Boulder Cave Trail, Washington, United States

4Marcia S 5:00 PM Jul 2, 2018

Super cool, but I wouldn't drive too far out of my way for it.
We had several friends talking about this cave, so we thought we'd give it a try. I took myself and five kids, ages 10-19, and we went on a Sunday afternoon in July. It was a two hour drive from our house, and the whole drive there felt like we were a bit lost. So the anticipation was pretty intense. We brought small back packs with water and flashlights. Parking was pretty crowded, but still manageable. It cost $5 per car like most government owned parks. There are bathrooms (outhouses) at the bottom of the trail before you head up to the cave. Dogs are allowed on the trails but not in the cave itself (although no one was watching, and a LOT of people had dogs). Online it says the trail is 1.7 miles. This breaks down to roughly 0.8 miles straight uphill through the forest, another 0.8 miles strait downhill in the forest, and about 0.1 mile actually inside the cave. Aside from it's steady incline the trail was not difficult, and there were plenty of small children making the climb. Right before you go inside the cave, there is a little waterfall off to the right. There is a small wall in between you and the waterfall, and it definitely looks like there should be a giant "Keep off of waterfall" sign. But there's not. In fact everyone was climbing over the wall and heading up the waterfall. EVERYONE. There were toddlers and old ladies. There were newborns in backpacks and little doggies in purses. And they were all scrambling up a wet and rocky cliff that had death written all over it. I'm pretty adventurous, but I confess, if I had been alone there I would have said it wasn't safe. The only thing that convinced me to climb it at all was that literally "everyone else is doing it." So we scrambled up the waterfall, and it was really cool! Not amazing. But really cool. And despite there clearly being NO trail, we made it there and back without any bloodshed or broken bones. If you go, you should definitely check out the waterfall. The trail doesn't get any worse as you go, so there is no risk of going too far and not being able to get back out. If you can get in, you can get out. The cave itself is interesting. We didn't see any bats, but you could definitely imagine how quite a few bodies could be hidden in that place. You ought to have a flashlight, but it doesn't need to be a great one as the trail is fairly easy to follow despite being quite dark. Overall it was a nice day trip. The views from the trail were very good and the cave and the waterfall were memorable. I don't think we'll make the trip again anytime soon, but if we were ever in the area again with time to kill, we might give it another go. (footnote: Two minutes into the hike a stick fell down my shirt. When I got it out, it was a bug. Obviously I nearly died, but I managed to keep pressing forward for the sake of the children.)

4Sarah 5:00 PM Jul 29, 2016

Two Miles Round Trip
We've done this hike numerous times over the years while camping in this area. We often hike up to the caves on the trail, see the water fall, then walk through the caves and come back down walking in the creek. Toward the bottom of the creek there is a rock "water slide" that is fun for the kids. This year when we reached the end of the trail, there was a ranger there informing us that there is a concern of possible transfer of some disease to the bats. The path was blocked to the water falls. Upon entering the caves, we had to wipe our feet and we were suppose to disinfect out clothes after the hike. Also, she told us to not walk through the water. There are bathrooms at the trailhead. A parking pass ($5) is required.