Canmore: Rat's Nest Cave Rappelling & Squeeze Adventure

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Free cancellation

1/8

Duration6h

GroupUp to 8

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Rappel 60 Feet Into Canada's Longest Cave System

You hike uphill to Rat's Nest Cave, then rappel 18 meters underground with a guide and full safety gear. You crawl through tight squeezes, navigate the Laundry Chute, and reach the Grande Gallery—spending four hours total in one of Canada's longest cave systems. The guide handles all equipment and logistics; you just need moderate fitness and the willingness to get uncomfortable in a good way.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Rat's Nest Cave Adventure

Arrive at Rat's Nest Cave
Rappel down 18m drop
Crawl, climb, and scramble inside cave
Navigate to The Grande Gallery and The Grotto
Complete warm-up and challenge squeezes
Experience the Laundry Chute challenge
Spend approximately 4 hours underground

The Experience

"You're going to feel the rope catch you halfway down, and that's when it gets real," our guide said as we stood at the mouth of Rat's Nest Cave in Canmore, checking harnesses. He wasn't wrong. The Adventure Tour is the longest descent the cave offers—an 18-meter drop that looks a lot steeper when you're standing at the edge of it, helmet on, about to trust a rope and a guide you met twenty minutes ago. But that's the whole point, I think. You show up, they hand you the gear, and then you actually do the thing instead of just reading about it online.

The four hours underground aren't just the rappel. After you come back up, there's the crawling part—moving through sections they call the warm-up squeeze and the challenge squeeze, which is exactly what it sounds like. Your shoulders fit, but barely, and you're moving forward on your belly or your back depending on the passage. Then there's the Laundry Chute, a slide-and-scramble section that adds real difficulty but also the kind of fun you can't get anywhere else. The Grande Gallery and the Grotto are the payoff—big open chambers underground where the guide stops and lets you just stand there for a minute. The cave is cold, maybe 7 degrees Celsius year-round, and the walls are textured limestone that catches your headlamp in ways that make the whole thing feel less like a tourist activity and more like you've accidentally broken into somewhere you shouldn't be.

Getting there means a 30 to 40-minute hike uphill on a mountain trail before you even reach the cave entrance, so the physical part starts before you're underground. You need moderate fitness—not athlete-level, but you can't show up winded. The guide provides all the equipment: helmet, harness, lights, everything. Groups stay small, minimum two people, which means you're not shuffling through in a crowd of thirty. The whole experience, from the parking area to coming back out, takes most of a day, but the four hours in the cave itself is what stays with you.

What’s included

Your day includes the expert guide, all caving equipment (helmet, harness, lights, and safety gear), the 18-meter rappel, access to all cave passages including the warm-up squeeze, challenge squeeze, Laundry Chute, the Grande Gallery, and the Grotto. The guide handles setup and safety; you provide the moderate fitness and the willingness to crawl through tight spaces for four hours underground.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelPublic transport nearbyNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by Canmore Cave Tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want a full caving experience without having to arrange your own gear or navigate the cave alone—the guide and equipment are what make a serious underground adventure possible in a single afternoon near Canmore.