Trout Lake Caves

More Information coming soon. Last updated Nov. 2011

http://www.goodearthgraphics.com/showcave/wa.html

  This area has hundreds of lava caves. There are large caves with 60 foot high ceilings (Cheese cave) to belly crawling caves. Too many of them to name. There are maze like caves like Deadhorse cave, Pickings cave and more. There are Ice caves (Gular Ice cave). Caves with cool formations, lava trenches (Wildcat cave), Natural Bridges and more. Then there are big long caves with lots of breakdown to give you a good work out like Big cave. Then there are caves with cool minerals in them like Happy cave, Slime cave and Metrocal cave.

Email Kim with corrections and updates. Will be adding many more cave descriptions over the next few months. Also will add cave number list. 

                 Trout Lake and Falls Creek cave descriptions.

                           COPYRIGHT: Oregon Grotto of the National Speleological Society 

 800 Foot Cave:

 812 Cave: Named after William Hallidys NSS number.                  

 A-Cave: This is a cave in The Fallen Arch System.

 A-mazing Cave: 615 of cave passage

 Apple cave: This short cave is noted for it's round room and short side passage. About 200 feet of cave. cave # 633-24.

 Arachnophobia: 633-209

 Ash Hole cave: This cave has it entrance on one track of logging spur. The cave is short and filled with sand. The entrance was first Entered after enlargement using a car jack to enlarge a small opening. Has 60 feet of passage, cave # 633-11.

 Asher's cave:  Ashers Cave was named after an elderly local resident who directed cavers to it after being interviewed by Charlie Larson in a White Salmon barber shop during the 1972 NSS Convention in White Salmon. In 1974, beyond the long breakdown section, tha cave was floored with gooey, sticky mud, and small clastic gours were noted. Cave is 700 feet long # 633-13

 Auto Dump Cave: Story Speleograph 381 page 7.

 Backbone Cave: This cave name because of the back bone features on the ceiling of the cave. Cave is also know as "Hidden Treasure" has a jar of coins was found on a mapping trip. Cave lenght 1700 feet. Elevation 2900.

 Backdraft: Is Datus Perry New cave. Mapped with wrong name. 

 Bashful Cave: 2296 feet of passage.

 Bear cave:

 Bear Den Grotto:

 Bee Cave: Small cave in the Prince Charming cave area. Cave # 633-34.

 Beer Bottle: part of Madison's Fence cave system. See story in Speleograph 380 Page 12.

 Big Cave (Nielsen's Big Cave): 2700-foot lava tube. Extensive breakdown throughout the entire cave.

 Big Crater caves: AKA The Dog Caves. Goose Lake. Story Cascade Caver Sept. 2010 Vol. 49 #4 Page 5-6 with map.

 Big Creek: 631-74

 Big Lava cave: See Cheese cave. 

 Big Trench Cave System: Mostly collasped with some nice bridges. About 4000 feet of passage before collasped, Now with about 1000 feet between the 6 small caves. See story in Speleograph 380 Page 12. Now Called Natural Bridges.

 Bills' Cave: 633-03, A small cave with about 100 feet of passage, elevation 2737.

 Blasted Cave: See Dynamited Cave.

 Blister: 633-203 Falls Creek area cave.

 Bogus cave: 145 feet of passage.

 Bone Cave:

 Boogie Bear: 470 feet of passage. 2 entrances.

 Boy Scout:

 Breakdown Mountain cave: The cave is named for the prominet breakdown mountains in the cave. The small entrance sink, 8 foot deep, leads through a low opening (4 feet high) to a more spacious cave with 15-25 foot ceilings. Also known as "Lower Falls Creek System" with about 200 feet of passage at 2570 elevation.

 Broken Back Cave: A Crawl cave not mapped near Sour Grapes Cave. 633-33. Trip Report Speleograph 369 page 6.

 Butter Cave: 1350 feet of passage. See story in Speleograph 380 Page 12.

 Candle Cave: 619 feet of passage with massive breakdown. 633-12

 Carbide Can:

 Caryl's cave: Length  968 feet. No other info.

