Grotto projects
Projects
Our members survey, restore and study caves across the Northwest. These are the projects we lead or help with, and how you can take part.
Current projects
Cave Graffiti Removal
Sandblasting graffiti out of lava tubes with a trailer of compressors and a mile of air hose. Most of the cave graffiti in Central Oregon is now gone.
Glacier Cave Explorers
Surveying and studying the glacier caves of Mt Hood, Mt St Helens and Mt Rainier before they disappear.
Horse Lava Tube System Book
A bibliography and history of the Horse Lava Tube System near Bend, with new surveys of its caves.
Cave Register Program
Registers inside caves record how many people visit, so land managers can see the impact.
Past projects
From our old website, last updated between 2020 and 2022.
- Section 11 Cave Survey for Department of State Lands – Complete
- Section 11 City Expansion hearings re: caves
- Cleanups of Bessie Butte Pit, Ariel’s Lava Tube, Boyd – Complete
- Cleanups of Charlie-the-Cave, Young’s Cave, and Terrebonne Cave – Complete
- Grotto DVDs – Complete
Horse Lava Tube System Book
Book by Matt Skeels
The Horse Lava Tube System book project is for the most part a solo effort by myself, Matt Skeels. I’ve had help from fellow cavers to help survey some of the caves in the past. Special thanks to all those involved. The Horse Lava Tube System book has evolved into a two book series. The first book will be a bibliography. I’m trying to make it as comprehensive as possible. That means even minor mentions of the Horse system found in publications will be included in the bibliography. The current draft has over 100 pages. It will be directly published in pdf format with a small order of paper prints.
The second book will be a more detailed look at the system and each cave. The emphasis will be on the history of the system and will include maps and a small collection of photos. This book will be made into a hard copy. Right now the draft of the main book stands at about 55 pages. When everything is said and done, I hope to reach about 100 pages.
Caves left to survey (in order of importance, last updated 9-13-2020)
- Tin Can Cave (somewhat easy, but entrance is now buried with rock)
- Tower Cave (easy; vertical)
- Celtic Cave (with Silent Night Cave and 5 small rootless vent caves, easy)
- Pop & Son and Barking Dog (removed as they are now buried or destroyed)
Caves surveyed in recent years
- Johnson Farm Cave # 1
- No Account Redmond Cave
- Insignificant Redmond Cave
- Airport Cave
- Dos Liebres Cave
- Rabbit Cave
- Low Bowl Cave
- Skin Cave
- Mushroom Cave
- I.D. Cave
- Pronghorn Caves I & II
- Stairstep Cave
- Covet Caves (1 & 2)
- Spatter Cone Caves
If you have info on new caves in the Horse Lava Tube System, or some history on existing caves, please send us a message through our contact page.
Cave Register Program
The cave register program is maintained by the Oregon High Desert Grotto. Registers are used to document cave visitation. They are placed inside the cave and include a container with a notepad inside for people to write in the date of their visit. Not all of these registers are maintained by the Grotto, as some have been placed by other entities. Generally, leaving anything behind in a cave is frowned upon, but sometimes a register is used to document cave visitation to see how much impact the cave is receiving, as well as allowing visitors a way to “leave their mark” that doesn’t damage the cave.
These are the caves with known registers in our region:
- Honeycomb
- Super Rat
- Keyhole
- Bat Crack
- Owyhee River (non-OHDG register)
- Fortymile (non-OHDG register)
- Tire Tube (non-OHDG register)
- Lower Perry (non-OHDG register)
- Cliff (non-OHDG register – run by private individual)
- Battle Axe Mountain (non-OHDG register)
- Crack of Doom (non-OHDG register)
- LB Cave (non-OHDG register – run by a church organization)
Want to help?
Members join survey trips, cleanups and graffiti removal. Become a member to get trip invitations.