Sawyer’s Cave

This ice cave is on the right just past the junction of the McKenzie River Highway [1] and U.S. 20, near mile marker 72. You’ll need a flashlight and a sweater to explore Sawyer’s Cave; watch your head and watch your step. Classified as a lava tube, it’s the result of a lava flow that cooled faster on the top and sides, forming a crust. Underneath, the hotter lava continued to drain downhill, leaving the lava tube behind.

There are also small stalactites hanging down from the ceilings, formed from lava drippings. The basalt rock is a poor heat conductor, and like a natural refrigerator it keeps the coolness of winter and night inside the cave. Ice can be found on the floor of the cave during the hottest summer months.