 Cave "B" 60 feet of cave. 633-14

 Cave Creek Road System: See story in Speleograph 380 Page 12.

 Cemetery Cave:

 Cheese cave: 2060 feet of cave passage. Cave was used to store cheese. The biggest cave for height and width in the area. Fine more info in history and photos. See Caves of Washington for photos and history. Also know as Big Lava Cave, Spencer's cave.

 Chocolate Sundae: 605 feet of muddy cave if I remember right.

 Christmas Tree: This cave is closed and gated for bat use.

 Chubby Bunny Cave: GATED. 633-49. 6900 feet of nice cave. AKA Fat Rabbit.

 Clear Cut Cave: 100 feet of crawly cave. 633-15

 C.O.G. Cave: 633-21. 800 of passage. Near Apple Cave.

 Community Park cave:

 Cone Pickers Cave: There are two sinks. the first is a 50 foot crawl to breakdown chock. the 2nd is a 200 foot crouch and crawl, with one side passage, little breakdown and interesting linings.

 Coral cave:

 Cougar Den Cave: 633-42. Have no information on this cave. 

 Cowbones: 

 Cry Wolf: See story in Speleograph 380 Page 12.

 Curley Creek:

 Datus Perrys Cave,  part of the Falls Creek Lava Tube System, was reported to Oregon Grotto in early 1968 by Datus Perry, a long-time resident and inveterate cave digger of Carson Washington. Best known for its lava stalactites and stalagmites, parts of the cave were photographed by Charlie and Jo Larson on May 19, 1968. Two photos depicting a two-foot lava stalagmite "before and after being broken," included in the 1980 Oregon Grotto Slide Show, were actually photos of the stalagmite as found (broken) and of it reassembled. In 1975, Oregon Grotto members surveyed 800 feet of the cave before the survey was abandoned because the cave was too cold for "shirt sleeves."  Speleograph trip report by Libby Nieland Vol. 11 page 129. And Underground Express by bill Holmes 18 (3): 27.

 Datus Perry's Dug Cave: This guy was digging through breakdown in a big sink. I crawl a little ways in. Kind of scary do to lots of loose rock. Never did get to end or see if he every hit passage.

 Datus Perry New cave:  A 2nd map done was done with wrong name on it called Downdraft cave. Near the Big Lava Beds. A very nice cave.

 David's Den Cave:

 David's Den Annex:

 Dead Bear:

 Deadhorse Cave: 14,441  feet of passage. Dead Horse Cave is no ordinary lava tube cave. It is the most complex, mapped, lava tube cave in the U.S.--so complex that the generic term “lava tube” seems inappropriate. A very popular cave, broadly consisting of the River Passage, Lower Cave, and Masochists Maze, the cave has three known entrances: the lower entrance (which floods occasionally), the upper entrance (also known as the Rat Hole), and a dug entrance near the northeast corner of Masochists Maze (repeatedly dug open and later backfilled, present condition unknown).
    Well known to locals for decades, as with many other caves in the Trout Lake area, cavers were led to the lower entrance of Dead Horse Cave on Nov.5, 1965, by Lyle Ryan, a Trout Lake resident and employee of SDS Lumber Co. The upper entrance was accidentally found by Don and Maylin Nelson who visited the cave with an Oregon Grotto group on Oct.26, 1969. The opening was confirmed as an entrance by Bob Baker, the first person to enter the cave via this opening.
    This cave lies in the path of ground water moving downslope obliquely toward Dead Horse Creek, which it parallels to the north. Water, manifested by pools, broken streams, subterranean fracture springs (and one boiling spring) streams through parts of the cave; then sinks back into the open rock or sediments, and eventually finds its way to the bed of Dead Horse Creek about 400 feet below the cave's lower entrance.
    It was four years after learning of the cave's existence before cavers--expecting to map a deserving but small cave--got around to Dead Horse. An Oregon Grotto team began mapping Oct.19, 1969, and was repeatedly amazed by what lay beyond the "small" cave. It just kept on going and going. The lower maze area was not mapped until Oct. 10, 1971. Last major mapping, Mar. 9-10, 1991, logged about 4,500 feet of passage in Masochist Maze

 Deer Cave: Trip Report Speleograph 369 page 6. About 300 feet of passage.

