The Oregon Caves Chateau was recently designated as one of the 11 most endangered historic places of 2025 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In a conference at the Oregon State Library, Gov. Tina Kotek announced the designation officially along with members of the NTHP, Friends of the Oregon Caves and Chateau, Restore Oregon, the Oregon Caves and Preserve and the National Park Conservation Association. The Oregon Caves National Monument is in southern Oregon, approximately 20 miles east of Cave Junction.

“We know that the Oregon Caves Chateau was a special gathering place for people all over the world,” Kotek says. 

The lodge, located just outside of the famous Marble Cave, closed in 2018 for restoration of its historic integrity. Advocates for the cave say they hope this will help bring awareness to the lodge, eventually leading to its reopening. 

Bernie Thurber, Friends of Oregon Caves and Chateau’s board chair, says he fell in love with the historic nature of the lodge during his first visit, where his wife noticed all the furniture in the lodge was Monterey style. “When I got to the lobby, my wife was turning all of the furniture upside down, jogging in place and hyperventilating because she had discovered that it was all Monterey,” Thurber says. Monterey furniture is a now defunct and hard to find style of furniture produced primarily in California from the 1920s to mid 1940s. 

Before its closure, the chateau was a six-story hotel with 23 unique guest rooms and included a fine dining room, a coffee shop and a historic view of the surrounding Oregon Caves landscape. Within walking distance of the lodge is the Big Tree Trail — home to one of the oldest known Douglas firs in the world, estimated to be approximately 1,200 years old. 

Casey Holwerda, board member of Friends of the Oregon Caves and Chateau, says she was the one to initiate the push for the NTHP to list the chateau as one of the most endangered historic sites of 2025. “I thought we need this kind of national attention on the Oregon Caves because there’s people out there that don’t know about it,” Holwerda says. “It’s been a struggle getting publicity, attention and resources for something that’s so remote and a lot of people don’t have awareness for.” 

The Oregon Caves National Monument is one of only four national monuments in Oregon. Colin Deverell, associate director for the Northwest Region of the National Parks Conservation Association, says the chateau is worth saving and the federal government needs to do more to protect these sacred historic places. “What we’re seeing is the dismantling of the National Park Service,” Deverell says. Since President Donald Trump took office, approximately 3,400 U.S. Forest  Service and 1,000 National Park Service employees have been laid off, with more expected to be let go in the coming months. 

“Some parks in Oregon are down to single digit numbers of staff,” Deverell says, “You can’t run a Starbucks with that many people, much less a national park.” Despite all these setbacks, advocates aren’t giving up hope. Of the 350 sites the NTHP has put on its endangered historic places list over 100 years, only a handful have been lost, according to Natalie Woodward, associate manager for the backing of historic small restaurants at the NTHP. “This is an important step for the chateau,” Kotek says.  

Find out more about Oregon Caves at Nps.gov/orca and about Friends of the Oregon Caves and Chateau at Friendsocac.org.