Believe it or not, Rat's Nest Cave has plenty of space to host your group of adventurers. Located in the Canadian Rockies, this cave offers a unique group tour experience ideal for school classes, youth organizations, and teams.

Our tours accommodate all skill levels, allowing your group to explore the cave's natural beauty and history while adding an accessible level of challenge. It's a great way to bond, encourage teamwork, or simply enjoy an adventure together.

Group Rates

The Adventure Tour is our flagship tour and has been recognized as a Canadian Signature Experience. As the longest tour we offer in Rat’s Nest Cave, the Adventure Tour is the complete package.

Cavers will rappel 18m (that’s 6 Stories!) inside the cave, plus have the opportunity to push your limits in the warm-up squeeze, challenge squeeze, and the Laundry Chute – a section of the cave that adds a little extra challenge but a whole lot of extra fun. Visit the impressive Grand Gallery – the largest known room in the cave, then surround yourself with ancient cave formations in the Grotto.

The Adventure Tour is a great option for smaller groups who have a whole day for the maximum amount of adventure.

The Explorer Tour may be our shortest cave tour, but it is by no means short on fun and excitement.

Your guide will introduce you to the amazing world of caves, spending approximately 2 hours underground crawling past prehistoric bones, investigating our ancient cave formations and even squeezing into places like the warm-up and challenge squeezes (if you so choose of course!).

This is a great option for large groups, team building or those who don’t have quite enough time for the Adventure Tour. We promise to give you an experience you won’t forget!

We’re thrilled you’ve chosen to join us for an unforgettable caving adventure!

Start with the Next Steps section to take care of the essentials, then check out some bonus information about all that Canmore has to offer. If you have questions along the way feel free to contact us!

51.0777,-115.3201

Canmore Cave Tours

All participants must sign a waiver before the tour.

• Click the “Sign Your Waiver” button on your booking confirmation to fill out your waivers.
• Parents or guardians must add minors to their waivers.

Need help? Watch this quick video to guide you through the process.

Preparation is key to enjoying your caving adventure.
Watch this short video to learn:

• What to expect on the day.
• What to wear and bring.
• Special tips for making the most of your experience.

The big day is here—here’s how to start it off right:

• Fuel Up! Rest well, have a hearty breakfast, and bring snacks.
  • In-cave snacks: Small, pocket-sized treats are ideal. Nothing crumbly or messy.
  • Save any big celebrations (like birthday parties) for after your adventure!
• Come Prepared. Pack the essentials.
  • Water bottle & snacks.
  • Sturdy footwear with good tread.
  • Light layers for warmth underground in 5°C. 
  • Appropriate outdoor attire for weather conditions.

• Meet us in Canmore
  • Head to our office here on Google Maps. Arrive 10 minutes before your tour start time—no need to come earlier.
  • You’ll spend about 20 minutes at the office with your guide.
  • From the office, you’ll drive your vehicle to the trailhead (7 minutes away).
• Where to Park
  • Small Vehicles: Park at our office.
  • Large Vehicles (trucks/RVs): Use Elk Run Boulevard, a block from our office.
  • Carpooling? Leave extra vehicles on Elk Run Boulevard to keep the office parking available for other groups.
• No Vehicle? No Problem!
  Public transit stops just a block from our office. While we don’t provide transportation to the cave, we can arrange a taxi for you at an additional cost.

In the area for a few days and looking for more great activities and adventures? Here are a few of our favourites!

You will earn your lunch or dinner in the cave! Here are a few great places to try.

Our cave tours are unforgettable, but sometimes you need a little memento - view our entire collection On Our Online Store.

Pre-purchase souvenirs or gift cards for other local activities to have them waiting for you upon arrival.

Enjoy 10% off your purchase by using the CUSTOMER10 code at checkout.

It takes a very special person to work here at Canmore Cave Tours. We are all very passionate people and we love what we do. We eat, sleep and breathe all things caving. But, more importantly, what makes each and every one of our team members so incredible is their commitment to offering you only the best possible experiences. From the moment you first speak with our customer service team to the final wave goodbye, we want you to feel like you were in the best of hands.

We understand that spending hours underground might seem weird, if not a little crazy. We're okay with crazy. We work hard though to make sure you are well prepared for your cave experience and never feel unsafe. All of our guiding staff are proficient in Wilderness First Aid, advanced caving techinques and cave rescue (and despite what they might tell you, they know the cave like the back of their hand).

When you join us in the cave or on a hike, you do so as friend and fellow explorer. We will show you the way and how to do it safely, but as far as we're concerned, you're part of the team.

Caving is a very rewarding sport, pass-time or hobby. Whether you are passionate about exploration, driven to understand the Earth and its processes, or looking for a fun activity away from the crowds, caving can provide a lifetime of excitement.

The Canmore Cave Tours Introduction to Caving Course introduces those with little or no experience to the world of caves, teaching the basic skills required to safely enjoy and appreciate the truly special places that caves are.