 Dirty cave: 300 feet of mostly crawly cave. Should be more info in history page. Trip Report Speleograph 369 page 6.

 Dirt Hole Cave:

 Ditch Cave: 

 Dog Caves: See Craters Caves.

 Dot's cave:

 Double Eagle: 633-200: A tight vertical entrance into a nice little cave. Mostly walking.

 Downdraft: 633-206.

 Draftdodgers: 633-206

 Dry Creek Cave: 633-27: A mostly crouch way, complex 2000 feet with some unusual features, pillars, windows, floor swirls. 

 Dry Creek Annex: 100 feet of rough crawl. Has been used as bear den.

 Dynamited Cave: 633-50: One of the longest caves in the Trout Lake area with many vertical drops and levels.  12,345 feet. Dynamited Cave was discovered in Spring, 1958, by Reno and Carl Ziegler, loggers with the Broughton Lumber Co. In Oct., 1958, early exploration began when Carl Nielsen, family members and friends entered the cave as far as the 15-ft drop. Sometime between Oct. 18 and Dec. 6, 1958, the most decisive event in this cave's history occurred when--after five local boys were unable to ascend a 40-ft pit they had dropped on a 3/8-inch rope--the entrance was dynamited, ending exploration of the cave until 1961. Dynamite was employed again in  late 1972 to destroy one of a series of  typically impotent gates, this one some distance inside the cave.
    This widely popular cave is the most mapped cave in the Trout Lake area. Only moderately sinuous in plan view, it is highly complex in profile, having widely varying mutiple levels and abrupt drops.

 Eliminator Cave: 1388 feet.

 Elk Trap Cave: This cave first partly explored fall 2007 is a pit entrance and has a recent dead elk in cave and many other bones. The cave has a fair size room at entrance then goes at least two direction. A crawl past the dead elk has not been explored at this time.

 Fallen Arches Cave System: Archeological site. Area closed. 

 Falls Creek: 633-204. About 6000 total feet with about 4300 feet in the main pain passage. There are three parts of the cave separated by collapse sinks. (AKA: Panther Creek, Lava Caves). See Caves of Washington for full write up. 

 Falls Creek Falls:

 Firecracker Cave: 633-51. Cave etends west from trench mostly in dangerous unstable breakdown. Lost Creek ditch goes over cave. See also Slide cave. 

 Flashcube: 633-17, 670 feet. Flashcube Cave area includes - Squeaking Pika Cave, Cave "B" and Clearcut Cave.   Cave Found by Rod Crawford who found a very old flashcube in cave.

 Folgers Cave: 633-213: A segment of the Falls Creek Lava Tube System, named after a Folgers Coffee can found nearby, was first entered in March, 1968, by an Oregon Grotto party. A 1973 map by Rick Pope and Rick Lonergan shows about 2,100 ft (950 ft map length) of moderately sinuous underlain by terminal branches. Mostly breakdown, the cave exhibits some fascinating lava balls and sand castles.    Trip report Speleograph 359 page 8.

 Frog Hollow: 633-07

 Girl Scott Cave:

 Goblet: (Trout Creek Hill Pit) The cave is apparently a spatter cone vent cave. 40 foot pit. 

 Goose cave: 633-10. Old photo in Speleograph 369 page 9.

 Gopher Hole: 633-09

 Green Moss:

 Green Stream: A small 150 foot cave. See story in Underground Express Vol. 27 page 3. 

 Grouch Cave:

 Guler Ice Cave: The cave has 4 sections, seprated by 3 collapse sinks. Been known since about 1869 and was used for town ice supply. (AKA Campground Ice cave)

 Hairy Fungus: 633-04

 Half-Baked Moon: Big Crater, Goose Lake. Story Cascade Caver Sept. 2010 Vol. 49 #4 Page 5, map page 7. 84 feet of cave.

