Last week, I shared pictures of our quick trip to the Grand Canyon with Uncle Nicky. We stayed in Flagstaff (about 1.5 hours from the South Rim) and before we decided to head home to Nic could get to studying, we found a short hike to do in Flagstaff. The Lava River Cave sounded like a fascinating hike to do, so we planned on doing it with Nic & were prepared with warm clothes, flashlights, gloves & lots of snacks.

Unfortunately, at arriving at the entrance – we discovered that the road is only open Monday through Friday – so we put our new car to use & backtracked and went off road to get to the entrance of the cave. As a result, our new car was completely covered in mud & Chad got to do some of the off-roading he’s been dying to do. It was tons of fun & Presley loved how bumpy it was.
The entrance to the cave is just a pile of rocks. If you didn’t see the sign stating there was a Lava River Cave – I don’t think I would have been able to find it. So crazy! I was super nervous about this hike, because it’s completely in the dark & I didn’t know how I (or Presley) would do. Thankfully it ended up being really cool & Presley absolutely loved it.


It is a 3/4 a mile to the end & only a few spots that require you crouch down & squeeze through some narrow spots. Otherwise the hike is flat and easy & relatively quick.
Make sure each person has a flashlight, gloves, and warm clothing. Once you begin the hike you will be very cold, but then it heats up as your body gets moving so you can take off your jacket. We wore gloves and good shoes & were happy with that choice. The flooring is very uneven & having study shoes helped protect ankles and stubbed toes.

Get out there & explore!