A cave is an amazing place to visit with so much opportunity for exploration, inspiration and personal growth. Visiting a cave, however, requires a specific skills unique to the sport of caving which ensure the safety of both the caver and the cave.

Your instructor will introduce you to the various aspects of planning a caving trip, including choosing the appropriate terrain, equipment and caving partners. Learn how to safely move through a cave and how to navigate using cave-specific maps so as to best meet your team’s goals while protecting the delicate cave environment. In this course you will gain the skills and confidence that you need to join other more experienced cavers on non-technical caving trips and to be an effective member of the team.

You will meet your instructor at the Canmore Cave Tours office in Canmore where you will get a brief overview of the day, sign the waiver, collect your caving equipment and then drive in convoy to the cave parking lot (approximately 7 minutes away). All of your caving equipment is provided. Please see the FAQ section for more information on what is provided and what to bring. The hike to the cave will take approximately 30-40 minutes up a moderately steep mountain trail at a leisurely pace. Once you reach the cave, you will don your equipment and head underground. Mini lectures will occur throughout the day with plenty of time for asking questions.

You will spend approximately 4-5 hours underground, after which you will return to the Cave Tours office to review the day and dive into some of the theory of caving. Total length of the course is approximately 8 hours and the course requires a moderate level of fitness. You will be required to climb, crawl, wiggle and slide your way through the cave, with some time to practice some (optional) squeezes.

Single Rope Technique, or SRT, is the means by which cavers access the more technical areas within caves, using ropes and specialized techniques and equipment to progress through a multitude of obstacles.

This two-part course will prepare participants to join technical caving trips under the guidance of more experienced cavers. We recommend having at least some experience underground before undertaking this course.

Part 1: Primer, will be an entirely indoor day and we will cover SRT theory, equipment and best practices and then introduce SRT techniques in a warm, dry, comfortable setting.

Part 2: Ignition, we take our new SRT skills underground to hone and polish them in real-world scenarios.

The first part of this program will be spent at the Canmore Cave Tours office where we will learn some of the theory of SRT and practice our vertical skills in a nice warm, dry space before taking them out into the real world. Repetition is the key to success for technical skills like SRT so prepare to spend a lot of time on rope. You will learn how to use all of the necessary equipment, how to recognize and prevent potential problems, and how to move efficiently through all of the obstacles you might encounter in a cave.

Part 2 we will head to Rat's Nest Cave to try out our new skills in the real world. You will demonstrate skill proficiency as you progress through our vertical ropes course, and will be slowly introduced to more challenges along the way.

This is not a certification course. Many of these skills will be completely new to you and you will need to master one skill before moving on to the next. Our goal is to work with you at a pace with which you are comfortable, and to give you the confidence to go home and practice these skills safely with the knowledge of what you know well, and what you might still need to work on. The techniques taught in this course are strenuous, and a good level of fitness is required. Please contact us if you have any questions about the physical requirements of this course.

Please note that food and accommodation is not provided.

Need to polish up your SRT before a big trip? Maybe it's been a few years and you're looking to get back into the cave. Or maybe you you just finished the Vertical Caving Primer and you need to work on a few skills before jumping into the cave?

The SRT Tune-Up workshop is for cavers who already know SRT but need a little more practice and support. We'll work through obstacles in our office mini ropes course and help you build the confidence you need to go play underground.

Equipment provided on request.

Learning to go up and down a rope is only one part of using SRT in a cave safely. But what if you get stranded on a rope. Are your team members prepared to get you off the rope?

Pick-offs are a strenusous, often unpleasant, but highly important skill for any caver to have in their toolbox. In this 4-hour workshop we will learn and practice pickoffs in the comfort of our mini-indoor ropes course.

All participants in this workshop must be highly proficient in SRT. Efficiency is critical to successfully achieving a pickoff and the middle of a rescue is no place to be trying to remember how to do a changover. Your rescue buddy will not appreciate it! You will also need a full SRT setup in order to participate. SRT equipment can be provided on request, subject to availability.

You will spend substantial time in close proximity with your rescue buddy, so you may want to bring someone who doesn't mind...

The opportunity to explore new caves is one of the most common reasons for new cavers to join the sport, and in Canada we have ample opportunity for exploration. The unwritten rule in caving, though, is that not one inch of cave is explored unless it is surveyed, meaning if you want to be at the sharp end of exploration you need to know how to survey!

This course will introduce you to the process of surveying in a cave, specifically with regards to collecting and managing the survey data. You will learn both analog and digital measurement techniques, and well as how to accurately record and sketch the collected data.

At the end of this course you will be able to confidently join a survey team and have a good understanding of the survey process. Those who want to take their survey skills to the next level should look for our cartography course where we teach you how to take your data and sketches and create highly accurate and beautiful cave maps.

This program will be spent almost entirely in Rat's Nest Cave to maximize your time learning the necessary survey skills. You will work with analog and digital survey tools in teams to practice all roles of a survey team.

All caving and surveying equipment will be provided. You may bring your own equipment on request (it must be inspected by your instructor prior to approval).

Please note that food and accommodation is not provided.