Redmond Caves Recreation Area

Visitors and residents of the Redmond area looking for an afternoon activity can head toward the fairgrounds and stop and explore a small piece of public land right in their own backyard. The Redmond Caves are a group of five caves formed by volcanic flows of molten lava from the Newberry Caldera. Located inside the Redmond city limits, the caves are managed by the Bureau of Land Management in partnership with the City of Redmond.

The five caves were created from the collapse of a single lava tube - Map (PDF). The largest opening (Cave 1) enters a fairly deep and expansive cave, while Cave 3 has two openings joined by a narrow, but easily passable connection. Caves 1, 3, and 4 are accessible and have deep, sandy soils, with scattered boulders and ceiling blocks.

While the caves are a great place to explore today, Native Americans used them, at least periodically, over the past 6,000 years.

Today, the Redmond Caves are managed as a unique site where visitors can learn about geology, wildlife, and past human use. Visitors are asked to respect the caves and the land surrounding them as a natural park, and to avoid artifact collecting, trash dumping, woodcutting or adding graffiti to the cave walls and entrances.

To learn more about this underground world, please click here >>>.