Had a great time with my wife and some friends in the Crystal Cave tour. We bought tickets ahead of time online. It's a good idea to do so because they sell out fast. When you arrive to the location they have a little cabin where you can pick up your tickets. Once it's your groups turn to go up they over some ground rules and then they make you sanitize your shoes on this weird Matt. The tour guide was great and we learned a lot in the process. It was pretty amazing and we had a great time. Definitely worth a try if you're in town. read more

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This is a review for the Adventure Tour, or Wild Tour: http://www.sequoiahistory.org/default.asp?contentid=633 As I saw that there was exactly 1 review about this tour, I'll try to write as detailed as possible. This is the kind of tour that you do need to be well-prepared. Let me start with the essential information: - Booking the tour: You do need to book in advance. They only have 12 tours a year, each tour limits to 6 visitors. We booked a week in advance. our tour had 5 visitors, and 2 tour guides. Yes...that many tour guides for that few visitors! Only one tour/week each Saturday at 2pm. - Time: Leave plenty of time for driving there. I've heard the wait at the park entrance could be 1-2 hours long and a couple in my group almost missed the tour. It's best to come to the park before 10am, do some hike inside the park, and come to the cave 30 minutes before the tour starts. - Attire: Dress in layers. And tight old clothes! I went the weekend of July 4, so it was hot outside the cave. You will walk 0.5 miles downhill to the cave entrance and will have to walk back uphill. It makes sense to wear long tight pants and looseTshirt, and bring long sleeve tight Tshirt with you to put on at the cave entrance. Note that you must not wear belt, so make sure your pants fit well and won't come off when you crawl in the cave. Yes...they may come off easily...imagine at some point you will have to crawl through very tight tunnel using only the movement of your feet. So...you may get through the tunnel and your clothes may decide to stay :) Oh and please don't wear anything else other than clothes and shoes. Watch/jewelry/wallet/cellphone...better keep in our car. You can bring disposable camera and the tour guide will keep it for you in their fanny pack. - You must be fit. No joke about this. Must not be afraid of height. Must not be 30 pounds or more overweight. Must be less than 45 inches around anywhere in your body. Must be able to lift yourself up using your arms (sometimes just 1 arm) or legs (most of the time just 1 leg). - And last, but not less important, you must be able to hold your pee for at least 2 hours :) Umm ok...so now you're ready. Let's get started. You will meet 1 tour guide with your group at the bookstore. She will lead you down the trail to the cave entrance. This 0.5 mile trail is fun by itself. You will see some cascading waterfalls along the way. At the cave entrance, the group will meet the other tour guide. They will fit your helmet, gloves, knee pads, elbow pads. Make sure they really fit, or they may slip off while you're sliding through tiny spaces and you will get bruise and scratches. At the start of the tour, they will have a short training where you crawl through a small tunnel and climb down a tiny hole. Once you're ready, here's the fun! At first you will walk through the paved walkway through the part of the cave where the normal tours do. After that part, they will lead you to the parts of the cave that not many knows. The first half of the tour will be in one part of the cave that was form by river going through it. After that we go back to the entrance and take a break, and enter another part of the cave. Below are some highlights of the tour: - Chimney passage: Yeah...I can't remember exactly what the name of this passage is, but you will climb it like you climb a chimney. Imagine 2 vertical cliffs about 2-3 feet apart, with a drop of 10-15 feet. You will climb pass that part. This is how you do it: press your feet against 1 cliff, and press your butt against the other cliff, and slowly move side-way. AND don't look down OMG OMG!!! - Ok...now you pass that part. Take a deep breath. And be scared again. There are tiny descending holes that you have to go head-first, using your hands to pull yourself through. There are tiny downhill tunnels that you have to lie flat on your belly and slide down without knowing where it takes you. There are tight places where you have to struggle hard to squeeze yourself through. It's a huge advantage to be tiny and flat here. - At some point the tour guides will ask you to turn the headlamps off. You will experience real darkness. You won't see anything. Complete darkness. And silence. And you know what scary at that point? When you turn the light back on, you don't see anyone else. You're left there alone! JK...that didn't happen. But that was exactly what I was thinking in the dark. - It'd be very unfair if I don't mention the tour guides. They are extremely important! Each tour guide will lead 2-3 visitors. Try to observe their movement, and you'll be fine. Observe where they put their feet, how they change position, how to get through a place, whether they go head-first or feet-first... Being observant is key here. If you're not sure where to put your feet or how to carry on, just ask. The tour guides are very passionate about caving and very knowledgeable. read more

