California Cavern State Historic Landmark in
Mountain Ranch (CA)

First time at the California Caverns, my bf is very interested in caves and caverns and has been to all the other ones in the area. The walking tour runs every hour on the hour, its about a 10 minute walk from the store to the cavern entrance and you spend about an hour in the cavern. We learned that the cavern is underwater during the wet season and causes the tours to be closed for 4 months out of they year. It was still really muddy in some areas of the cavern in mid July. The tour has some low areas where you need to duck to get through as well as some tight squeezes into other rooms of the cavern. Wearing good shoes/closed shoes is reccomend there are some slick spots and the tour guide pointed them all out. It was really cool to see all the different formations and hear the stories of the miners that camped within as well as discovered the cavern. They had a small gift shop as well as a panning area for kids to pan sand to find crystals and gems. We exited a different way than we entered. The cool thing about this cavern is you can take spurlunking tours where you can explore other areas that are not accessible to the walking tour which is pretty rad. If you enjoy things like this I would definitely reccomend checking it out if you are in the area!

Ask for Gigi!! She led my partner and I and 4 others on the Mammoth Cave Expedition and it was an incredible experience. The caves were beautiful and I felt completely safe the whole time, and this is largely due to Gigi. She walked us through every single step of the way with very clear instructions and made us feel totally comfortable with saying no to any crawl. It felt like her whole goal was to keep us comfortable and safe and this was important because you’re in some pretty tight squeezes and tricky places. If you feel nervous at all, just try it out but make sure to ask for Gigi if you want a 10/10 experience.

Sooooo Beautiful!!!!! We loved this tour. it was one of the longest and filled with great detail and information. Even through the cave was defaced 100 years ago, it is amazing. Seeing it regenerate and rebuild after the cave formations were touched. The cave is very muddy because it is still building and flooding every year. This was a personal favorite of mine.

Carley was such a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide. She answered every question and was mindful of my friend's slower and more careful pace as she was unable to take her cane inside. My 6 year old son was also able to participate and ask good questions and Carley was engaging with him as well. All in all 10/10 experience

What a blast! We did the Mammoth Cave Expedition and it was just our family of 4 with our guide. We all had an amazing time and our guide even took us back through the kids' favorite sections once we finished because our small group was able to complete everything well within our time frame. We were filthy, covered in mud, and the very sticky "muddy maze" at the end even claimed the soles of a few of our shoes. We came prepared in clothing and shoes we were prepared to throw away if need be and packed full outfit changes for all of us along with trash bags to store the muddy clothing in afterwards. ***There are showers available after your spelunking expedition - but they are not glamorous! They are outdoors and while you can change privately it is primarily a pipe from the ceiling in a wooden room with a single small bench seat and a hook to hang a bag/backpack.*** Overall this was one of our favorite parts of our most recent trip! The kids are already begging to do the Middle Earth Expedition but unfortunately for them that has a minimum age of 16. We will be back! And we'll be bringing other brave explorers with us!

We took the mammoth caving/spelunking tour. It was a really fun and new experience. Our guide Gianna was also super patient and helped us through all the tough spots and took extra care when we were struggling, and went above and beyond to make sure we had a great time! It was super magical to see all the different tunnels and ledges and different passageways off the walking tour and experience the caves in a whole new way. Highly recommend if you're feeling adventurous.

This place was wonderful. The guide was so sweet and patient with us. I had two kids, my 13 year old and my very impatient, loud, "I'm bored/ im tired" 10 year old. I was so worried my 10 year old was going to make it very difficult to enjoy but he had a blast and asked a bunch of questions. Its a beautiful place.

Definitely off the beaten path, but worth the drive. Kind of a laid back place - the guide, who was great, leads you through a meandering, sometimes narrow path through some fascinating rooms and narrow passages and explains what you are a looking at along the way. The lighting is dim, and it’s extremely humid …it’s a cave after all. Beautiful features at every stop and turn. Lots of railings to steady yourself, but there are a lot of very narrow passages with very low overhead so you do have to be careful. It’s OK for children…probably easier than tall adults.

