El Capitan Cave

El Cap


Useful Information

Location: Prince of Wales Island, Tongass National Forest, southeast Alaska.
From Craig or Klawock State highway 929 north to Control Lake Junction, left 925 for 15 miles, becomes Forest Road 2000. At El Capitan fjord turn left on NF 15. Signposted, parking lot at trailhead.
(56.171896, -133.319189)
Open: no restrictions.
naturalist-guided cave tour: Summer Thu-Sun 9, 12, 14:30. Suspended indefinitely because of Corona.
[2022]
Fee: free.
naturalist-guided cave tour: free, booking 2 days in advance mandatory. Suspended indefinitely because of Corona.
[2022]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: bring torch
Dimension: L=3,653 m, VR=130 m, T=4 °C.
Guided tours: self guided.
naturalist-guided cave tour: L=150 m, D=2 h, Max=6, MinAge=7.
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:  
Address: Tongass National Forest, Federal Building, 648 Mission Street, Ketchikan, AK 99901-6591, Tel: +1-907-225-3101, Fax: +1-907-228-6215. E-mail: contact
USDA Forest Service, Thorne Bay Ranger District, 1312 Federal Way, PO Box 19001, Thorne Bay, AK 99919-0001, Tel: +1-907-828-3304, Fax: +1-907-828-3309.
District Ranger: Mark Pentecost, Tel: +1-907-826-3271. E-mail:
Deputy Ranger: Delilah Bingham, Tel: +1-907-828-3210. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1980s begin of speleological exploration.
1990 caver Kevin Allred discovered the Hibernaculum, a passage filled with bear bones.
1992 collapsed entrance opened for the excavation.

Description

The new wooden path to El Capitan Cave is only 450 m long, but climbs an elevation of about 100 m. After this strenuous climb the visitor is rewarded with a nice view of Kosciusko Island and a 50 m long cave passage, which ends at a gate. This gate was installed to protect the visitors from falling into a pit, and of course to protect the cave. The part of the cave behind the gate floods during storms, so visits are reserved for speleologists. There are guided walks into the cave conducted by the Thorne Bay District during summer.

Very important are the discoveries of fossil bones in the upper level of the cave. Caver Kevin Allred discovered in 1990 a passage he called Hibernaculum, because of the bones. It is a reference to the fact that bears used the cave for hibernation, and if they died for some reason in the cave their bones stayed there. There were bones of numerous black bears (Ursus americanus), the most prominent one of a large female black bear 20 m from the former entrance. Notable is also the horn of an antelope which is actually native to Asia. Other bones were from caribou and arctic foxes, which today exist only hundreds of kilometers north. This former entrance to the cave, which was used by the bears, collapsed later, which protected the bones. To accomplish the excavation the entrance was reopened, but after the work it was sealed again. The excavation was funded by the National Geographic Society and Tongass National Forest.

El Capitan Cave is the longest mapped cave in Alaska. There are numerous other caves on Prince of Wales Island, which is one of the most important karst areas in Alaska. The island is actually separated into two parts by the El Capitan Passage, which forms a fjord from the south and then turns west. The smaller island is named Kosciusko Island, and you have to look quite hard on the map, to see that it is really separated by seawater. As the cave is located on the northern side of the passage, after which it was named, it is located on Prince of Wales Island.

The USDA Forest Service runs free naturalist-guided cave tours during the summer. Reservations at the Thorne Bay Ranger District two days in advance is required. The tour meets near the parking lot and outhouses. Wear sturdy shoes, warm clothes, bring two lamps, one headlamp recommended, bring helmet if you have, otherwise it is provided. During Corona the tours are suspended.