Definitely would recommend going on the discovery tour because it's more of a dark cave experience with only flashlights and there is a part in the cave where everyone turns off the flashlights and sit/stand in the dark to listen to the water echoing through the cave. It's kind of scary but a neat experience at the same time. It was more of a small group tour, so we got to go over more information and questions with our guide. If you've been to another cave before make sure you don't wear the same shoes or clothes. The cave tours are only available for a short time I believe it's June, July and August but check the website when you plan your trip. Also the half mile walk down to the cave is all down hill with 4 areas of stairs but going back up is tough after. Would recommend a walking stick to help you walk. You can leave it at the cave entrance So when your done with the cave you can use it to walk back up the mountain. read more

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Crystal Cave is very popular- keep this in mind. On a weekend or summer day, you might need to buy your tickets at 10 a.m. to attend a tour three hours later as we did. Once you complete the tour, you will see it was worth it. Crystal Cave limits the number of visitors which makes it more enjoyable for all. I'd rather have to wait doing a hike than go immediately and not be able to see or hear everything. The tour guide was knowledge and open to questions. Arrive no later than 9 a.m. at Sequoia National Park if you want to do the first tour. However, it's a great idea to tour the cave in the middle of the day when it may be too hot for long hikes because the cave is a cool 50 degrees inside. Make sure you take an outfit that has never been in another cave and you are good to go. It was well worth the $15 entry fee. read more

I love caves! It is a bit of a walk to get to the mouth of the cave from the parking lot, but it is by no means strenuous. My 3.5 walked the whole way if that says anything. Definitely buy your tickets early in the day, we stopped at the Foothills visitor center at 10 a.m. and were only able to get 4 p.m. tickets. You can only get tickets at Foothills or Lodgepole so plan ahead. Bring a sweater...hubby said it was fine in shorts and a t-shirt, but I was very glad to have on long pants and a sweatshirt. We also used bug spray, but didn't notice any mosquitos. If you are traveling with small children, they don't allow framed backpacks, but our Ergo was fine. You can do the hike down to the cave with a framed backpack, but have to leave them outside of the cave. To the folks in front of us on the tour who kept touching the cave...my 3.5 year old understood the rule not to touch anything. read more

First off...Crystal Cave is awesome, amaze-balls awesome. Our tour guide was so enthusiastic and informative and made the experience really special. I forgot to get her name, but hopefully all the guides are as good as she was. I'm docking a star because the man selling tickets at the visitor center had never visited the cave and was reading off a sheet when we asked questions about the cave tour. Since the cave is such a popular destination for visitors and they sell tickets specifically for it, I feel like the people selling the tickets should visit the cave at least once as part of their orientation. It would make for a better customer service experience and prevent the spread of misinformation by employees. When asked if the pathway to the cave was paved or not, the ticket seller said it was unpaved. The pathway actually was paved and this was one of the deciding factors for some of our party members not to visit the cave. Anyways, back to the rest of the review. You need to buy tickets in advance, either online at recreation.gov or day of at a visitor center. After securing tickets you drive about 20 minutes from the giant forest area and reach a parking lot. Please pay attention to the times so you don't miss your tour. Once checked-in you listen to a little talk before disinfecting your shoes to prevent the spread of white-nose fungus to the bats (you'll be fine if you're scared of bats, they're more scared of you and you won't see them). The tour through the cave is amazing and you visit three large caverns as you move through the cave system. The guide will talk about the history of the cave and the geological aspects of crystal cave. The tour lasts about 45 minutes inside the cave. You may want to bring a small flashlight with you for your visit, but it isn't required. Nearby the entrance of the cave there is also a beautiful waterfall you can visit. Overall this was one of my favorite parts of visiting Sequoia National Park!! read more

