Join us for a tour of the amazing Cody Caves!
The Cody Caves are a network of limestone caves in the Selkirk Mountains and are located 2 miles north of Ainsworth Hotsprings. These caves were discovered in the early 1890s and were protected in July 1966 with the formation of the Cody Caves Provincial Park.
When: October 17, 2020
Time: Tour starts at 10:00am
Where: Cody Caves - you must have your own transportation to the Cody Caves Parking Lot - transportation will not be provided
Maximum Participants: 8. You must register and pay in advance*
Register with Castlegar Campus Recreation at 250.365.1292 or come down to the gym office to register in person.
*Due to logistics and remote cave location, once your tour is booked, we are unable to offer refunds. If we cancel your tour for any reason, we offer an alternative tour or full refund.
Costs: $37 +tax for students and staff
COVID-19 Protocols:
1) Be self-sufficient. Bring your own hand sanitizer and personal face mask
2) Do not enter the park if you feel ill or have any symptoms such as fever, cough, sneezing or headache. You can take the screening here.
3) Sanitize hands frequently, especially before and after using the park facilities
4) Please follow all instructions on signage or from guides and other park staff
5) On booking a cave tour you agree to joining other participants unless a pre-arranged Private Tour booking is made
This tour is approximatly 2 hours long, with 1 hour being underground. Cody Cave Tours will provide gloves, helmets and headlamps. We ask that you bring good footware, clothing, food and water. The tour will begin by exploring the entrance chambers, after which crosses the Cody Falls. Your guide will escort you upstream through a series of short climbs where you can observe soda straws, calcite and sedimentary rock formations. An interpretation of the geology will be explained. Please note that you will experience complete darkness. Visit Cody Caves gallery here.
Footware should be sturdy running shoes, hiking boots, or gum/rubber boots. For your own safety you will not be permitted inside the cave unless you have proper footware. Your feet will get wet inside the cave, so a change of socks and shoes is highly recommended.
For clothing, layers are recommended, as it is important to dress for the weather. There is an 800 meter (20 minute) outdoor hike from the parking lot to the cave entrance. Once you get to the cave entrance, you can layer up with warm clothing. The cave is cold and wet, approximately 6ºC/41ºF - The same temperature of your refrigerator. Bring long pants and long sleeves that you can move comfortably in.
Directions:
The Cave parking lot is located 10.7k up a steep and rugged logging road. Drive with caution! Access to the Cody Cave Provincial Park is signposted but as an extra precaution we recommened the following (it will take approximatley 30 min):
1) At the exit from the highway, at the bottom of the logging road, set your trip meter to "0".
2) Drive up the steep ramp and follow the signage.
3) At 1.3km bear LEFT
4) At 2.9km turn LEFT
5) At 3.8km keep RIGHT
6) At 4.7km bear LEFT
7) At 5.7km turn LEFT
8) At 6.6km you will overlook Kootenay Lake
9) Continue up along the road until 10.7km - you have reached the Cody Cave Provincal Park parking lot