|
|
|
|
|
| Goshute | Indian Springs | Oak City | Providence | Red Baron | Spanish Moss | Tabernacle Hill | Thundershower | Toothbrush | |
![]() One of the first rooms inside the cave |
![]() Some of the large formations in the "grey" area |
![]() Everything is covered with formations, even this narrow canyon area |
![]() An example of a very large sheild--this one is quite a bit larger than a garbage can lid |
![]() Endless stalactites |
![]() Looking up through the holes into the darkeness |
![]() Endless decorations--eventually you get overloaded to the point that this seems normal |
![]() Some of the solution dissolved domes--similar to nearby old mans cave |
|
![]() There are several "fountains" in the cave |
![]() Steph suffering through my picture taking in one of the colorfull areas |
![]() This whole section was a reddish color, a definite contrast to the grey in most of the cave |
![]() Playing around while the ranger talked about the color and some of the history of the cave |
![]() Little blurry |
![]() Endless cave formations--although they do start to show a little more color |
![]() Looking out across the "lake" |
![]() The lake was shallow this time of year |
![]() Reflections in the lake. Hard to get them better on a guided tour--not enough time to sit and play around with a camera |
![]() Massive columns |
![]() The trail leading on into the cave |
|
![]() Steph again obliges as a subject to show the scale of the room leading onward |
![]() Shields, colors and everything |
![]() These two shields used to be the picture on the caves official logo. They are impressive, and hard to tell the scale. Roughly six--ten feet across, and the whole column is probably 15-20 feet tall |
![]() More shields, with a column in the foreground. It is hard to take pictures because the other formations are "in the way" |
![]() There were some impressive "bacon" draperies in the background here |
![]() Another pool towards the back of the cave |
![]() Funny popcorn formation |
![]() The "bacon" is just to the left of the two stalagmites |
![]() This is growing in a pool in front of one of the permanent lights in the back of the cave. The park is currently in the process of replacing these lights with LED bulbs which will help control this problem. |
![]() As you are leaving the cave you can see the travertine deposits in old pool areas. This was exposed when the park made the trail in order to have a seperate exit tunnel from the cave. |
Lehman's cave is inside the Great Basin National Park. There is a fee to go through the cave. To see the park's official website, go here. There are two lengths for the tour--60 minutes and 90 minutes. If your goal is to just see the cave and continue on, go with the 60 minute tour. If you want some time to stop and take picures, as well as look carefully at the cave, I recommend the 90 minute tour. (The 90 minute used to be a longer distance, but part of the cave has been closed for visitor safety.) | |
Wheeler Peak from south of Baker |
||
Lehman's cave is absolutely filled with formations. This is definitely a place to visit if you are looking for a large collection of stalactites, stalagmites, and shields. For those who aren't aware of the fact, shields are a relatively rare formation inside a cave. And Lehman's is famous for having hundreds of them. If you pay attention, you can find one at nearly every stop along the tour. Because this is a National Park Cave the trail is paved, and easily negotiated. It is not handicapped accessible though, there are several narrow spots, a few low spots and a couple flights of stairs.(Mostly to get around obstacles, the cave is relatively flat.) My personal opinion is that the cave is well worth visiting once. Twice or more if you aren't driving hours out of your way to get to it. If you have been to several caves, there are some things to keep in mind. This cave is highly decorated. However, it is relatively colorless in much of the area near the entrance. There is generally a monotone grey color everywhere, even with many of the still forming stalactites. As you get further back in the cave there are some new formations that provide a little color, but there is not nearly the variety as in other caves. (Timpanogos Cave National Monument has much more variety of color, as one example) Many of my pictures here are from the back half of the cave. Another thing to remember is that the cave is in Nevada, so if you are coming from the East to get to it, the time zone changes right before the cave. Thus the tour times may be an hour later than you are expecting. (Several people in our group hadn't remembered this, and ended up waiting around for an hour.) |
||
| Goshute | Indian Springs | Oak City | Providence | Red Baron | Spanish Moss | Tabernacle Hill | Thundershower | Toothbrush | |