Photo: Ice Cave Entrance now blocked. Thanks Blue J Wenatchee for
photo.
The site of the Chelan Ice Caves is just north of the Chelan
Airport. NOTE: Not a hike. Just a short stroll up an old abandoned
road.
There are no signs or structures here indicating that this was
once a State Park (but at least the maps list it as Ice Caves State
Park). However the ice caves may no longer be entered. The entrance
to the caves was dynamited in the sixties because the local
government figured the caves was a hazard. But before that, since
it was also a natural cold environment, the local fruit growers
used to store their fruit over the summer in the caves.
There is an old road to the rocky talus slope where the cave
entrance used to be. It has been reported that those who have
climbed up the slope have noticed frigid air blowing out between
the boulders. Motorcyclists who ride through this small canyon
notice the air temperature drops very noticeably.
There is a pull off next to the highway to park your vehicle. If
you're driving north from Chelan the pull off will be on your
right. You will walk through what used to be an old parking lot
(flat area with evidence of broken asphalt). The old road up to the
cave entrance begins to the south of the old parking area. Boulders
have fallen onto the old road from the hillside. The cache is
located on the old road under a large rock. See spoiler photos if
you're worried about finding a needle in a haystack. My GPS
accuracy was 14 feet at the time I took coordinate reads. The
container is a medium sized lok-n-lok.
Even though you can no longer see inside the ice caves, I found
the area to be an interesting bit of local history. It's especially
interesting that an ice cave was located in an arid area of Eastern
Washington. If you'd like to explore some more, on the opposite
side of the highway is Green Lake (which is dried up this time of
the year).