Horne Lake Caves

The history of Horne Lake Caves is mostly a history of people damaging them and other people trying to stop it, which is why the park exists at all.

The Qualicum First Nation certainly knew the caves, but the first written reference is a geological report from 1912. Loggers knew Main and Lower Main after that, and public visits climbed once the caves were publicised in 1939. The larger Riverbend Cave was found in 1941 and was a popular attraction by 1945. By the time the province threw a 29 hectare reserve around the site in 1957, the caves had already been stripped of many of their formations.

Euclataws Cave was found in 1963 by Jim and Delores Johnson of Nanaimo and deliberately kept secret until about 1969, because the people who found it could see what had happened to the others. When it became known, local cavers went to the provincial government asking for protection, and in January 1971 Horne Lake Caves became a provincial park. Euclataws and Riverbend were gated and guided tours began in Main, Lower Main and Riverbend.

It did not stop. Vandalism and gate-breaching continued, and a serious incident in Riverbend Cave in 1984 forced the issue: a management plan followed in 1985, then better visitor facilities and privately run tours. Four more caves have since been recognised, including Cougar Cave and Eggshell Cave.

What you can do now reflects all of that history. Tours run in Main, Lower Main and Riverbend, and the two most vulnerable caves, Euclataws and Riverbend, are gated rather than open. The park exists to protect, manage and give access to the caves, in that order, and the whole point of it is that the earlier caves were wrecked before anyone thought to. It is on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.