The cache location is about 0.2 miles from the covered bridge due to a 150-foot rule from the railroad tracks.
The Gilkey Covered Bridge, built in 1939, is a Howe Truss Bridge spanning 120 feet over Thomas Creek. It is named after the former Gilkey community, which was named after residents Allen and William Gilkey.
Until 1960 the railroad bridge next to Gilkey Bridge, was also a covered bridge, but was rebuilt as a more mundane girder bridge.
In 1997, an overweight vehicle damaged the bridge, which was closed for a year for repairs. Then, in 2007, the bridge was damaged again when a truck's hydraulic boom was left extended and crashed into the top of the bridge. The bridge lost 50% of its load capacity. It was last rehabilitated in 2017.
It is on the National Historic Register and is part of the covered bridge tour of Linn County.