Type
Cave
Location
41.7312°N 121.5113°W
Skull Cave is a large-diameter lava tube near the visitor center, named for the bones of pronghorn, bighorn sheep, and two human skeletons found inside. A staircase leads down to a permanent ice floor at the bottom.
Details
- Type
- Cave
- Accessibility
- Limited accessibility
What to expect
Skull Cave is about 580 feet long, with one of the widest tube entrances in the monument. A trail built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and a stairway lead down past boulders dropped from ceiling collapse to an ice floor that lasts year-round at the lowest level. The bones that gave the cave its name were found here. A helmet and three light sources are required to enter.