Merrill Cave

Nice cave. Metal walkway and some steep stairs. Still a little ice in the cave. Of course it was February. Also the trailhead for Whitney Butte, a 3.3mi one way hike.

We used this location as the Whitney Butte trailhead. This is an easy rolling 3.3 mile out (6.6 round trip hike). I suggest going off trail at the end to go to the top of Whitney Butte to see the good view.

U know that the front of the entrance there is a sign that says an ice cave whithout ice they lied there is ice in that cave off the rail

Merrill Cave is a cool but smaller cave to explore in Lava Beds National Monument. It is less crowded since it is away from the main cave area in the Monument.

Very easy supposed ice cave. Best part was probably the surrounding area. There is a land bridge of sorts that the main drive goes over

Lower ladder was cool too

Trail starts by the bathroom. There is another unnamed cave across the parking lot but it was hard to access because the ground was very bouldery. Merril cave has metal staircases, some steep, that go down, down, down. Short but pretty cool (no pun intended)

Fun way to pass a day. Self guided tours. You can explore at your own pace.

Back in the 1920s or so the landowner hosted ice skating parties on the ice that accumulated in the cave. A string of Christmas lights added to the ambiance. The ice is gone now and I'd characterize the space as the size of a large round swimming pool. It's similar to Skull cave, but less crowded. The last stairway is more like a ladder meaning you need to turn around backward to go down. It takes about 20 minutes round trip.