Really fun summer walking tour. Our guide Faith was excellent, friendly, knowledgeable, and funny. The tour was a little muddy, with a few slippery bits and some squeezes and ducking, so wear appropriate shoes, and I recommend you get over your pride and wear the offered hardhats because nearly everyone on the tour bumped their head at least once. Caves themselves were really cool and well worth the price of admission, as well as worth seeing even if you have already seen the other caves in the area or other places like Colorado.

Dear Isaac's Mom, Isaac asked us to share a review so that you would know he was alive and doing well. My wife and I are pleased to be able to report that your 7-foot-tall bouncing boy is alive and seems well. He provided us with an excellent tour of the cave system and answered questions about the history of the geologic formations, the mineral and stone that surrounded the cave, the history of the cave and its ownership. In more serious moments, he also shared myths, legends, and ghost stories which are incredible to hear while standing underground in a cave! I would note a minor concern that he really seems to enjoy diving into holes and disappearing, but it does seem to suit his day job. Hearing his laughter echo from the darkness of the hole he dived headfirst into was a bit anxiety inducing. It was a relief to watch him come back out, also head first. The small group of 7 or so found ourselves giggling as we watched him shimmy his way back up and out of that hole! It was a fun experience to share the tour with a group of strangers, and we even did a bit of math homework trying to figure out how old particular sections of the cave were. First time in a while I've felt young, I'll say that. If I had friends who liked going underground, hearing a bit of story and seeing some beautiful (and strange) scenery, I'd ask Isaac to give us another tour. Thankfully for my claustrophobia, only my wife enjoys it. We'll be back again and looking forward to it!

That was an amazing adventure to get the excursion to the covern. The guide young woman (unfortunately, I don't remember her name, something like Gigi) was very professional and kind to excursants, and my son, who has autism particulary. She even slided into the hole in the rock and came back. I put 5-star to her!

Our guide, Faith, was absolutely fantastic. She gave us lots of great information. Looove the helactites!

for the price was worth the tour. guide was knowledgeable, informative and entertaining. lights wouldn't work in one area, took away a star for that

Excellent place. Be prepared to get your shoes dirty.

It was a great experience, faith did an exceptional job as a tour guild for the cavern. Special shout out to Natalie for the help with a problem that occurred, she was amazing and handled the situation perfectly. She is beyond amazing and goes above and beyond when it comes to customer service. I would recommend this place to anyone who is curious about caves and anyone that is passing through Angel’s Camp, California and wants to go on a little adventure. This place is a blast! Thank you Natalie and Faith for the amazing time.

At first I thought it wasn't going to be that great my kids tend to complain sometimes and boy was I wrong this was a great choice I didn't hear one complaint the whole time from my kids the tour guide was awesome inside the cave was nice and cool as it was extremely hot outside this was a blessing he was neat to hear the history of the cave and what took place inside I recommend this to anyone young and old as long as you can stoop and squeeze through certain areas cuz there are areas that aren't widely open and you have to squeeze through I'm a big guy and I was able to make it through so don't worry

Great family adventure. We went on a school field trip. The guide was knowledgeable and friendly. There were some tight spots and one kid had a panic and subsequent asthma attack.

Great place to visit. Highly recommended. I took my two boys ages 9 and 12. They had great time and received some history too!!

This was a great tour and experience. Our guide was great and had all the cave jokes possible. Absolutely stunning formations. We did the walking tour but definitely going back for the 4hr Middle Earth tour next!!

This cave is a little out of the way hence much less crowded than the other cave tours in the area. No reservations needed. There is a short quarter mile walk to the entrance of the cavern which is partially shaded. Our guide went over the history of the cave and pointed out interesting formations. We took one of the last tours of the day and that could be why it felt a little rushed.