This place is not closed. Like many things in Sequoia National Park (including the road to the cave), it is open half of the year around the warm summer months. As my first visit to a cave, I stuck with the basic tour. I guess as caves go, this one is pretty nice with numerous styles and patterns of calcium formations, polished marble from the water runoff, and some large rooms. It seems wrong to be in there and even worse to pave the cave for tourists. Being in the cave is surreal enough without having a concrete path similar to waiting in line at Disneyland. Tickets are sold at the Foothills Visitor Center and the Lodgepole Visitor Center one day prior or day of the tour date. The start time of the tour is rather confusing because it doesn't include the time to walk from the parking lot to the cave entrance. The tour gathers 30-minutes prior to the tour time. So really, a 2:00P tour starts at 1:30P in the parking lot. Allocate 3 to 4 hours to take the 50-minute basic tour. At a fast pace, it took 15-minutes to walk from the cave up to the parking lot. It took 25-minutes to drive from the cave parking lot to the Giant Forest Museum. The road gets bumpy so raise the hydraulics if you have a low rider. The #1 item on the threat down: BEARS! The parking lot is in an active bear area. There are plenty of sharable bear lockers available. read more

Bought our tickets at Lodgepole and was told that there were road delays due to construction so to allow extra time to get to the caves. Not a problem. We left straight away and got to the entrance as they were admitting people for the tour before ours (the 2 o'clock and we were part of the 3 o'clock). The employee asked if we wanted to join that tour since they had extra space, which was super nice of her The walk down to the cave was easy peasy. We all trapsed down, laughing and chatting... the tour was interesting and the cave was not cold at all (felt like AC after being in the heat all day). The worst part of this whole adventure was the walk back up to the parking lot after the tour. It was awful. Granted my boyfriend and I are carrying some extra weight and we come from a place very close to sea level, but hiking back up, at over 6000 ft above sea level felt like death. My heart was pounding and it was difficult to catch my breath. We decided to take it nice and slow, and to rest whenever either of us needed it, and eventually we made it back. Bring plenty of water. I brought my refillable bottle thinking they had a refilling station and they didnt. We ended up having to purchase water at $1.62 a bottle. read more

It was amazing. The only thing I would suggest is an age minimum and maximum. Age minimum due to the steep trail down and because a crying child in the cave would ruin everyone's day. An age maximum because it's a difficult climb back up. While we were there, 2 elderly ppl had to be rescued. Otherwise, I highly recommend it. read more

Our family took a trip to Sequoia National Forest to celebrate my sisters 30th birthday and we did the Crystal Cave Tour. Omg! It was pretty amazing! It's a bit of a drive into the park, but so worth it! There is a 1/2 mile hike down to the Cave which is nice with a little water fall. Our tour guide was "Gordo" I believe. It seemed to go by pretty quick though. But it's beautiful inside! Great for kids too! Took my almost 4 year old daughter and she did great! We went mid October and the weather was great! Chilly in the Cave but felt good. You may see a snake along the way. I highly recommend this experience! read more

Crystal Cave - Beautiful!! Natural beauty! - Parks Near Me - Three Rivers, California

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Warning buy your tickets at the visitors center BEFORE you arrive at the cave parking lot. Luckily we have kids with better eyesight than the old man. Anyway $15 a Person is not bad but be prepared, this is not the ultimate price. You arrive at the parking lot at least 30 minutes prior to your tour as you have a steep downhill walk to the cave. Tour is pretty lame, short and not a lot to see after the first room but worth it for first timers. NOW you exit and begin a 30 minute cardiac stressing, stroke inducing hike up to the parking lot. Now as much as I was sweating and praying for someone with an oxygen tank I could borrow It was a magnificent view all the way up. Actually I did think it maybe my last view before my demise but almost Worth the pain. Wouldn't do it again but for people in decent shape not much of a problem even with the altitude. read more

