Falls Creek Cave historic schematic PDF Click on these highlighted words to bring up a PDF of a Falls Creek Cave schematic drawing, then right click to spin it around. A Curious Gorge “fan” emailed me this PDF. (Sorry I don’t know how to Blog better or this stuff might be in a better order, but I reckon you can figure it all out.) Bring lights, have fun!! Falls Creek Cave is one of a number of “hidden” caves in the Gifford Pinchot forest, but unlike many, Falls Creek cave is reasonably easy to explore with technical caving gear, nor the need to crawl. Not many lava tubes allow you to make an underground loop like in Falls Creek cave. Gotta like that!!
Close-up of cave entrance area
- Map of Falls Creek Cave, author’s interpretation.
Just in from the sloping entrance into Falls Creek cave
In a little more from the sloping entrance into Falls Creek cave
A surprised cave frog just inside the Falls Creek cave entrance slope
There’s lots of “finger-paint” grafitti in the cave. This is just a “pokin round the gorge” sample
The 1st side tunnel in Falls Creek Cave
Falls Creek cave Lava squiggles in the 1st side tunnel
Falls Creek cave lava drippings in 1st side tunnel
Falls Creek cave lava drippings
Inside the second side tunnel of Falls Creek cave
Spray paint graffiti left by some complete assholes at the far deep end of the cave
A screengrab from a Japanese cave website, listing the Falls Creek Cave as the world’s 34th longest at 2,250m (1.4 miles!!)
Parked above the first cave-pit of the three Falls Creek cave breakdown pits
Looking into the 3rd cave pit–the one hosting the sloping tunnel into the cave
Curious Gorge Blog 
Looking for some fun with your book
Hey,
I’ve now been to the Falls Creek Cave 3 times and it is the most amazing place I’ve been. I was wondering if I could get a map of it. I get lost easily and it would be helpful, I’m definitely exploring this again.
ps- your curious gorge book it A-mazing. I lived in the gorge and used your book constantly.
Thanks,
Courteny
Awesome, thanks for putting this out there! I have the old version of your book, but found this online and was able to . Went and explored much of the cave with some friends yesterday, but apparently there’s more to explore – we didn’t see the second (non-dead end) side passage, nor did we make it to the very end of the cave.
Best,
Alex
Yeah Alex…keep on Gorge-ing!!!
Awesome book Scott! Someone gave me a copy 3-4 years ago & we wore it out and bought another copy this summer. My wife & I have been to about 80% of the the spots in your book! We went back here to Falls Creek Cave about a month ago taking some friends with us this time – they were in awe! Had never done anything like that before! I was trying to remember where Dead Horse Cave was – I went there a couple of years ago, but couple remember how to get back there. Any help? Thanks either way!
The map here for Falls Creek Cave was a big help too, by the way!
several years ago ,,in a book ( i think ” caves of washington state”) there was a ‘surveyed’ map of the falls creek cave… it is humungus the entrance was listed as having an elevetion of up to sixty feet. the map showed the twists and turns clear to the terminus…very detailed. i have made many trips thru with scouts. a great trip and further east are great places to rough camp near the creek. one thing to remember if you go,,, back in a ways there is a drop of maybe six to ten feet, it dse not hurt to carry a length of rope to tie off above and use as a safety line in passing either up of down,,….
I went into these caves in the late 80’s or early 90’s with you Dale and troop 565. This weekend I attempted to take my two sons and we didn’t find the entrance. We actually saw you coming down salmon falls Rd early in the day as we started our trek. Coincidence? Lol. Should have pulled you over for more info. Anyways got home today and did some more research and low and behold I found this link to a description you wrote in 2012. Thanks for all you have done for the scouts over the years.
sad,, the paint stick idiots who just have to leave thier mark….
Had an awesome time exploring the cave this weekend with a friend! I went a couple times in previous years after reading your book, and noticed this weekend that there had been some significant rockfall along the main cave, right before the side-caves, and then again towards the end of the cave. The first giant rock pile had a small opening at its very top, so we were able to scramble up and through and keep going. The second rockfall seemed to open up more tubes?!?!?!?! Because there was WAY more cool stuff at the tunnel’s end than I remember. It seemed like the rockfall had happened a while ago because the dirt and stuff was packed down by a lot of footprints, and we didn’t notice any further instability… It was a little sketch, but we were too engrossed in how cool it was. Anyway, you may want to update the description of the route! Which I suppose means you have to go back… Bummer. 🙂
all the times i have ‘done’ the cave, there has always one special thing for me,,,,, when you first gain a view of the opening, the vividness of the color as you look up the slope at the entrance…..
