Black Chasm Cavern

Alex was an amazing guide and very funny. It was my first time in a cave so very cool. I just wish it could have been longer.

I have been saying years how I was going to go take tour of the caverns!!! I mean really I’ve been in California all my life, and seems silly that here I am at the age of 40 and there’s still so much about my home state that I’m still getting to know for the very first time!
Well, what a delight to come here on a rainy day. I planned the whole trip out from Sacramento. We leisurely ate breakfast, took a lunch for my boys and I, and packed a few extra jackets for the trip and off we went!
Took a little over an hour to reach this area. Smooth drive, beautiful scenery! And voila! We found ourselves visiting this gem!
The drive up has you thinking, where am I going? Am I heading the right direction? You go up the hill and wind around to your destination on a bit of bumpy road. But once you arrive, there’s a nice building with a beautiful yellow fire truck sitting there waiting for your arrival. One picnic bench out front, so if you brought a lunch, I suggest eating it at the Indian Grinding Historical Park first than come here second.
On this particular day, it was down pouring rain so we just sat in the car to eat. Both places have well appointed bathrooms, so easy to have youngsters use the amenities before starting the actual event of being there.
After purchasing our tickets we stood outside for a little bit to wait with a few other people. The tour group before us was just finishing up. I felt so excited to finally be there! Our tour guide was Lindsey and she was a fun person to chat with.
When we finally made our way down the stairs and into the cavern opening, I was so in awe of the idea that just a little rain water that soaks through the soil and down into these underground caverns can make such amazing constructs! Lindsey gave us a quick explanation of all the sights we were seeing. I felt silly for not doing some research ahead of time, but this has definitely opened up a whole new world for me and my boys!
I felt we learned a lot that day. And it was such a delight to be there while we could. We took some great photos and found out about other caverns in the area. I felt so special that we were able to come and I could make that a memory with my boys.
Thank you Black Chasm Cavern for a fun filled, exciting afternoon!

The caves were beautiful! It’s one of the few caves in the world with Helictites, and they are gorgeous. Zion from the Matrix movie was modeled after studying this cave!

My kids (8 and 12) loved coming here. I was a little nervous about the tour because I’m claustrophobic but I was totally fine! It’s nice and cool in the cavern and it opens up once you go down the first set of stairs. It is so beautiful and magical inside the cavern. We were in awe! The gift shop is very nice and my kids really loved gemstone mining too. After our time here we stopped at the cute town of Volcano for a walking tour and for lunch. It was a great day trip!

Fun day trip but definitely plan for other things because the tour is short. Our tour guide was great and very knowledgable about the formations. The inside of the cave is quite a marvel and definitely unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I guess I was just expecting it to be bigger? You literally go down some stairs, walk around and then walk back up the stairs exiting out the entrance. Personally I think $ 15 is a bit much for what you get but nonetheless it was very pretty. Like I said make for other plans while you’re up there since the tour is short.

If I could give a zero I would. Michael the tour guide was so rude. We were added to a large group by the cashiers and Michael kept apologizing to other tourists about the «six extra people» for them not being able to see the formations. We were the «six extra people». In fact he did not even acknowledge us. Any questions were for the entire group. He apologized twice that I heard of. I wanted my money back because he ruined our experience. It’s not like we begged to be added to a group already at capacity. Because of Michael the tour guide, I will never come back to this cave ever again.

We visited these caverns on August 14^th, 2015. We got there at 10:15am not knowing that tours left on the hour every hour so we had to wait about 45 mins before our tour. They have a nice gift shop that we wandered around and an outdoor area with picnic benches so our kids (3&2) were able to run around and burn some energy before the tour. The tour began at 11am and our tour guide was great. She provided lots of background info and was very child friendly! The descent into the cavern was very steep but our kids handled it like champs! Once down into the main chambers the formations were incredible… so beautiful! The tour was 50 minutes, just long enough so as not to bore us or our kids. After the tour we let our 3 year old crack open a geode… it was such a fun experience! We will definitely be back!

I was hesitant at first because I’m claustrophobic and at the same time, afraid of heights as I was expecting near-​vertical drops inside caves and an 80-​foot drop plus another 60 feet into the underground lake which is 60 – 80 feet deep is no joke.
It was a guided tour and we were lucky to have such an eloquent and funny guide in the person of Roxanne. The tour was very lively and NOT boring. She is well informed on the subject and very accommodating to questions and with the other members of the tour.
For a first time on cave tour, I very much enjoyed it and looking forward to the other tours that they have.
Kudos to the very friendly staff of Black Chasm Cavern, with special mention to our guide, Roxanne.

Caves were awesome!!! I loved the many formations and especially the coolness of the cave:) tour guide Michelle was helpful and knowledgable. Great experience and fun!

Our guide Michelle led our small group on an extraordinary tour of this other-​worldly cave and did a fabulous job educating us about all the natural beauty around us. She was sensitive to the specific needs of individual guests and made sure we were comfortable and satisfied with the whole experience.
This walking tour is extremely low impact physically, but provides maximum wow factor, a spectacle for the senses. This was my first time in a cave, but others on the tour who had been in several caves throughout the country and around the world said this cave offered the most diverse scenery of all. Overall, awe-​inspiring and a «must see» in Gold Country.