I'd take this tour again... it was interesting to see how time can be measured by just looking at how tall or big a rock formation is. Pretty cool, if you ask me. Our guide was pretty chill ( even though it was the first tour in the morning.) The hike back up the hill to the parking area is ridiculous... they weren't kidding when they said it was strenuous. Make sure to wear comfortable shoes and to bring a sweater or jacket because it gets cold in 'dem caves. read more

BUY TICKETS ONLINE! Highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting the Sequoias, that way you are able to go to one of the highest points (moro rock) and the lowest point This is a once in a lifetime experience, or at least one of the most unique experiences out there. It's like travelling to a whole new planet... 1) buy tickets online! They are usually booked (especially over the weekend) so don't take any chances on buying them the same day. 2)ARRIVE ON TIME (aim to be at the parking lot at least 15 minutes before your scheduled time so you can find parking/go to the restroom etc) They are not kidding when they are strict on arriving on time ... online it says it takes an hour to get to the caves from the visitor center...but there's always traffic/construction etc. 3) Book the discovery tour! you get to go through the cave twice...once in the dark (with flashlights they provide) and another time but this time with the lights turned on 4)bring a jacket! it gets COLD...especially when you are in there for 1+ hour 5)it does get a little slippery...so hold on to the railings! and wear sensible shoes 6)bring water! you are able to bring water into the cave...plus you'll want water for the trek back up 7) there is a bit of a walk from the parking lot to the cave, going there is no problem...since it's downhill but coming up, I would def stop and take breaks (especially since it is higher elevation) and while you are stopped look around and take pictures! Overall it was a super amazing experience. Our tour guide was super friendly and knowledgeable (thanks Bre!) read more

Super awesome experience and our tour guide Brian was great. I would recommend this to anyone but yes do buy your tickets online it makes things so much easier and leaves you with less worry!!! read more

Crystal Cave - Parks Near Me - Three Rivers, California

This was one of the highlights of my trip to Sequoia National Park. It was a wonderful tour of a cave. You do need to make sure to buy tickets ahead of time. Also, there were a TON of mosquitoes in the parking lot and my friend had about 10 bites before we were able to spray him with bug spray. I didn't realize the "walk" down to the cave is quite a bit of a steep hike down and back up. I needed several rests on the way back up, but I'm a little out of shape. Totally worth the hike though. The tour was fantastic, our tour guide was informative and easily kept the attention of everyone in the large group. It was really beautiful inside and when they turned off the lights it was such a unique sensation to be in true total darkness. If you are in the area, I would highly recommend this tour. read more

The cost for one adult is $16. Make sure to buy them hours in advance, the tours filled up quickly. The hike down to the cave is expected to be 15 minutes. It is a steep downhill with railings and steps. The rock fall zones should be taken very seriously, large pieces actually crumbled down and fell onto the trail before us. Uphill is therefore more tiring and long but the mountains, trees and waterfalls are a gorgeous sight. There are a few places where you can stop to take a break (and pictures). The tour of the cave itself is around half and hour. The crystal formations are stunning and the underground creek makes beautiful sounds inside. Our tour guide Gordon seemed to be in a hurry though, which was a pain. read more