 Hanging Spider:

 Happy Cave: A dirt slide into walking passage. Some nice minerals and other neat features. 

 Hairy Fungus Cave:

 Helen's Cave:

 Hemlock Cave: 633-37

 Hoarfrost: 633-18. 150 feet of passage with lavaball plug and small Natural bridge. At times will have nice ice formations. 

 Holmes Cave:

 Ice Cave: Tourist cave, May have ice in year around. Changes from year to year. See Gular Ice cave.

 Ice Rink Cave: 633-22. Trip Report Speleograph 369 page 4-5 and the NSS Guidebook 1993.

 Ice Rink Annex:

 Inflation Dome:

 J.a.R Cave: 633-43 JaR Cave was found on June 23, 1985, by a Christian single group from Tri-Cities, Washington. "JaR" is an acronym for two of the group's members, Joe Roeder and Robert Funderburg. That it remained undiscovered for so long, in the midst of universally popular caves like New Cave and Guler Ice Cave, is a wonder.

 Jenning's:

 Jug Cave:

 Karen's Slip: A hole in the floor in Madison's Fence cave takes you into this cave.

 Kisdon's Caves: A series of 8 caves.

 Lava Bridge: I think there was seven bridges and cave at each end or trench with short cave in center of the bridges. At each end of the trench there are longer caves. Northern most is about 275 feet of passage.

 Leaverite:

 Lemei Road Cave. See Dynamited cave.

 Lilliputian: Trip Report Speleograph 369 page 6.

 Little Goose Canyon:

 Lizard: 633-202

 Longview cave: See Tooth cave.

 Madison's Fence: See story in Speleograph 380 Page 12.

 Massy's Barn: See story in Speleograph 380 Page 12.

 Meat Cave: See Trillium Cave.

 Metrecal Cave: 633-32. A little maze like crawly cave with nice mineral formations. About 1450 feet of passage.

 Mike's Cave:

 Minotaur Cave: Trip Report Speleograph 369 page 4-5.

 Mrs. Olesons Extension: 633-212

 Mud Bath Cave:

 New Cave: 633-54. The lower section is a nice easy walking passage with one crawl. Some very cool passage forms. Upper section is all breakdown.  Discovered 1954 by logging crew. Has about 6000 feet of passage. Caves of Washington has a full write up.

 Nielsen's Big Cave:  See Big cave.

 Niskanen Cave: on private property in Trout Lake. 

 Overflow Cave: 633-28. around 160 feet of cave.

 Overlook:

 Panther Creek cave: See Falls Creek cave 

 Red cave: Main Entrance sink is the lowermost of a series of collapse sinks. AKA Branching Cave and Spencer's red Cave. 

 Peterson Bridge #2: 1336 feet. May not be correct name.

 Peterson Prairie Cave System: Extensive largely collapsed lava tube system. About total 6900 feet plus system and about 1336 feet of uncollapsed passage..

 Peterson Ridge Road Cave: 633-44. Small lave tube found in 1962. Less then 200 feet of passage. 

 Pica Here:

 Pica Ice:

 Pickards Sink: 633-08: Very nice complex cave. Crawl, squeeze, walk, climb. 

 Pickings Cave: 633-56:Picking Cave is a 2,100-ft-long (map length) complex of rambling, parallel and re-entrant tube segments. Mostly low passages, its distal end overlies Chubby Bunny Cave. It was found by Bob Davis and Dick Cheney on June 30, 1975, while searching for Dry Creek Cave, and named after a recently deceased school friend.      Trip report Speleograph 360 page 7. 363 page 7 (same report).

 Picnic Ground Cave: Last I heard this cave was filled.

 Pillars of Fire:  Cool pillar formations. On private property.

 Pine Martin Cave: 633-47

 Plank Cave: 

 Poacher's cave: A very complex cave with many entrances and passages.