First, the constructive criticism... The website and other reading material (including anything on site) really don't prepare you for how physically involved this is. You may think, "Duh? It's a cave?" but there are people who read the website, see that they only recommend tennis shoes (instead of requiring them) and they don't give any warning whatsoever about the bending and twisting and kneeling you're expected to do while walking on wet and slippery ground the entire time so they'll bring people that are unable to do those things... Only for them to have to back out once you're there. And they will have to make that decision for themselves. The tour guide won't, even though they really should for everyone's health and safety. One of the members of our group made it the 1/4 mile walk to the cave entrance before the tour guide warned us of the physical expectations and what to expect. The member of our group ultimately decided to forgo the tour, which left him to walk the 1/4 mile back to the building alone. It was really disheartening. However, it was the right decision. There is a 0% chance he would have been able to do the tour. They did give him a refund on his tour, which is nice but doesn't make up for anything. BUT - Assuming you're a healthy, able-bodied person, this is probably the most interesting cave I've ever been in. The history behind it really makes it what it is (I don't want to spoil anything so I won't elaborate). Of course it's beautiful. Don't think I'm inferring otherwise. The history merely illuminates the natural beauty. It's also a novice level tour. My children completed it without an issue. It takes about an hour to get through it. The tour guide definitely knows his stuff. He's a local guy with a passion for caves and it's extremely apparent. The tour wouldn't have been what it was without him. The panning was a big hit with the kids and the gift shop was simple yet had anything you'd need. There are plenty of clean bathrooms to use and the drive there is BEAUTIFUL. Be prepared for no cell service for a good while. This was a fun, unexpected adventure that was added to the California trip and I'm stoked I got to experience it. I highly recommend it for (healthy, able-bodied people)! I think that's enough rambling, lol.

This was such a nice place to visit. I brought my 12 year old daughter here to explore the caverns! Price was great! we got all signed up for the next avail tour. We had a little time so we had a picnic at one of the picnic tables. The souvenir shop had a lot of cool cave related things to purchase so we picked up a few items. The walk to the cave was nice! it was warm out but I knew the caves would be colder so I brought a sweater just in case... I forget the temp inside the cave but its much cooler and consistent than the heat outside. I didn't really need the sweater! Inside the caves were great! We learned a lot thanks to the wonderful tour guide.. I think her name was Sigg? I could be mistaken! All in all we had fun! I plan on visiting soon with more family!

I have been to California Caverns several times, but took my niece who has never been. We first went to Murphy's and she enjoyed splashing around in parks creek, checked out the town and had lunch at Firewood, which I highly recommend. We then drove to the caverns and we were the last tour, which ended up to be just my niece , me and the guide. Enjoyed the cool air of the cavern.

This is a real gem. I highly recommended visiting this unique cave system. We went on a Thursday. It was quiet and the temperatures outside were mild. My wife and I were the only 2, plus our 2 kids. The staff were all super cool and knowledgeable. The cave tour is about a 1/4 mile from the large parking area and main building. It is on a well maintained path through some countryside. One at the cave you will be greeted by a wonderful rush of cool air. The guide will explain history and local landmarks at the entrance and along the tour. We brought our 2 young kids. The kids loved it but we did carry them the whole time for safety and courtesy to the delicate cave structures. The rooms are fabulous and huge! There were a few sort of tight spots but we crouched a bit and made it through easily. 10/10 memorable experience and for the price it is seriously a no-brainer.

We enjoyed the walking tour, an easy, historic and humorous tour of the caverns. If ever passing through CA again would like to try the longer expeditions exploring deeper into the caves. The stalagmite formations were fascinating. And our tour guide was great!

It was a great experience. This is the place to take the kids! We had a very nice tour guide who took us about a 1/2 mile into the cave. At first we walked about a 1/4 of a mile to the caves entrance. Its always 53 degrees inside our tour guide said. He was very knowledgeable. They have a very nice and fair priced gift store clean restrooms and lots of parking. Cave City / California Caverns is located at 9565 Cave City Rd. Mountain Ranch, California 95246. They are open fron 10:00 - 5:00 Wed. through Sun. They are closed Mon. and Tues. I recommend wearing trainer shoes(sneakers), boots or shoes with a good sole because its wet and slippery. Bring a hoodie or light jacket (even if its real hot outside) because its cold down there

Really nice cavern! Cool story! It's overflowing with water for winter, so it may be closed during that season! They have some special extended adventure sightseeing option which involves going deeper and seeing much more! But it costs about 100$ per person Parking space outside is fairly good, they have a small shop with souvenirs, water and some snacks too Overall very positive experience