Wednesday, October 12, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
21
Skylight Cave: A little known Sisters Country highlight
By Craig F. Eisenbeis
Correspondent
Skylight Cave is a rela-
tively large and fairly acces-
sible lava tube about 10
miles west of town. I sup-
pose I will get some com-
plaints for publicizing it, but
I have confidence that my
readers are responsible stew-
ards of the natural wonders
that make Sisters Country
the wonderful place it is.
Lava tubes form during
a volcanic eruption when
the outer surface of a lava
flow cools and hardens, but
the molten rock below the
surface remains liquid and
flowing. Sometimes, the
lava flowing below the sur-
face moves fast enough that
the hard shell on top remains
intact after the molten lava
has drained away. The result
is a lava tube.
These interesting geologi-
cal phenomena are found all
over Central Oregon. They
do not always have natu-
ral outlets that survive the
process; so, unless they do,
many may not even be dis-
covered. When openings do
occur to provide access from
the surface, the resulting
cavities never fail to draw
interest. Some of these are
well known, others, not so
much.
In the case of Skylight
Cave, there are three major
openings to the outside
world. The largest provides
relatively easy access to the
chambers below. The other
openings provide smaller
window-like “skylights” to
the interior, giving the cave
its name.
The main section of the
cave, where the skylights
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are found, is a classic exam-
ple of the interior of a lava
tube, in that it really looks
like a tunnel or subterra-
nean conduit; and it isn’t
hard to imagine the molten
lava flowing down this tube.
There is a second arm of this
tunnel that is even longer
and much more convoluted;
it also requires more dexter-
ity to successfully negotiate.
The entrance is easily
seen immediately adjacent
to a rough dirt access road,
so very little exploration is
required. The entrance has a
Forest Service sign and even
a visitors log. Cave explor-
ers are asked to register in
order for the Forest Service
to monitor the amount of use
the area is receiving.
Although I have spent
decades in this area, I only
recently learned of Skylight
Cave, when a friend at the
Sisters Athletic Club sug-
gested that it would be a
good topic to write about.
As a result, I was rather sur-
prised to see from the log
that dozens of people had
visited the site in just the
last couple of weeks. The
vast majority were not from
Sisters, so I wondered how
the cave became known to
them.
The entrance, which is
immediately behind the
sign, is not too deep and
has a heavy-duty, semi-per-
manent steel ladder in place
that provides easy access.
Once on the cave floor and
facing away from the road,
the more taxing spelunking
challenge is through a low
passageway to the right. The
path to the skylighted por-
tion of the cave, however, is
straight ahead.
The former lava conduit
is quite wide, high, and is
mostly wide open. However,
footing on the surface is quite
precarious because of large,
rough rocks and darkness.
Be sure to bring your own
lighting and be extremely
cautious. The skylight effect
is said to be most impres-
sive in the morning, but we
were there in the early after-
noon and it was still quite
interesting.
Below the skylights, there
is quite a bit of rocky debris
where it is obvious that por-
tions of the lava tube roof
collapsed to create the sky-
lights. The tunnel continues
on past the skylights and
eventually dead-ends, as the
ceiling narrows down to the
cave floor.
The cave is closed during
the winter because it is home
to wintering Townsend’s
long-eared bats, a sensitive
species. Specifically, the
closure is in effect from the
first of October until the end
of April. A warning sign at
the entrance explains that
“Human entry during winter
can cause bats to awaken too
often which may cause their
death.”
The posted information
also includes a warning of
a “minimum” fine of $300
for violating cave rules.
Everyone’s care and coop-
eration is needed, not only
to protect this unique fea-
ture and ecosystem, but also
to ensure that the site will
continue to be open to the
public.
To reach this interesting
feature of Sisters Country,
drive seven miles west from
Sisters on the McKenzie
Highway (242). Turn right
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PHOTO BY KATHLEEN. EISENBEIS
The entrance to Skylight Cave is easily accessed via a sturdy ladder.
at an obvious major inter-
section of a gravel road.
The junction is marked by
a badly worn, and hard-to-
spot, forest signpost with the
road number of 1028. If you
stay on the pavement and
make a sharp hairpin turn to
the right, you have gone too
far.
You will pass several side
roads on Road 1028, but stay
on it for 3.8 miles. Turn right
onto Road 260, shortly after
a major side-road junction
on the left, which is labeled
for part of the “Cross District
Trail.” The 260 road signpost
is also difficult to spot but is
on the right after you turn.
The farther you drive,
the more the road deterio-
rates. You don’t quite need a
4-wheel drive here, but you
don’t want to take a low-
rider in here, either. A high-
clearance vehicle would be
best. After turning off Road
1028, continue on the nar-
rowing, worsening Road
260 for 0.7 mile, and you
will see Road 230 on the
right. Keep straight for about
another tenth of a mile, and
you will arrive at the Forest
Service information sign for
the cave. The cave is there,
on the right.
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