Caving in the Pacific Northwest: newbie edition

May 25, 2019 3:38 PM

I'm interested in doing some cave-exploring. I have never done this, other than a few tours over the years. I live in Portland, Oregon, and ideally would like to get started with some stuff that's a 2-3 hours drive from here -- I know about Oregon Caves National Monument, but I'd prefer to do stuff in central/eastern Oregon, or southwestern Washington. I also know about Ape Caves, so that's already on the list. What are the newbie-friendly caves & cave-resources I should be looking at?
posted by curious nu to Science & Nature (4 answers total)

There's several lava tube caves up out of Bend. Boyd. Lava River. Hidden Forest. Newberry National Volcanic Monument.
posted by humboldt32 at 4:59 PM on May 25, 2019

Seconding the lava tube caves.

You might want to consider joining a local chapter of the National Spieleological Society.
posted by Altomentis at 5:10 PM on May 25, 2019

I have no caves to add, but i've been in enough to know that you should read up on white-nose syndrome and how to prevent its spread by being careful with your gear, especially if you are going to multiple cave systems.
posted by OHenryPacey at 7:09 PM on May 25, 2019

There is a fairly active Facebook group called Northwest Cavers. Members post about cave trips, pictures, maps, and I have seen several open invitations along the lines of "Meet at the Trout Lake General Store at 9:00 am and we'll go together" type.
posted by seasparrow at 7:32 PM on May 25, 2019