In 1899, the caves were the subject of a short story written for Argosy Magazine by Roger Pocock, called the 'Noble Five'. Pocock's story described a cave whose walls were lined with gold. After this, the popularity of the caves grew among visitors to the area. In 1908, the caves were visited by then Govenor General, Earl Grey.

The stone walls of Cody Caves are not covered in gold, but like other limestone cave systems, they display an impressive array of ancient calcite formations, growing at the slow rate of about one cubic centimetre each century. 600 milion years ago, the first occeans of our planet laid down layers of sediment that eventually turned to limestone. About 170 million years ago, the limestone sea bed was thrust upward to its current elevation and location near Ainsworth Hot Springs. Flowing water has since dissolved the solid rock, created the tunnels and passages within the cave and decorated those walkways and crawlways with calcite. The cave we see today is the result of millions of years of erosion, solution and deposition.

Flowing water percolates through soil, incorporating carbon dioxide from the organic matter of the forest. As flowing water erodes the limestone, the carbon dioxide reacts with the limestone to form a weak carbonic acid. The acid dissolves the rock and pulls the calcium content out of the limestone, carrying it downstream in solution. Eventually, the carbon dioxide evaporates, and the calcite is deposited on the walls, ceilings and floor of the cave to create milky and crystalline formations such as soda straws, flow stone, stalactites, stalagmites and rimstone dams unique to the underground.

Cody Caves, like other limestone caves, continues to
evolve, grow and change. Some areas have collapsed in ages past as erosion has undermined the integrity of solid rock. Glaciers have choked the cave with silt from their grinding down of moutain ranges, and streams have rinsed it clear again. The entrance way we use was created by a collapsing ceiling as retreating glacial ice broke the rock apart. Thousands of years from now, visitors will enter the cave where the stream bubbles and springs from the small hole in the rock on the path to the cave mouth. Today, over 2000 visitors come to Cody Caves Provincial Park every summer.

Although created from solid rock, caves are among the most fragile and sensitive environments we know of. The calcite formations are incredibly delicate. Mud, dirt and the touch of oily or acidic skin can halt
their growth for centuries. Broken pieces, some of them millions of years old, will never regrow. Even the exhalation of carbon dioxide alters the growth of
calcite features in the cave. Ironically, because of
careful guiding practices and education, 2000 visitors
each season will do less damage to the caves than the 100 or so unguided visitors that the Park received prior to establishing this vistor service. Moreover, because the Park has instituted the guiding services and gated the cave entrance, more British Columbians and visitors, not fewer, are able to safely access their natural heritage and experience the world below the surface of the earth.