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Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park

Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park, Qualicum Beach: Hours, Address, Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park Reviews: 4.5/5

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Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park

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Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park
4.5
697
#1 of 23 things to do in Qualicum Beach
Parks
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10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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About
Explore the Hidden Gem of Vancouver Island, now open with limited daily tour departures, smaller group sizes and new health and safety protocols. Winner of BC’s Remarkable Experience Award and ranked #1 of 22 Things To Do IN Vancouver Island. Explore this park in 3D - above by hiking through the beautiful rainforest Fossil Trail or venturing underground on a guided tour. Start your journey with a short hike through the forest to reach the cave entrance. Here you’ll begin a fascinating subterranean experience. As you step away from the emerald forest and deeper into the cave, a new world of crystal formations, marbled passages and ancient fossils are revealed. Navigate ramps, ladders and slides to meander through the caverns. Feel the cool air. Listen to the sound of your guide’s voice, the steady drip of water or the rumbling of an unexpected waterfall. Turn off your headlamp to heighten your senses and absorb the power of complete darkness on this fun and educational adventure!
Suggested duration
2-3 hours
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
697 reviews
Excellent
556
Very good
114
Average
15
Poor
8
Terrible
5
Geni T
Victoria Capital Regional District, Canada28 contributions
Multi- cave adventure
Couples
After talking about checking out the caves for years, we finally took a tour this week and I don’t know why we waited this long!
We did the multi cave tour, going though Riverbend cave and Main Cave. We do a lot of hiking so the trail up to the caves was not a problem. It was really fun to walk through a wild cave, without stairs and paths and lights, learning about the fragile and amazing formations, climbing the waterfall and squeezing out the little exit. Everyone in the tour group was in good shape and had no issues maneuvering around rocks and formations. There hasn’t been much rain so there was little water in the cave.

Our guide Myles delivered deadpan joke after deadpan pun, and you could never tell if he’d used the line once or a million times. He clearly enjoys what he does and is very good at it, and we got excellent explanations of what we were seeing in the caves.

Covid precautions were no problem. There were 3 couples on our tour and we stuck to our bubbles and wore masks in the caves, and were mostly able to keep enough distance.

I hope the extreme cave tour is back next year, because now I want to try the rappelling, and I’m even looking forward to more squeezes!
Written September 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
NGVAN
Vancouver, Canada17 contributions
A fun adventure
Family
We, my husband, our nine year old son, and I had a great time on the multi cave tour. We had a great guide who was well versed in informative facts, and had a great calm but encouraging attitude. He made this somewhat challenging athletics experience fun and we had an enjoyable time. We were somewhat over dressed for the hike up to the first cave, but glad we had the gloves and rain pants for the second cave. I’d highly recommend this trip for kids nine and up who aren’t afraid of the dark. This was the top activity of our trip to Parksville and area. ( in the heat of summer, fleece jackets are likely a bit much, but you will need a jacket for inside the caves.) sturdy waterproof footwear like hiking boots are very good.
Written July 17, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
TheBrig
Sidney, Canada13 contributions
Interesting cave adventure
February might seem like an interesting time to visit a provincial park, but on Vancouver Island it's a perfect time to go caving. These intimate-sized caves (not huge expanses I've experienced in Quebec and elsewhere) are worth the visit. The access road to the park is your first challenge. Heavy rainfalls meant we were very happy to have a Jeep 4x4 to drive over the rough dirt road. Perhaps it's better in summer. The staff were welcoming and since we had followed the website advice, we arrived with rain jackets, rain pants, gloves and tall rubber boots which meant we stayed dry and warm throughout our visit. We were given a briefing on what to expect. We were signed up for the introductory level tour. Although the website says this cave is accessible for most, I will say that the hike up the hill to access the cave was steep and our fit guide had to slow down on several occasions for this over 60 traveller. Luckily, our group size was small and no-one seemed put out. Our guide filled in wait times with interesting facts and historical references and humorous stories. The entrance to the cave was a bit tricky, but Adam was very helpful and assisted where necessary. These are low ceilinged caves, so the hard hats provided came in handy, especially for my tall companion. A very nice tour with lots of time taken to describe what we were seeing and our guide ensuring we were safe at all times.
Written April 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Peanut-Chopper
Vancouver, BC, Canada54 contributions
Adventure Awaits!
I'm not an "athletic" person but I can walk forever. I don't like strenuous hikes but the 45 uphill hike to the first cave was fine because we took about 5 educational breaks. We did the "Multi-Cave Explorer" which consists of 2 caves. Total trip was 3 hours. We really enjoyed it. Our 11 year old came and loved it! Smaller people will be more comfortable because there are some tight spots. You can't be claustrophobic and you can't be afraid of darkness. They supply with headlamps. Because of COVID-19, you must wear a face mask. Wear a comfortable one because you will have it on the entire time. You may be going with another group. They try to keep the groups separated. I felt like it was a real adventure and had a lot of fun. The caves are very interesting. It is moist and wet at some spots like in the last cave there is a small flowing water fall. I climbed up it. A little bit of rock climbing but if you can climb a tree, you can do it. They have a quicker tour that is less strenuous called the Riverbend Cave Explorer (which is the 2nd cave in the Mulit-Cave Explorer). It's much closer to where you start so very little walking/hiking involved before you get to see a cave. I highly recommend this activity. We had so much fun.
Written August 14, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
tera w
Duncan, Canada5 contributions
Multicave adventure with Meghan was amazing!
Family
Our family of four had a great time exploring the Riverbend Cave and the Play Cave with Meghan. Our guide was informative, casual, and lots of fun. She challenged us to fit through some tight spaces! I thought I would be nervous being in confined spaces, but I wasn’t at all. I really appreciated that Meghan went at a pace that all members of the group could manage. We admired the calcite formations, climbed a cave waterfall, and had a silent moment in total darkness!
Written September 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Walter D
Abbotsford, Canada40 contributions
More than met expectations
Couples
Went to the caves for a tour. The safety briefing was clear and covered the important points including the wearing of masks due to Covid. The total time for the tour was over 2 1/2 hrs and were slowed down by some inexperienced climbers who struggled going up and over rocks and tight spaces. That aside, the experience inside the caves was amazing. The sights and the total black out moment was truly amazing. Would highly recommend the tour to anyone who would be going near the area.
Written September 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
trvllrwteenz
85 contributions
Great Cave Tour
Couples
Great experience and awesome guide.