Very nice cavern, totally recommend. My family enjoyed the trip, so as my 3.5 years old. He could walk on stairs with no problem. Guide tour was great, we wish it goes down even further, a great experience for children.

Had an excellent time at the Black Chasm Cavern with our tour guide, Lindsey! She was extremely informative and I was impressed with her interactions with my family. She really made our tour very enjoyable and interactive. We got to see lots of interesting formations. It was nice to have the kids feel apart of the action. Great time had by all in our group. Highly recommend it for a small family adventure. Do know that there are 3 sections that you get to look at and going in isn’t that bad, but leaving there is a lot of stairs to climb.
Thanks Lindsey for a fun time!
The staff in the shopping area were excellent as well!

Even if you’ve already been inside a cave or cavern, it’s still pretty neat to see all of these various rock formations. It’s pretty cool how nature works, sometimes. My favorite part was looking down, way down, and catching a glimpse of the blue lake at the bottom. Our guide, Mike, was very informative and nice and while it was very by the book, he was still great at his job. The stairs are pretty steep and very narrow so watch your head and NO touching! If you can, try to go on a tour with less people. I feel like a more intimate atmosphere (since you have to be very close to one another and everything is cramped and narrow) would be better. The gift shop is nice and the kid enjoyed sluicing (a large bag was $ 9) and he got some pretty cool gems out of it.

What a hit with kids! Lots of steps to climb on, great guides that are very patient, very affordable, the tour is a good hour, great well stocked gift shop, always open, rarely busy and we ended up having a private tour for our group. All the formations were explained and our tour guide was very knowledgable. This is such a great activity for families wanting something more for their children than some commercialized amusement park. It’s taking your family to the earth’s art gallery. I goofed up and forgot my camera but I’m certain photography is allowed.
After visiting this cavern I recommend watching the caves series of Planet Earth produced by the BBC. There is a series of documentary type movies that are amazing and it has such a great impact when your children have been to an actual cave.

Found this by accident when I saw a sign for a national landmark and made a quick decision to go explore. Accidentally found the gift shop and discovered they had a walking tour. It was $ 15 a person so why not?! It was worth the $ 15 for the experience, having never been in a cave. Easy to walk and we got a private tour because they were not busy. The whole tour was 25 minutes but we got tons of great photo ops. It was so pretty and sparkly. I wanted to touch everything and put it in my mouth… Word to the wise: this behavior is highly frowned upon as apparently it stunts the stalactites and causes them to discolor.

Fun and super cool! Just would have loved a little longer of a tour. Also, the gold panning wasn’t as cool as I remembered it from when I was a kid. The gemstone sift was kind of cool (my kid loved it and thats what matters most). I really liked the gift shop. Lots of cool things to look at and shop for.
The cave was AMAZING. The steep stairs were a bit intimidating and freaky. But the cave was BEAUTIFUL! I loved the sparkly minerals. I also liked how they beautifully lit the cave.
Such a fun little day getaway :)

Lucked out and visited on a slow day. We got a private tour from Alex as we were the only ones there. What a cool place — the cave was beautiful and Alex taught us a lot on the way. We had a great time and had a great tour guide.

If you haven’t seen caverns before, then this is pretty cool. As far as this cavern, compared to dozens of others I’ve visited, it’s about average. The 45 minute tour could easily be walked in less than 10. There are a few chambers to visit, the last being quite impressive, but it’s just not a big tour for the basic guided experience. My guess is that an extended tour would likely be pretty awesome, given the depth, and the water way down below. The guide was very nice, and had a good time.

What a unique and interesting place to check out and spend part of your day.
The drive from sacramento is beautiful with lots to stop and see on the way. Bring a picnic lunch and sit in the shade at the picnic benches in front of Black Chasm before you enter the caverns. There are bathrooms outside too.
The tours seem to leave every hour and more frequently if there are enough people. We printed out coupons ahead of time and got $ 1 off the tickets for an immediate tour. Our tour was pretty packed – over 20 people. If you can snag a tour with fewer people, consider yourself lucky because I would’ve preferred that for the 40 – 50 minute tour.
The tour guide was super informative and passionate about his workplace, he also encouraged questions throughout the tour. Be ready to walk down 165 steps down into an amazing wonder of our world. It is unlike anything we’d ever seen!
No food is allowed down below, as expected, but bring your camera for some cool pictures!
We really enjoyed our time here and will visit the other caves in the area. Check out their websites— you can get a free activity on your birthday, including ziplining, which is my plan for my day.

We had a fun afternoon at the Chasm!
The tour guides are great — knowledgeable, personable, and very patient with our large group of kids and corny grown-​up jokes. Lots of information about the formations.
The prices were reasonable. $ 15 for adults and $ 8 for kids, free tour on your birthday! The caverns are beautiful! They light the really cool stuff so you can get good photos. Then, after the tour, for about $ 7, you can «pan for gems.» While perhaps not realistic, it was super fun for the kids!
The chasm was immediately cool, as soon as we walked through the gate. Temps are in the 50s year round so bring long sleeves.
Parking seemed limited and I can see having difficulty parking on a busy day. The gift shop is a mix of cheesy tourist junk and informative books, videos, and real minerals. What we did see was also reasonably priced. You can get your kid out with a «precious souvie» for less than $ 7.