Park overview
Cody Caves is a unique provincial park located in the Selkirk Mountains above Ainsworth Hot Springs. In the Cody Caves System, an underground stream flows for over a kilometre through ancient limestone.
Advisories
Safety info
- Care must be taken while driving on the narrow access road. Please read information signs at the highway turnoff before driving the access road.
- Bring your own water as potable water is not available in the park.
Facilities
There are no established day-use or picnic facilities. This park has a small day-use parking lot able to accommodate up to ten vehicles. A small shelter at the parking lot acts as a shelter to get out of the weather while waiting for party members.
This park only has pit toilets and they are situated adjacent to the parking lot.
Activities
For your own safety and preservation of the park, obey posted signs and keep to designated trails. Shortcutting trails destroys plant life and soil structure.
Pets and domestic animals are not permitted in the caves.
Pets are allowed in the park, but must be on a leash at all times. You are responsible for their behaviour and must dispose of their excrement. Backcountry areas are not suitable for dogs or other pets due to wildlife and the potential for problems with bears.
Bicycles must keep to roadways and cycling is available on existing forest access roads. Bicycle helmets are mandatory in British Columbia.
Please note that bicycles with electric assist motors (e-bikes) are not allowed on the trails within Cody Caves Park. E-bikes are restricted to park roads and areas where motorized use is permitted. The only exception to this policy will be for authorized and identified trail maintenance bikes conducting work on behalf of BC Parks.
For public safety and cave protection, Cody Caves are gated and locked. For information on guided tours of the cave, please check Cody Cave Tours.
Cody Caves Park can be reached by following a narrow forest road that leaves the left side of Highway 31 at a small gravel pit 3km north of Ainsworth. The road is approximately 10km long and is passable during July and August for two wheel drive vehicles with moderate to high clearance.
At other times of year, there may be industrial traffic. Please contact the park tour operator for details. Proceed past the houses and follow the main road marked with directional arrows until the parking area and Cody Caves trail sign. The caves are 0.8km (about 20 minutes) up the trail. The access road is not suitable for large motorhomes, vehicles pulling trailers or vehicles with low ground clearance.
Learn more about this park
Park details
- Date established: July 7, 1966
- Size: 49 hectares
Nature and culture
History
In the early 1890s slopes above Ainsworth were frequented by hopeful prospectors looking for silver. One of these men, Henry Cody, discovered the Cody Caves. Later, in 1899, the caves were the subject of a short story written by Roger Pocock for “Argosy” magazine entitled “The Noble Five”.
This story described a cave whose inner chambers were walled with gold ore. The caves then grew in popularity and were visited by many locals and curious individuals including, in 1908, the governor General of Canada, Earl Grey. Though they are not walled with gold, the caves do contain an impressive display of calcite formations that can be seen in many areas of the approximately 800 metres of explorable passage. These formations are extremely old and have been growing at an average rate of about one cubic centimetre a century.
The cave itself began formation when limestone beds laid down almost 600 million years ago were thrust upward by mountain building forces that occurred around 170 million years ago.
Although the Cody Caves are almost unimaginably old and carved from solid rock, they are exceptionally fragile and can be irreparably damaged in seconds. In fact the caves have probably experienced more change in the 90 years since their discovery than in the previous 9,000.
Conservation
Only guided cave tours for visitors’ safety and for protection of the cave’s features.
Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples
BC Parks honours Indigenous Peoples’ connection to the land and respects the importance of their diverse teachings, traditions, and practices within these territories. This park webpage may not adequately represent the full history of this park and the connection of Indigenous Peoples to this land. We are working in partnership with Indigenous Peoples to update our websites so that they better reflect the history and cultures of these special places.