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I give 2 stars due to the tour guide- Allison (otherwise this would've been 4 stars). I have been through 3 caves prior to crystal cave. In each one, the tour guide was great in providing science-y tid-bits of information regarding the formations, names, minerals, common names etc. I kept my mouth shut for the majority of the tour and then near the end I finally asked a question to which point the guide went into a little bit of a stalagmite, stalactite, column, cave bacon, etc. I asked about the river flowing through the cave amongst some other things. The guide did go briefly into the history of this particular cave and gave some good demos (by turning off all the lights), but every cave tour should do this. Very MINIMAL talk about bats, which is unfortunate as I felt this was a cool highlight of this particular cave prior to taking the tour. YOU don't see any bats...In the biggest room you visit, the tour guide said the bats are actually far away and the noise from our group doesn't even go near them. I would've like more fun facts on this tour about this particular cave than what was provided. If you've never been in a cave, this cave is an impressive one to visit. It takes about 45mins-1 hr 20 minutes drive time, depending on how fast you drive around the 13 hair-pin turns from the main park gate using generals highway. Inside the cave it's always 50 degrees so wear a jacket! read more

Awesome, fun experience! My kids loved it! So beautiful inside and amazing. To think there are such amazing nature made formations right beneath our feet! Born and raised in California and never knew these existed here in my own home state!! It's not open all year round so check the website for availability before heading out here. It's best to purchase tickets in advance online because once you're in the park, the only way to purchase is at the visitor center by the entrance of the park. Tours fill up so when you purchase online you are able to see how many spaces are available for each specific tour time and date. The road down to the caves can be rough so drive slowly! The hike down to the cave from the parking lot was not a bad trek but you do go aways down, so remember you must come back up! Now THAT was a hike! Had to take a few stops along the way to catch my breath. The cave tour was fun and our tour guide did a good job in telling us about the formations and some history about the cave. My favorite part of the tour is when we were deep in the cave and they turned the lights off! I've never experienced such pitch black darkness! No light whatsoever! Well, except for those few people that had to be told several times to turn off their camera and shut off those phones! But I guess there's always that one person in a group! Overall, the kids and I really enjoyed our adventure! read more

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This place is amazing!! But take note - NOT a good idea if you have mobility issues. I'm questioning if it's a good idea to bring small kids for a couple of reasons. For one, the trail can become real narrow and it's all downhill. You can't do this trail with a wheelchair or a stroller. There are sections of stairs. There are also spots marked that indicate high danger of rock slide. There are gorgeous rock formations and waterfalls hugged by a lot of poison oak. Once inside the cave, you can not touch anything. Body oils from fingers will ruin the cave. Inside the cave it is cold. Layer up. At first it can feel refreshing and then, it is too cold. Some parts of the cave are really narrow. If you are claustrophobic, this might not be a fun activity. The tour goes by too quick. I feel like pictures do not do it justice. It's a place to see at least once. The hike back is (of course) all uphill. I found it a great time to stop and take pictures of the waterfalls and views. read more

We went on the tour of this cave while at Sequoia National Park. The drive to the cave is pretty slow going because it winds through switchbacks, and you can't buy tickets at the entrance, so plan ahead! Also, the walk from the parking down to the entrance of the cave is not easy. People who are not fully in shape to hike a mile(?) down (and back up) a mountain should not do this tour. That said, the tour itself was nice. The water rushing over the rocks made spaces that looked like the most luxurious nature-made (freezing cold) bath tubs. The rock formations were pretty. The complete darkness of the inter cave was fun in a sensory-deprivation way. Worth doing, but not worth repeating more than once. read more

