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Go Explore! – Lusk Caves

One of my favourite summer explorations is in the Gatineau Park. I’ve made it a yearly tradition to take friends and family to see the magic of the Lusk Caves.

It’s rare these days to be able to find something that is fun, inexpensive, and not flooded by hordes of tourists … but the caves always seem to hold up.

I like to divide the cave into two sections:

The Introduction

and

The Test

In the first half of the cave, there is a lot of light so you won’t need a headlamp. The water comes up to about ankle/mid-calf (depending on water level and season) and moves quickly, but not enough to feel unbalanced. You get to see all of the beautiful stone that has been eroded from thousands of years of rushing water and glacial melt, and will be able to take lots of instagramable photos that make you and all your friends seem bad ass!

At the end of this section the cave opens up (and if you didn’t know better) you might even think you had reached the end.

The second half of the cave is definitely for the more adventurous. Headlamps or flashlights are a 100% necessity, otherwise you won’t be able to see your next steps. You’ll have the opportunity to slide down a small waterfall, and will likely need to swim under water to exit the cave.

WARNING: don’t be stupid.

If it’s your first time exploring the Lusk Caves and the water level is so high that you would need to swim fully submerged to leave. Don’t do it. Even when you are very familiar with the area there is always the chance for something to go wrong. There is no shame in turning around and going back the way you came (and if you do turn around, you’ll get to brag about “climbing UP a cascading waterfall” … you don’t need to tell them how tall it was)

Here’s a quick list of things you’ll want to bring:

• Headlamp (keeps you hands free!)
• Swimsuit
• Towel
• Water Shoes
• Water
• Small Backpack
• Snacks
• Sunscreen
• Bug Spray
• Camera
• Small Dry Bag (Protect those car fobs!)
• A great attitude!

Happy Exploring!