The Willamette Valley Grotto is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to further cave exploration, conservation and preservation. The WVG is a chapter of the National Speleological Society.

Members of the grotto participate in recreational and scientific cave trips, as well as surveying, mapping and exploration. We have camp-outs at caves, some requiring a bit of backpacking to reach. Caving encompasses a broad range of skills ranging from crawling to climbing. Some cavers prefer walking passages; others prefer caves that offer opportunities to do some rappelling, climbing or diving (SCUBA).

The Pacific Northwest has a variety of caves, including limestone, marble and lava tubes. Most of the caving grotto members do is in the Trout Lake area which is from lava flows from Mt. Adams. Caves in this area include Dynamited, Deadhorse, and Ice Cave. More information can be found here. And, in the Mt. St. Helens area. Public caves are Ape Cave, Ole's and Lake Cave which are all near each other. The Bend area has multiple caves too. We also go to the Marble Mountains Wilderness in Northern California.

The grotto meets on the second Friday of each month at 7:30 PM at Round Table Pizza, 19121 Willamette Dr., West Linn 97068. See our calendar for more information. Please contact the webmaster or another member of our grotto (see the home page for continformation) before coming. Our meetings generally start with a presentation and are followed by our business meeting. The public is welcome to attend our meetings or join the grotto. New members should plan on attending some meetings and must be approved by a vote of Grotto members.