This review is for the Crystal Cave Tour that you can do in the Sequoia National Park. Besides looking at all the giant redwoods (which are awesome). You can pay to go on this tour. It was about 46.00 for three adults and two children. Children four and under are free. This is in addition to the fee you pay to enter the park and see the redwoods and stuff. I highly recommend seeing the giant redwoods. I gave the cave tour an average rating because I did enjoy looking at the caves. What I DID NOT enjoy was the Tour Guide "Alex". A bearded hippie, no older than 25, that has seen the world and is better than everybody. First of all, I got the impression that he did not like to have kids on the tour. He was rude and snapped at people throughout the tour. Our kids were 4 and 5 and they were very well behaved. Somehow, I believe they still really annoyed him. He assigned some 12 year old kid to hold the flashlight as the last person and spent the whole time snapping at him and telling him he wasn't doing it right. He snapped at other people for using their own flashlights. If this was a problem, maybe he should have mentioned it at the beginning. You would think this is a joke but I am not kidding. Although I enjoyed the cave, I was thouroughly annoyed by the time it ended. WE WENT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SUMMER. AT THE END OF JULY. REMEMBER TWO THINGS IF YOU ARE DOING THIS TOUR. A SWEATSHIRT FOR WHEN YOU ARE IN THE CAVES AND SOME KIND OF BUG REPELLENT ("OFF" OR SOMETHING SIMILIAR). THE MOSQUITOS WERE OFF THE HOOK. NOBODY ESCAPED WITHOUT AT LEAST FOUR BITES. IF YOU ARE ELDERLY OR VERY OVERWEIGHT, A WORD OF CAUTION, THE WALK TO AND FROM THE CAVES IS STRENUOUS. read more

Our tour guide, Maude, was awesome! She was very informative and funny. This was my first time being in an actual cave and I had a great experience. Purchasing the tickets online beforehand was a breeze. We printed out the "Tour Reservation Details" from the email confirmation and brought it on the day of. Once you get there, you can bring the "Tour Reservation Details" printout to the bookstore to get the physical copy of the tickets before lining up and sanitizing your shoes. Make sure to arrive early, the drive there may take some time. Also be sure to leave any backpacks, fanny packs, and purse in your car. They do not allow it in the cave. If you bring it, they require you to place it on the bench right outside the cave. Some walkway in the cave gets really narrow so that is why they do now allow bulky items. They also have bear boxes on site for any food you have in your car; you never know when a bear might show up. I would recommend bringing water because the walk from the entrance to the cave is a little far and depending on the time of the day it might get really hot. If you forget to bring water, they sell cold water bottles for $1.50 at the bookstore. Also, recommend bringing in a light jacket because it might get cold for some people. Once you get close to the entrance of the cave, there is a pretty waterfall. Overall, I had a wonderful experience! Highly recommend to everyone, especially if you've never been in a cave before. read more

Has to be the worst tour of a cave I have ever been on. #1. The tour guide begins talking before the people in the back even make it to that part of the cave. #2. When he points out a stalagtite he uses his flashlight. The problem is you can't see the light from his flashlight, what he really needs is a red laser pointer. #3. No cute stories or interesting facts along the way...he talks way too much about the chemistry of forming the crystals...there is so much to improve upon. I suggest they visit other cave tours to get a feel for what makes for a good cave story. Also, this tour could have had better lighting so you could see the formations. The only redeeming quality of this cave is the size of it and the cool walk down to it....get to see a waterfall. read more

The hike was beautiful and the cave was awesome!!!! But our tour guide Nolan was AMAZING!!! Very knowledgeable, fun, and has a great attitude.... Thanks buddy boy!! read more

The cave is beautiful and very chilly (which is nice after the sweltering heat on the hike down to the cave). But the tour group we were in was HUGE, so that kind of sucked. Especially since the group seemed to contain an extremely high number of crying children, and loud, unruly children, and loud, obnoxious adults, and people who refused to keep up with the group which bogged the whole tour down, and...well, you get the idea. It kind of ruined the experience, to be honest. Otherwise, I would have given this place 4 or 5 stars. read more

Don't miss if you are interested in caves or think you might be. This is a very nice cave, and we have been to several (Boyden Cave, Mercer Caverns, California Caverns, etc.). The cave is pretty large and has some nice features. The tour guide was very chatty but maybe a bit too impressed with himself. I guess it is the "I just got out of college and know everything" phase, but he was enthusiastic, so we gave him a pass. A lot more standing around and listening than usual, but if you haven't heard it before, it would be informative. The hike down to the cave and back up is pretty steep, but if you take your time you can probably make it if you can do an easy 2-3 mile hike (it takes a similar amount of effort). It was buggy in September, so apply your favorite bug repellent. The road was slow, twisty and covered in fresh gravel, so allow plenty of time. read more

