Horne Lake Caving - Qualicum/Vancouver Island

Cathy Curti
22 hours ago
3 min read

Climbing, crawling, and squeezing our way through another adventure at Horne Lake Caving made for a fun and informative afternoon. Located at the north end of Qualicum Beach/Parksville on Vancouver Island, Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park is a provincial park on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Its principal function is the protection, management, and recreational use of several caves collectively known as the Horne Lake Caves. Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park was established in 1971 at the request of local caving groups on Vancouver Island.

Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park provides an exciting subterranean journey with breathtaking natural limestone caves featuring crystal formations, ancient fossils, and impressive, dark caverns. Visitors can observe cave bacon, stalactites, stalagmites, and vast chambers such as the seven-story "Rain Barrel" or the nine-story "Achilles Pot." Guided tours offer an interactive experience, involving rock scrambling, ladder climbing, and passageway exploration. The caves maintain a constant temperature of 8°C (46°F) and require agility, including climbing, some crawling, and navigating tight spaces. Going prepared will make the experience much better, wearing clothes that are comfortable and you don't mind getting dirty and/or wet. Long sleeve shirts and pants are recommended as you will be squeezing between rock walls. Boots to keep feet dry as you'll likely be walking through some water, depth depending on season and weather conditions. Gloves to help keep hands protected and warm, as you'll definitely be touching rock walls and dirty surfaces while navigating caves. You can also pay to use boots, gloves, and jumpsuits to cover clothes at the location. Bring a change of clothes to change into after and a bag to put any soiled clothes into after your tour. No backpacks are allowed in the caves. I left my Nikon at home as there was no way I could take a "nice" camera in there. I did take my iPhone in a zipped pocket and wrapped in a ziplock bag. They give you plenty of opportunities for picture taking inside the caves.

There are multiple levels of caving tours you can choose from with varying difficulty levels. We did what was called the "Action Pack," the main cave and Riverbend Resurgence. The website has a chart showing tours and difficulty levels as well as the time required to do the tours. https://hornelake.com/difficulty-rating/

Horne Lake homepage: https://hornelake.com/

We did our caving tour in late winter, in March, and booking it wasn't too challenging. However, in the summer months, it likely books up, so plan in advance.

The journey to the provincial park required leaving paved roads and traveling on gravel roads for approximately 12 km. It would be good to note that there was no cell service in the region.

Upon our arrival, Curtis welcomed us and assisted with our check-in and helmets. Tours are taken out in groups, or you can book private tours at an additional cost. Ours was a group of 7 adults and 1 child. Our guide, Myles, led us on a brief walk to the caves and proved to be knowledgeable and an excellent guide. The cave tour offered opportunities to challenge yourself or opt out of certain climbs or routes, and our guide took everyone's comfort levels into consideration. Physically, you can expect some ducking, crab walking, walking bent over, some climbing, squeezing between rock walls, side-stepping, and good balance. As long as you don't have mobility issues and have some physical flexibility, navigating the caves should not be too tough.