The Caving Weekend of Caving, Camping and Swimming for Non Cavers
Vancouver Island has over 1000 underground limestone caves. Over 10km of these have been explored. It is the home of caving in Canada as the total amount of explored caves on Vancouver Island is more than the rest of Canada combined.
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However, I am no spelunker (caver) so inching through squeezes is not for me. Horne Lake Caves offers the casual cave enthusiast and easy adventure traveler the perfect opportunity to see stunning limestone caverns, a myriad of ancient, natural limestone sculptures with a good helping of adventure.
I've joined cave tours all over the world; Spain, Australia, Ireland and North America. Almost all of these guide you along concrete and wooden walkways pointing out the various formations and geology along the way. Horne Lake Cave Tours off a little more adventure without getting too down and dirty. There are minimal walkways so visitors pick there way along the cave floor over a few rock scrambles up a few natural rock climbs and for the more daring there is rappelling, ladders, ramp slides and you get get wet climbing an underground waterfall.
Tour or Self Guided
Some of Horne Lake Caves can be explored without a guide for more experienced spelunkers. For more serious cavers Vancouver Island has a Cave Exploration Group. If you are a casual caving enthusiast or want some soft adventure for you and your family, there is one tour company that offers a variety of tours. Horne Lake Cave Tours has tours for various levels of adventure and duration. I was just coming off the back of a serious cycling injury so we went for a middle of the range tour of 3 hours without the rappelling and waterfall climbing. Horne lake Cave Tours are professional, yet fun and laid back. The tour guides are a font of information about the geology, the history and background to the subterranean and above ground landscapes. They offered a controlled, safe passage through the caverns without taking away from the sense of adventure and instruct visitors on how to have minimum impact on the caves and the limestone formations. The formations can take tens of thousands of years to grow and form and seconds to potentially destroy. The guides offer clear direction on how to enjoy and preserve these treasures.
This slide in the cave is the only one of its kind in Canada. It adds to the fun of the experience for all ages. This mature gentleman is testimony to the fact that you are never too old for adventure.
Cave tours range from 1 to 5 hours with various levels of difficulty and ranging in activity from simple exploration of a single cave to extreme cave rappelling. See Horne Lake Tours.
Cave Pond
Flow formation caused by water flowing down the cave over 1000's years
This formation still flows most of the year
More than a walk in the cave
There is plenty of above ground hiking to be done in the Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park and the neighbouring Horne Lake Regional Park, where you can camp and swim after your caving fun.... More on that later in the post.
The map above shows the 2 parks side by side
The map on the right shows the extent of the lake
Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park is where the caves are located and there is a wonderful interpretive trail which connects the cave entrances. This trail starts with a suspension bridge over a creek and includes ancient fossils, geological features as well as the beautiful British Columbia forest.
Horne Lake Regional Park abuts the provincial park and has some easy walks through the forests, along the lake front and the Qualicum River that carves the park in two. Horne Lake itself is 2100 acres and has no path that circumnavigates the lake. There is a residential community here also. So the best walks are in the 2 parks. Nearby Big Qualicum River Trail is worth exploring but in a later post.
Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park
Horne Lake Regional Park
Trails in the Provincial Park are steeper and include interpretive signs and some handrails. There is a short loop of about 2 km you can follow. Although there is some elevation these trails are still easy.
Trails in the Regional Park are flat as pancakes. Most portions areas are leafy . Carry bear spray. There is at least one bear that frequents the area, and although he has never harmed anyone a surprised bear is potentially dangerous. These trails are very easy. You can walk all the way to the cave tour office from the campground. Anyone is welcome to walk in the park even if you are not staying in the park.
Lakeside camping
Its a 2.5 hour drive to Horne Lake Caves from Victoria. If you live further afield then you definitely want to stay at least 1 night. Even if you live on Vancouver Island, camping at Horne Lake is a great way to take advantage of all this area has to offer. Even if you do just one cave tour there is heaps more to see and do. I recommend staying at least 3 nights. Book early and if you like peace and quiet and leafy forested sites, stay in the southern campground, Southpark, aka Twin Pines.
Most of the sites are Lakefront but it is a good idea to book in advance to stay in the popular summer months. The sites are very spacious and each has its own "private" beach onto the lake. Like most Canadian campgrounds, a picnic table and fire pit is provided for each site. Fire bans are sometimes in place, however, during hot, dry periods. There are no showers at the campgrounds.
Camping in a nutshell
Getting there
Horne Lake is 35 minutes Drive from Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is about 2.5 hours from Victoria, BC's capital. If coming from Vancouver the ferry can take you to either Victoria or to Nanaimo which is just 1 hour from Horne Lake. Turn right onto Horne Lake Road which is about 40 minutes north of Nanaimo and follow the signs to the caves. Enjoy!
Have you been to Horne Lake Caves or stayed by Horne Lake. Leave a comment below.
Campsites at Horne Lake are $50 for lakefront. Where are your $10 forested ones specifically?
Hi Shanu
Horne Lake Regional Parks website has all campsites listed at $10/night in the off-season. See https://www.rdn.bc.ca/camping-at-horne-lake. I think we were at campsite number 30 or thereabouts in The North Park Campground. I see “shared” campsites run at $50 in the high season.
Enjoy your trip.
Ann