 Pond Cave: This nice walking cave usually has a large pond in it. Not much for breakdown in the cave and some nice flow features. Photos

 Pond Cave 2 (Annex): At other end of sink from Pond Cave. 

 Poderosa Arch: 633-211

 Porcupine cave:

 Potato Cave: See story in Speleograph 380 Page 12.

 Prickly Floor cave: See story in Speleograph 380 Page 12.

 Prince Charming Cave: 633-36

 Quill Cave: a 250 foot crawl with intermittent stream and a cobble floor.

 Rabbit hole: Has about 50 feet of explored breakdown crawl.

 Rat's Pit:

 Red Ribbon:

 Red cave System:

 Resurrection Cave: breakdown, crawl, walk, squeeze, somewhat maze. 3411 feet of passage.

 Roadside Cave: 633-6: Small cave next to road. About 300 feet of crawl.

 Roadside Annex: A short detached segment possible destroyed by road building.

 Rolling Rock Cave: Nice little cave in the Sleeping Beauty area.

 Rotten Egg: Cave in the Sleeping Beauty area.

 S cave:

 Salamander: 633-201

 Sawmill Site Cave:

 Sealey's Field Cave:

 Skamaniac: 633-205 See Datus Perry cave.

 Skin Mite Cave: Nice cave with about half walking with many passages.

 Skunk Cave:

 Sleeping Beauty: (Sour Grapes) A long crawly cave. Somewhat complex. Been 20 years since been in there so don't remember much. Cave was listed at about 1000 feet of passage but has been pushed and map so longer now. At least 3 levels and a Natural Bridge.

 Sleepy Cave: think this is all crawl cave. 

 Slide Cave: 633-52. Cave extends east from an inconspicuous hole on the NE side of a sink.  

 Slime Cave: 633-39: Back in the late 80's this cave walls had tons of cool mini gours. In summer 2010 didn't see very much.  About 775 feet of passage of mostly high ceilings, excellent flow features and short lava falls

 Slime Cave Annex: 633-38.  64 feet tube segment. 

 Smelly Bear Cave: Trip Report Speleograph 369 page 6.

 Snoozie Cave: Trip Report Speleograph 369 page 6.

 Smokey Creek Cave Ststem: Includes Ash Hole Cave, Goose Cave, Candle Cave, Overlook Cave, Asher's cave.

 Snowpatch:

 Soup Can:

 Sparkling Nightmare:

 Spearpoint Cave: 633-30. Cave goes under road of 568 feet of mostly crawl.

 Spencer's cave: See Cheese cave

 Spencer's Red cave: See Red Cave.

 Splash Cave:

 Squeaking Pica:

 Stairwell: First 170 feet of Stairwekk cave slope downward over breakdown. Main room is about 40 feet wide and 35 feet high. Much more info in Caves of Washington.

 Stalagmite Cave: name change to Skinmite cave.

 Techno-9 Cave: 633-40. Large cave with lots of breakdown piles. The only floor you will see is at very end.  Tricky entrance drop into cave.

 Thanks Cave is a complex, rambling network of branching and re-entrant passages, located about three miles southwest of Trout Lake. Most passages are broad and low (avg. 4-ft high), and seldom of walking height. Well decorated, this cave was discovered by Oregon Grotto members Bill and Maurice Magee on Thanksgiving, 1968, hence the name.

 Three Sinks: At 2,800 feet map length, Three Sinks Cave is the second longest know segment of the Falls Creek Lava Tube System. Cavers learned of the cave from an Oct., 1967, letter from Clay Beal, then a U.S.F.S. Disrtict Ranger, to Bill Halliday which was forwarded to Oregon Grotto. First known cavers to
visit the cave were Charlie and Jo Larson who found it to be a world class example of stream flow, sedimentation and subsequent erosion of pyroclastics in a lava tube.  Oregon Grotto held a Forest Service special use permit for several years; currently the cave enjoys special protection by the Forest Service.       Trip report Speleograph 359 page 8.

 Todd's Cave: 633-25, See story in Speleograph 380 Page 12.

