Cody Caves Park is a BC Parks site in the Selkirk Mountains above Ainsworth Hot Springs. BC Parks says an underground stream flows for more than a kilometre through ancient limestone in the Cody Caves system.
For public safety and cave protection, the caves are gated and locked, and access is by guided tour.
Cody Caves is for visitors interested in limestone caves, guided underground interpretation, and a short trail approach in the mountains above Kootenay Lake. The caves contain about 800 metres of explorable passage with calcite formations that have grown very slowly over time.
BC Parks gives the caves a deep history. Henry Cody discovered them in the early 1890s while prospecting for silver, they gained local popularity, and they were visited in 1908 by the Governor General of Canada, Earl Grey. The limestone beds were laid down almost 600 million years ago and later lifted by mountain-building forces.
Activities outside the caves are limited but useful: hiking is available on signed routes, pets are allowed on leash in the park but not in the caves, and cycling is available on existing forest access roads.
Plan around guided cave tours, the 0.8 kilometre trail to the caves, limestone and calcite interpretation, careful hiking, road-based cycling on forest access roads, and white-nose syndrome cave precautions.
Bring drinking water because potable water is not available. The narrow access road leaves Highway 31 about three kilometres north of Ainsworth and is not suitable for large motorhomes, trailers, or low-clearance vehicles. It is generally passable in July and August for moderate to high-clearance two-wheel-drive vehicles.
