colors in the rocks from different mineral deposits are very neat.