Lehman Caves Tours


 
 

Cave Tour Basics

The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time.
-Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, 1849


Lehman Caves is the longest cave system in the state of Nevada. Tours have been entering the cave since 1885, and you can become another visitor in a long tradition of explorers.

  • Lehman Caves is only available to enter on a ranger guided tour. It is impossible to visit the caves without having tickets on a tour.
  • Cave Tours are offered year-round except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. Times and tour types vary, see below for current schedule.
  • Two tours of Lehman Caves are currently offered in the summer months: Gothic Palace and Parachute Shield Tours. In the winter, only Lodge Room tours are offered.
  • Cave tours are regularly sold out, sometimes weeks in advance. Reservations and advance ticket sales are handled through Recreation.gov and highly recommended. Reservations become available thirty (30) days in advance.
  • Walk-up tours may be offered as scheduling and staffing levels allow. Tours booked through Recreation.gov are the only guaranteed tours. Do not anticipate or expect ticket availability if you do not have a reservation. Walk-up tour tickets are available at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center desk beginning at 8 a.m. on the day of the tour, and often sell out within the first hour. Tours with asterisks (*) on the daily tour schedule are planned walk-up tours.
 
An amber lit rocky passageway leads deeper into a cave. A flat floor with amber lights only inches up the walls beckon visitors deeper.
Journey into Lehman Caves Safely

NPS

Cave Rules & Safety

  • White Nose Syndrome Screening is mandatory at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center. In brief, this process involves ensuring that no items enter Lehman Caves that have been exposed to another cave environment without thorough cleaning or disinfection. Help contribute to the safety of our bat population by leaving items that have been in other caves behind. Learn more about white nose syndrome at this link.
  • Please arrive fifteen (15) minutes prior to your tour time to check-in with the front desk at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center. Visitors who have not checked in at least five (5) minutes prior to their tour time will forfeit their tickets.
  • No touching of the cave is allowed.
  • Any tour members 15 and younger are required to have adult supervision at all times during the cave tour. Toddlers and children commonly become uncomfortable in a cave environment. Your ranger may escort a group or part of a group from the cave if any tour member becomes too disruptive.
  • Regular crouching is required to navigate smaller passages on the tour route. No crawling is required, and walking sticks or canes are permitted throughout the cave if needed. Handrails are available on all staircases and on many tighter parts of the tour route.
  • No bags are allowed inside the cave. This includes backpacks, camera bags, purses, fanny packs, phone hip holsters, or back mounted baby carriers. Front mounted baby carriers are allowed and available in small numbers for loan at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center.
  • No foods, liquids, water, chewing gum, tobacco products, vapes, or other contaminants are allowed inside the cave environment.
  • Claustrophobia and unease can be experienced on this cave tour due to the tight spaces inherent in cave environments. You have the option of being escorted out if these feelings are overwhelming for you or any group members.
  • The cave naturally remains around 52ºF (11ºC) and very humid year-round, so light jackets or long sleeves are recommended for long term comfort in the cave.
  • Firearms and other weapons are not allowed inside Lehman Caves and any other federal facilities, even with concealed carry permits. Read more on firearm regulations in the park at this link.
 

Available Tours & Fees

Click on individual tours for information on cost, duration, and more.

 
A park ranger stands to one side of a cave room. On the other side is a row of about twenty seated people watching intently as the ranger speaks.
Park Rangers will show you many amazing features of the cave

NPS / B. Mills

Daily Tour Schedule

Tour route availability and times change depending on the season. The complete schedule or variety of tours may not be published until one to three months prior to tour date.
* indicates a walk-up tour. Walk-up tours are offered based upon available staffing, and are not guaranteed. Reservations are strongly recommended and visitors should not anticipate tour availability without a reservation.

Winter: November 1, 2024 - March 7, 2025

Gothic Palace Tour (30 minutes)
2:00pm*
Parachute Shield Tour (60 minutes)
10:00am (Sat/Sun only) | 11:00am* | 1:30pm

Fall: September 3, 2024 - October 31, 2024

Gothic Palace Tour (30 minutes)
10:30am* | 1:30pm*
Parachute Shield Tour (60 minutes)
9:00am | 9:30am* | 11:00am | 12:30pm* | 1:00pm | 3:00pm

Summer: May 24, 2024 - September 2, 2024

Gothic Palace Tour (30 minutes)
11:00am* | 3:30pm*
Lodge Room Tour (60 minutes)
9:30am* | 11:30am | 1:30pm | 2:00pm | 4:00pm*
Grand Palace Tour (90 minutes, must be over 5 years old)
8:30am | 10:30am | 12:30pm* | 2:30pm

Spring: March 9, 2024 - May 23, 2024

Lodge Room Tour (60 minutes)
9:00am | 11:00am* | 1:00pm | 3:00pm*

Check the park calendar for tour times and other programs by clicking here.

 

Secure your Tour Reservations

During summer months, especially weekends, Lehman Cave Tour tickets will routinely sell out. Make sure to check for availability two to four weeks before your visit for the best opportunity to secure tickets. This is the only way to guarantee spots on a tour for you and your group.

Plan ahead and visit Recreation.gov or call their reservation line at (877) 444-6777 to book tickets in advance.

Refund and Check-in Policy

Refunds requested at least a day prior to the tour will be honored minus the $1 per ticket charged by Recreation.gov. Refunds cannot be provided on the the day of the tour.

Please check in at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center at least 15 minutes in advance of your tour's scheduled start time. If you have not checked in with the front desk to claim your reserved tickets within five minutes of the scheduled start time of your tour, your tickets will be considered forfeit. Refunds will not be provided for late arrivals or missed tours. Give yourself plenty of travel time. Wide loads and weather are some of a number of items which can slow your journey.

 

 

Group Tours & Field Trips

To arrange tours for school groups, please contact the park via email, or call (775) 234-7511. School group tours must contact us at least 30 days in advance. Find more information on planning a field trip here.
For information on after-hours photography for amateur and commerical photographers, head to the doing business with us section of the website.

 

More information about Lehman Caves

  • Park passes laying in pine needles
    Fees & Passes

    Great Basin National Park has no entrance fee. Please check here for campground and cave tour costs and more information on park passes.

  • Trailhead of accessible trail with tall green trees
    Accessibility

    Great Basin has some accessible trails, and campsites. Visitor Centers and restrooms within the park are accessible

  • A black dog with strap saying
    Service Animals

    Learn about bringing your service animal to the park

  • Stunning cave formations in varied light to dark colors on floor and ceiling of Lehman Cave.
    Caves and Karst

    The caves in Great Basin National Park have fascinating geology, fossil resources, and species diversity.

  • Bat being released
    Cave Life

    Life is varied and interesting inside Lehman Caves. Learn more about the myriad creatures that call Lehman Caves and other caves home

  • cavers creating the virtual cave tour with LiDar
    Virtual Cave Tour

    Made with LiDar and photogrammetry use the virtual cave tour to explore Lehman caves.

Last updated: September 20, 2024

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Contact Info

Mailing Address:

100 Great Basin National Park
Baker, NV 89311

Phone:

775-234-7331
Available 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day

Contact Us