Sundial Cave - near Richfield, Idaho USA - Cave Entrances (Natural) on Waymarking.com

Called “Sundial Cave” because it has a small hole in the roof allowing a beam of sunlight to shine on a big, flat, tilted rock on the cave floor. The bright spot of sunlight moves across the rock, minute by minute. The spot's daily path across the flat rock varies up and down the rock with the seasons of the year. At high noon on days of the equinox, the same place on the rock is illuminated year after year.

The cave has a 30 foot wide opening and is tall enough for standing. At the back of the cave is a frozen whirlpool of lava where lava drained away from this lava tube. There is also a fork at the back of the cave which takes the hiker on a circular path back to the beginning of the fork, causing some locals to call it the "merry-go-round" cave.

Expect a rugged hike to get to this unique cave. It is located in the volcanic desert of central Idaho and within the Lava Wilderness Study Area managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. (visit link)

Type of Land: National Forest Managed By: Shoshone Field Office of U.S. Bureau of Land Management Contact Info: 208-732-7200 Website: [Web Link] Type of Cave: Lava Cave Contains Stalactites: no Contains Stalagmites: no Contains Bats: yes Price of Admission: 0.00 (listed in local currency)

Visit Instructions:
Please include a digital photograph of the cave which documents your visit and any information that may be helpful for future visitors.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   02/02/2022 jwanlesss visited it