This was just on the edge of my comfort zone but I never felt there was pressure, just support.

Because of the heavy rains the Riverbend cave tour was not doable so we did the main cave tour which was more of an active experience.

If you suffer from claustrophobia it may not be for you. We squeezed through a passage into a cave about the size of a large bathroom. Went up a rock wall that was easy to scale but wet and up and down a ladder and down a slide. None of this was hard to do and the guide Ryan was very helpful and encouraging.

There was a lot of water. I was wearing low cut hikers and one got soaked but I liked having good footwear and the water is clean. My husband rented the rubber boots which was great as his shoes didn't get wet. Recommend bringing some cheap gloves.

Also there might be crickets and spiders but apparently bats are rare
Written April 5, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
El-hombre-sincero
Kingston, Canada72 contributions
A bit of a drive but a beautiful park
Thee drive is 10 km up a dirt road which is pretty bumpy, especially in a regular small sedan but the park is beautiful. Caves are by guided tour only because of COVID and we had our dog with us, so no go inside (no dogs allowed). But there was staff on-site and very friendly.
Written October 25, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hannah
Langford, Canada3 contributions
Amazing caving
Business
Went up to Horne lake caves with my class, west coast adventure college. And I was not disappointed. The guide Myles was super nice and full of funny dad jokes, and knowledge. We went into the main cave where u get to climb this little water fall, go down slides they have installed and my favourite part was turning our head lights off and really experiencing what darkness really is. And we also ventured into the river rock cave I believe it is called. And that one had some really cool stuff, lots and lots of calcite. Thank you so much Horne lake caves! I’ll definitely be coming back in the near future!
Written October 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
kyendley
Kelowna, Canada39 contributions
Must Do Excursion
Family
This is a must do while on the island. About a half hour drive from Qualicum Bay and about 10 minutes of the drive is on a well maintained dirt road. Well worth it!! I was a bit anxious about doing this tour, but didn’t need to be. I was totally fine. We did the two hour Riverbend tour - highly recommend.
Written August 6, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park
Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park is open:
  • Sun - Sat 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Buy tickets in advance on Tripadvisor. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel at least 24 hours before the start date of your tour for a full refund.
We recommend booking Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park tours ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. See all 2 Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park tours on Tripadvisor