The Canyon Creek Ice Cave has been a popular outing since its discovery by Stan Fullerton in 1905. It was formed mainly by water-enlarging fractures in the limestone, and the entrance is enlarged by frost wedging during freeze-thaw cycles. Large areas of the cave have been sealed off by permanent ice. During the winter months, ice formations are sometimes visible near the entrance.

In recent years, the influx of visitors who were ill-prepared for a caving expedition resulted in the permanent closure of the road to the parking lot. There is now a new parking lot just off Highway 66, and then a 7 km hike along the old road to get to the former parking area. This has lengthened the trip from the old 4 hour trek to a more challenging 6 hour hike for experienced hikers and 8 hours for inexperienced hikers. Since the closure of the road, the number of accidents on the way to, or inside of, the ice caves has reduced dramatically. Most hikers are now serious about experiencing the cave and now bring appropriate gear, including helmets, headlamps, food and water, and other safety equipment. The cave was formed primarily by water enlarging fractures within the slightly soluble limestone, with its entrance considerably enlarged by large-scale frost wedging during freeze-thaw cycles, similar to the phreatic or vadose caves often found in Canada. Much of the cave has subsequently been sealed off by permanent ice, and during the winter months beautiful ice formations are sometimes seen near the entrance. The cave has large amounts of loose rock, and care should be taken when hiking to cave, as the approach slopes were the site of a fatality due to rockfall from careless hikers.

Once you get to the mouth of the cave, you can feel the cool breeze escaping from the darkness. All year long, there is a wall of ice and plug of ice in the back of the cave as there is a consistent cold temperature kept deep in the back of the cave. The ice plug blocks a tight squeeze which leads to the Corkscrew Climb, the Crowbar section and the Weasel Extension. These additional sections now inaccessible were all first explored in 1968 through an ice dig. If you look closely, you may be able to spot holes were drilling has been attempted to break through the ice but all efforts thus far have been unsuccessful. Hopefully, one day, these extra sections that the ice plug blocks can once again be explored.

In the middle of the cave, we came across a sole pillar of ice that went from the ceiling to the floor and was as thick as a tree trunk! The cave is roughly 5 to 15 metres wide and 170 metres long. When you reach the ice plug and ice wall, you can no longer see the entrance and are immersed into complete darkness. If you want a truly unique experience, have everyone sit comfortably and safely against a rock, then have everyone turn their headlamps off and try not to make any sound; you are rewarded with complete silence and the complete absence of light. You can hold your hand a centimeter in front of your face and no matter how long you hold it there for, your eyes will never adjust as there is absolutely zero light. For those who like to climb or scramble will enjoy with chimney formations located near the cave entrance. There are some tighter spots that you can explore within the cave too, just remember that some spots are easier to get in than get out of.