Went to Crystal cave on 5/16/2015 1pm tour. Fantastic. But be prepared for the walk back up hill ugh.!!!! On the way out found a bag of food and a backpack on the side of the road. No ID. Food scattered and opened so the food was thrown away to avoid bears or other animals getting to it. Any one lose a backpack? read more

It was great fun exploring the Crystal Caves, lots of ooing and awing from the kids as well as adults. It is quite a drive to get to it-35 mins from the cave sign. Once your tour group goes it's a walk down a loooong, narrow path, no railings, but with a gorgeous view esp of a waterfall and river right there. It is cold in the cave so bring a jacket. Our guide, Nathan, did a great job talking about the cave and its history, and answered lots of questions. He had a great sense of humor! The cave itself has amazing formations to see. The tour is about 30 mins. The walk back up the hill was very steep, so take your time as needed. read more

So epic! Definitely worth doing. You'll want to get to the information booth early in the morning to book your tour. The tickets sell out fast. read more

Super cool experience, the walk down is a piece of cake as long as you watch your step. The hike back is a little challenging but doable. The view there and back is beautiful, lots of butterflies everywhere. The waterfalls are so refreshing, not recommended for people who have trouble walking fast. The cave itself was breathtaking, it's nice and cool inside asks just amazing, didn't see any bats and they mentioned we probably wouldn't. Great place to visit while at the Sequoias,well worth the money read more

Absolutely worth every penny, the inside of the caves are spectacular. The tour guide Steve did a great job answering questions and talking about the history of the cave. I see a couple people have put on here that they were put out about not being able to buy tickets at the cave entrance, that's true you must by them in Advance. Also the hike from the parking lot down to the cave drops 300 feet in elevation and is about a half a mile long so if you're not used to hiking you're going to have to take your time. I would recommend this for all ages that are able to hike down to it. The inside of the cave is about 50°, I brought a sweater but didn't need it after my hike down it was nice and refreshing. read more

These caves are amazing! We return almost every summed because it is impossible to get tired of seeing such incredible formations. Beautiful scenery along the trail also. read more

Hi, Thus caves had their days, currently they don't worth the time, effort and money. The drive to the caves for 8 miles, 20 miles per hour was a lot. Go enjoy the Sequoya and don't mind the caves, other caves I have been are much better and you can't even compare, the tour guide spoke to us like little children. Some lady had to be taken away by ambulance, so think again before going, much more and better to do in the park. read more

I would highly recommend it. You need to buy tickets either online or at a camp store. The drive to the parking lot from the main road is about 20 minutes which due to the narrow winding roads is probably about a 5 mile road but it will take about 20 minutes to get to the trailhead for the tour. Also be sure to be at the trailhead 15 minutes early as you will be greeted by a surly guide who will give you a safety talk. If you miss the talk, you cannot walk and you're out the money as well. The walk down is an easy half mile downhill walk. Do not bring anything other than a jacket and some water otherwise you will have said surly park person tell you that you can't take a backpack inside the cave. They will let you leave you backpack outside the cave, however. Once you are down to the cave entrance, you are greeted by an edgy guide who will give you more safety stuff. I will not talk about the inside of the cave other than you need to go to experience it. I will say that be careful not to touch or breathe on any of the rock stuff in the cave otherwise face the wrath of the edgy guide. Once you are done with the tour, be ready for some hill climbing as the half mile downhill is now a half mile uphill. I am not a svelt person so I mandated that my son carry me or he's out of the will. He didn't buy it, unfortunately. I gave it a 4 star as the staff was not touchy feely but it was well worth it. You have to go. read more

Great experience! The guide was a geologist and very knowledgeable. My first exposure to a marble cave! Be prepared for a 1/2 mile hike steeply downhill to get to the entrance (and of course the steep climb back)! read more

