Cheese Cave

Cheese Cave is a lava tube located in Gifford Pinchot National Forest just southwest of Trout Lake, Washington. It is approximately 2,060 feet (628 m) in length, with a mostly flat floor 25 feet (8 m) wide and a 45 feet (14 m) to 60 feet (18 m) high ceiling.

Cheese Cave
LocationTrout Lake, WA
Length2,060 feet (628 m)
Discovery1894
Difficultyeasy
AccessPublic

Official reports cite the cave as being discovered in 1894 by Joseph Arnie,[1] a local resident. The cave was first used for storing potatoes and, later, cheese. Homer Spencer established the Guler Cheese Co., which used the cave's constant 42 °F (6 °C) to 44 °F (7 °C) passage to age its cheese. The cheese company is now gone, but remnants of storage racks remain toward the north end of the cave.[2]

Cheese Cave's natural entrance is located 246 feet (75 m) from the north end of the tube. The north cave entrance is in private property and has a building over the sinkhole. There is a steel staircase from the inside of the private building down to a small rock pile on the cave floor.[2]

Toward the north end of the cave, remnants of wooden racks can be seen.

The south entrance has a low pavilion structure over the opening and a dirt parking area nearby. The opening is artificial and has a permanently placed ladder descending to a debris pile. The debris pile can be descended on foot, landing on a flat and clear cinder floor. The main length of the cave is mostly clear with occasional piles of fallen rock.

References
  1. Halliday, William R. (1963). Caves of Washington. Washington Department of Conservation. pp. 31–34.
  2. Parr, T. "Trout Lake Cheese Caves". Pacific Northwest Cheese Project. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2014.

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