Cave Tours in Calaveras County, California

Calling all adventurous and curious travelers looking to experience an epic weekend of family travel! Head to Calaveras County, California, situated between Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe, to explore the region’s best caves.

Calaveras County boasts three primary caves open to the public: Moaning Caverns in Vallecito, California Cavern in Mountain Ranch, and Mercer Caverns in Murphys. All caves offer walking tours for visitors to experience the caverns up-close.

Moaning Caverns © Dave Bunnell

Moaning Caverns

The site of prehistoric Native groups, Moaning Caverns Adventure Parks’ cave once served as the burial site for these ancient peoples. Dating back more than 12,000 years ago, many artifacts have been discovered within this cave. Rediscovered in 1851 by gold miners, the cave was soon forgotten until the 1920s, when a spiral staircase was built for access into the cave. Since then, Moaning Caverns has been open to the public as a show cave.

The cave earns its name from the “moaning” sounds often heard by visitors as they walk through the caverns. The sound actually comes from water dripping into flowstone formations, and the echoes create an eerie sound as a result. With 144 stairs, accessing Moaning Caverns isn’t for the faint of heart. The caverns offer daily walking tours, $22 for those 12 years and older, $15 for those aged 2 to 11, and free for kids under 2.

California Cavern © Dave Bunnell

California Cavern

California Cavern has welcomed visitors since the 1850s, including notable figures like John Muir and Mark Twain. The cave once hosted weddings, church services, parties and court trials, but now serves as a public cave for visitors to explore.

The cavern includes a number of interesting features, such as the Council Chambers, a marble passageway with visible signatures from the 19^th century still legible on the walls, and the Cathedral Room, in which a calcite formation resembling strips of bacon hangs from the ceiling. Daily tours are on the hour and tickets are $16 for adults and $8.50 for children ages 6 to 12.

Mercer Caverns © Dave Bunnell

Mercer Caverns

Just a 40-minute drive from California Cavern lies Mercer Caverns, a series of caverns rediscovered during the Gold Rush by Walter J. Mercer, who opened the caves to public tours just two weeks upon its discovery.

Unlike the early visitors’ experiences using ladders, ropes and candles, visitors today can enjoy the modern touches of walkways, stairs and electric lighting to guide them through the chambers.

Interestingly enough, Mercer Caverns was found to hold the remains of members of the Mi-Wok tribe, who lived in the same area nearly 2,000 years ago. Mercer himself made this discovery with his friend.

The tour includes 440 steps with unique features like formations resembling a Shih Tzu, jellyfish and mermaid on display. Crystals known as aragonite flos ferri, also known as iron flowers, sparkle the cavern walls. Sturdy footwear is recommended as areas of the cave are tight and parts of the staircase are steep. Mercer Caverns is open daily, with the first tour departing 9:30 a.m. Tickets are $20 for those 13 and older and $13 for children ages 3–12.