DO NOT BUY YOUR TICKET THROUGH RECREATION.GOV! We ran into some serious car troubles while camping and tried to follow the instructions on our reservation confirmation to call and change our reservation, but THERE IS NO SERVICE ANYWHERE IN THE PARK! Neither recreation.gov or Crystal Caves would make accommodations for our family of 11, but they had no problem taking our $150+ in tickets. We only wanted to reschedule our tour. Recreation.gov had HORRIBLE customer service and there is no direct number to Crystal Cave to actually speak with anyone :( sad and unhappy camper! I suggest buying your ticket at one of the lodges! read more

Our family (kids aged 4 and 13 + us parents) loved this cave tour. We've been to a few other caves before, and the caves themselves were average (though we tend to think all caves are pretty cool). This was unique in the hike down -- a steep but only 1/2-mile downhill there, then uphill back, past a beautiful waterfall with area the kids could climb and multitudes of butterflies (we went on Labor Day) -- and our tour guide Katie O., who told a memorable/personal story about her father, a caver, and had a great deal of respect for and knowledge about the caves. Not for the physically unfit, claustrophobic (some slightly tight spaces and at one point they turned off all lights for a few minutes, which was very cool!) or for those who can't/don't want to have to carry their small kids back up the steep hike... :-) Tips: Book in advance for weekends/busier days, we bought online weeks before for the holiday weekend; our tour was sold out at least a day before if not more. Agree with advice of all others re planning extra time to get there and be prepared to put all of your "smellable" items into an unlocked bear box. Be prepared for temp changes (100 degrees in Three Rivers, 80 degrees on the hike down/up, 50 degrees in the cave!) read more

Skip it. I've been to a few caves in the Midwest (Cave of the Mounds being one of them -for context) and I was so not impressed with this one. $15 per person is pretty steep and the hike down is pretty treacherous (with the hike back UP being even worse!). We were there in July and the bugs were a big issue. The cave isn't even that cool. The best part of the tour was the stories our tour guide told. We had a cute young girl, who seemed very knowledgeable. If you do go on the tour, bring a jacket! If you are not traveling with children and will be there on a weekend I would definitely recommend the adult only tour which is the first of the day at 10 AM. Tickets sell out quickly and they only sell them the morning of, so get to the visitor's center when they open (8am). I actually don't think I would recommend this for kids for 3 reasons: the walk back up is really intense, there actually isn't much to look at, and you aren't supposed to TOUCH anything. Anyways, I guess I'm glad my $15 went to support the National Park but this tour was super lame. read more

This was a big disappointment. Unless you are a mind reader or you manage to get wifi in Sequoia you probably will end up angry, frustrated, and disappointed. The ranger at the visitor station blamed me for not knowing that I had to purchase tickets before trying to visit the cave. She insisted that I should have checked online to see what times were available, after I drove an hour (14 miles of winding mountain roads). I told her that the sign at the beginning of the road to the caves (45 minute drive) said that tickets could only be purchase at the forest hills visitor center. No other information, no other alternatives. Ever since the national and state parks have been turned over to private businesses has visiting them become a hassle--an expensive one. Tickets are $16 for less than an hour tour that is mired in annoyance and condescension. You'll need to work on your mind-reading skill to feel that the effort was worth the while. I certainly regretted it. Since the next tour was six hours later, and we did not want to make the hot, congested trip back up into the forest, we turned around and headed back home to L.A., but not before being blamed by the ranger for the nps lack of adequate communication. It's seems the visitor center could find a better way to deal with this recurrent problem. We ended up missing out on Grant's Grove and other sites because we were just too upset to continue forward. (BTW, did you know that Yosemite NP cannot use the name Ahwahnee anymore? It's owned by DNC, Delaware North Corp. Since they lost the booking contact, no one can use it. read more

Great time/family memory! Takes planning, some effort, and being a good sport...plan on driving awhile from the General's Hwy (25 minutes)...get ready to put forth effort walking up and down the hill getting to the cave, and be a good sport about being amazed once you take the tour!!! read more