 Too Dirty Cave:  Trip Report Speleograph 369 page 6. Small cave across road from Dirty cave with about 300 feet of passage each. Could have been one cave before road built.

 Tooth Cave: 633-26:Tooth Cave is entered through a two-foot-diameter opening at the base of a lava outcrop leading to a steep corkscrew descent known to turn back cavers of ample girth. A breakdown maze north of the entrance eventually leads to the Big Room with several hundred feet of walking passage.

Tooth Cave Discovered in 1966 by Longview Wa. Residents Steve Robertson, Keith Foster and Greger Ericson. Was called Longview Cave for awhile until one bear tooth was found and cave mapped. See story in Speleograph 380 Page 12. Photos from 1967.

 Trillum Cave: The cave was used by pioneers to store meat. AKA Meat cave. Cave near Cheese consists of a single grottolike segment of lava tube about 60 feet long. About 25 feet wide at the entrance.
 

 Twidwell's: Small unitary lava tube. About 300 feet of passage.

 Tumulus cave: 

 Unnamed Cave: 633-29

 Upfalls Cave: Trip Report Speleograph 369 page 6.

 Upper Conepickers Caves: Two caves. One about 50 foot crawl to breakdown chock and the 2nd about 200 crawl with one side passage.

 Vine Maple Cave: 633-31. Trip Report Speleograph 369 page 6.

 Volunteer Cave:

 Walk Through: More of a crawl through cave from one entrance to another. In the Sleeping Beauty area.

 Wicked Cave: 633-300: Discovered by Daniela Nartker. 

 Wildcat:  Trip report Speleograph 360 page 8.

  Wounded Elbow cave: Dennis saw this hole on a trip to Prince Charming cave back in the late 80's after Wounded knee was found. I explored uphill while Dennis explored down hill. The upper passage was all crawling as far as I can remember. I went maybe 1000 feet before it got to tight. It was finally mapped around 2007 or so and pushed beyond where I went. In 2008 a 2nd entrance was opened up. 633-35

   Wounded Knee cave: This cave found on a skiing trip in the late 1980's by Kim Luper. The cave has two entrances and is a very long crawly cave. So named by Dennis because I said something about my knees hurting from the long Crawl.

 Y Cave: A very Tight entrance between Ice Rink and Apple cave.

 Y Not Cave: 633-23

01: Resurrection

02: Deadhorse 

03: Bill's cave

04: Hairy Fungus

05: Dot's

06: Roadside cave

07: Frog Hollow

08: Pickards Sink

09: Gopher hole

10: Goose

11: Ash Hole

12: Candle

13: Asher's

14: Cave "B"

15: Clear-Cut

16: Squeaking Pica

17: Flashcube

18: Hoarfroast

19: Sour Grapes

20: Big Cave

21: C.O.G.

22: Ice Rink

23: Y Not Cave

24: Apple

25: Todd's

26: Tooth

27: Dry Creek

28: Overflow

29: Unnamed

30: Spearpoint

31: Vine Maple

32: Metrecal

33: Broken Back

34: Bee

35: Wounded Elbow

36: Prince Charming

37: Hemlock

38: Slime Cave Annex

39: Slime Cave

40: Techno-9

41

42: Cougar Den

43: JaR

44: Peterson Ridge Road

45: Peterson Prairie 1

46: Peterson Prairie 2

47: Pine Martin

48: Peterson Prairie 4

49: Chubby Bunny

50: Dynamited

51: Firecracker

52: Slide Cave

53: Nielsen Big cave

54: New

55: Ice

56: Pickings

200: Double Eagle

201: Salamander

202: Lizard

203: Blister

204: Folgers

205: Skamaniac

206: Downdraft

207: Backdraft

208: Draftdodger

209: Arcahnophobia

211: Ponderosa Arch

212: Mrs. Olesons

213: Folgers

300: Wicked Cave was discover by Daniela Nartker. (2nd map with Cooks cave on it)

301: Happy

302: Sleepy