AWESOME INFO!! Thanks for posting. Does this cave have an actual ‘exit’? I have hiked Ape Cave and it has an exit at the end and you just hike on the surface to get back to the beginning. Does this have the same, or do you have to double back? I’m going in a couple of weeks.
Thanks!
No exit Mark. A long out/back to the cave’s endpoint, or else a shorter loop inside the cave.
what the heckk it looks diferant on the return trip… and that view of the entrance in the green light is special…
True….I guess I’m in for a good trip.
Thanks for the info. Doing the cave tomorrow
Great place for Huckleberry picking in season
continue past falls creek cave, up the hill quarter mile or so (that dirt jeep road) and you will come to a trail leading to folgers cave- The most awesome cave in the system! the tiny entrance is hidden by boulders in the south end of a large sinkhole. the larger entrance at the north end leads to an unimpressive cave of breakdown. find the hole, remove the 3 or 4 boulders, and slide down into a cavers fantasy cave- three levels, with more incredible speleothems in each level than in any other cave!….good luck!
see oregongrotto.com for more details on caving
hi kim….i’m in later stages of copd…can still get around, but not for much longer….only worthwhile cave i haven’t found at mt. st. helens is the protected “pillars of hercules”…have viewed your pictures, been in the area many times. unsuccessfully. could probably make it up christmas canyon one last time, but this would be the last season for me. it’s on my bucket list. any way you could help me out? find me on facebook. thanks.
Pillars of Hercules is a very redistricted cave and gated. We will be having a clean up trip there soon and I will see about getting you added. Facebook is down right now but you can also contact me through website.
When I did this cave back in the late 70s and again in the early 90s there was a balcony at the end. I just made the trip again and it looks like the balcony was removed and the upper hole appears to be concreted. Does anyone know the recent history of the end balcony?
I will ask the cave groups. I work close with forest service and not heard anything.
Four of us did this cave on Memorial Day. There was still ice in the connector between access point 2 and 3. Main cave is a LONG and arduous hike for this 69 yr old. It’s interesting to note that the huge sharp rocks all along the cave floor were at some point attached to the ceiling. 😳
Do you know the coordinates for the cave entrance? Or any tips on finding it?
The exact directions and GPS coordinates are in my guidebook. Entry B44. How’s that for a tip?
We did the cave this last weekend and we made it all the way to the end to the main room with the graffiti in it. Once in the room at the end. I have a feeling of not being welcome, and started to head back. After the little crawl, I started to smell what seems like sulfur and shortly after that my headlamp went out. Swap battery and light worked again. We continue making our way back and my buddy Eric light went out. Battery swap and it started working again. While continuing out the cave I asked my buddy Eric if he sense anything weird and he said he heard what seem like a faint dog bark which I did not hear. My other buddy Nick was a little further behind us and he did not hear what we were talking about. Once we made it out of the cave, I pointed out to Eric that our cave light shouldn’t have gone out that fast. We both have done dynamite cave from start to finish with one battery pack. Also our lights has a green led that turns red when the battery pack was low which never happened for my light or his. Eric told me he charged his battery the night before and my battery pack was charged from the night before. Nick and I carpooled together back home and I also ask him if he felt anything. He said the only thing he though was weird was that he kept hearing a dog barking and he was wondering who would bring a dog down there. Both Eric and Nick did not talk about their experience with the dog bark. Has anyone have any strange or weird experience in fall creek cave?
Did the cave last July with 2 of my kids (then 9 and 10) and one of my co-workers. This was our second attempt and this time we made it all the way to the end where the Greek letters are graffitied on the wall of the terminal chamber. A true adventure as we kept on thinking we found the “keyhole” noted on the survey map… but it just kept going and going. Finally got to the keyhole when we were 10 minutes away from giving up and turning back. This blog was extremely helpful in planning out this trip, thanks!