lake shasta caverns

On this day Lake Shasta was 80 feet below normal which means extra walking to get to the boat. I paid $24.00 for 1 person. You walk down a very long hill to get to the catamaran which takes you on a 15-minute boat ride to the other side of the lake. Lake is quite calm and you can see 1 of the marinas in the distance. After de-boating you have to climb a very steep hill to get to the visitor center where you get on a bus. The bus ride takes you up a 17 percent incline, the steepest in the US to the cave entrance. This is not the natural entrance but one the owners blasted in the 1950's to make entry easier. Once inside the cave you see many fascinating formations. Stalactites, Stalagmites and many features named after food such as bacon and popcorn. There is water dripping everywhere - I recommend wearing a hat but no flashlights are required since there is lighting everywhere. Flash photography is allowed but I did not use it and my photos turned out surprisingly well. The Catherdral room is the most impressive, with a total height of 92 feet. Watch your head since there are some low ceilings and wear a jacket since the boat ride is breezy. If you come to this site make sure you are in good physical condition since you will go up or down a total of 10,000 steps on the tour! I am 50 and got winded after the first 30 minutes. No wheelchairs! Also the road from I-5 to the visitor center is very twisty so if you have a Class A motor home good luck! Looking at the work it is to see these caves I recommend Carslbad Caverns in New Mexico since they are much more accessible. But if you don't mind a good aerobic workout Lake Shasta Caverns are for you!

Went here on Mothers day last year at her choosing and we had a lot of fun. Alot of very interesting history shared w us throughout the day. There is alot if walking up stairs and not really wheelchair friendly but kids and adults alike seem to just love this place, I know we sure did !

This was an impromptu side trip on our way down to Pollock Pines for Thanksgiving. The day was beautiful and sunny. The road down to the Cavern office was long and winding. Definitely a road to take slowly. We were very happy we don't drive a van or camper. After a 3/4 mile hike to the boat, (the Lake is seriously low) and a boat ride across the lake, we boarded a bus to take us to the cavern mouth. (Remember, seriously low water table) Once inside you just take a deep breath of WOW! A well constructed tour, we were shown rooms demonstrating the difference between stalagtites and stalagmite; cave bacon and curtains and just about any other geologic cave specimen to see. Very cool! There are lots of steps to lead you through all the different cavern rooms. Be careful if you've got some issues with climbing up and down stairs. The walkways as well as the walls were well lit so you could really see what's around you. Definitely something to reccomend to a family travelling about the countryside. The kids will really like it...so will you.

These caverns are some magnificent natural sculptures if you enjoy geology. Admittedly, it requires climbing stairs and hiking, but you don't see this type of phenomenon everyday. Great for families and the tour guide was extremely knowledgeable.

I've been to Shasta lake several times in my life, but did not know, until this trip, about the Caverns. The guides are great, friendly and knowledgeable. Thanks Dave! I'm not a "tour person", but the tour was very interesting and it was just the right length. It's worth visiting.

I had never been inside a cavern before, so I was pretty excited to take my kids to do this. The entire trip was a great experience. Our tour guides were Dave and Dan, both of whom were super friendly, knowledgeable, and made the tour very interesting for everyone in our family, even our young kids. You could tell that they really loved their jobs and respected the history and beauty of the cavern. There was some mud to walk on on the way to the boat, but it was pretty easy to walk over. The boat ride was super fun! There are amazing views out on the lake, and it was super cool when the guides pointed out where we headed from the boat since it looked so far up and far away. We rode on a bus up to the cavern, which was a fun easy ride. We got to enjoy gorgeous views of lake and look for wildlife along the way. Once in the cavern, we were just blown away by the natural beauty! It was such an amazing experience to see the natural features of the cavern and be inside such a huge space. I was surprised at how nice the temperature was inside the cavern. There were a lot of steps, but they weren't that hard to get through. My four year old was able to manage it, and my husband and I made it through taking turns holding our one year old. I was a bit afraid of the steps since it was advertised everywhere that there were a lot. It turned out to be not that bad for us. My favorite area was the cathedral room. It was just so amazing and beautiful beyond words. Afterwards, my kids loved the gift shop options and playing out on the play structure outside. It was a really great experience for our whole family!

Lots of fun. Good way to spend an afternoon. You take a ferry ride across the lake, then a bus ride up the Mt., you can buy a tee shirt that says I survived the bus ride to Shasta Caverns, then you climb lots of stairs while working your way through the caverns. Lots of stalagmites & stalagtites. The kids love it. They have a nice gift shop too.

Wow, always a fun experience. 3 in 1, A boat ride, a Bus ride and a tour! So glad our girls got to experience this the way we got to as a Family!

Check the weather before you go. With all the walking before & after the tour, you shouldn't go if it's going to be a hot day. My legs are still aching, and it's been 3 days since our whole family went on the tour. Because of the low water level in the lake, you have to walk quiet a distance to the boat dock. Once on the boat, it was a nice (shorter) ride to the other side of the lake. We then got on the bus that toke us up a narrow, winding road to the caverns. That was also fun! The cavern it self is amazing! You'll see different types of rock formations that took thousands of years to form. It would be very helpful to have a nice professional camera to capture all the beauty in this cavern. Don't forget to bring extra batteries for your camera. No backpacks & pets allowed. There are a lot of stairs that are narrow & steep. Like I said, I'm still in pain!!! All in all, it was a great experience for the whole family. Best of all, all 5 kids in our family were busy taking pictures with their phones, instead of playing games or texting!!!

This was my second trip to the caverns. August 2013, Lake Shasta was down 97 feet below normal; June 2014, down nearly 150 feet. It is interesting to see the levels uncovered due to the drought.Large, paved parking lot. No backpacks allowed on the tour and nowhere to store them--be sure to hide it in the car. Begin in the gift shop. Limited snacky-type food and drinks available for purchase. Nice restrooms--you'll be needing that! The tours are run every 1/2 hour; 9-4:00 during summer. Fee is pricey--$14 for kids; $24 for adults. After perusing the shop, go out the back, hike the stairs and paved trail down to the boat landing. Ferry takes you on a nice little voyage across the lake where you board a (air conditioned) bus. Bus takes you up the windy, narrow road to a small visitor's center and the hike begins to the cavern entrance. The caverns are lovely and fascinating, but not designed for small children nor those with less than full walking ability. It's simply quite a workout! Stairs are unavoidable and are abundant to say the least!Bring your picnic food and enjoy the nice picnic area; grassy with tables/umbrellas. Kids will be entertained by gold panning in the slough; fee for this activity.

A great example of what 200 sticks of dynamite and old fashion American capitalism can accomplish. We loved the cave and the tour, but it was a little pricey even with a coupon from their website. The cost adds up if you bring kids. The cave is privately owned so the cost is not subsidized like many other sites you may visit. Our family was about $95. Your cost will vary depending on the number. The lake is real low in August 2014, so the tour included a long walk down a make shift gravel road. You get a nice boat ride across the lake and a bus ride to the cave. The cave is not accessible in any other way. Bus ride, boat ride and another bus ride to your starting point after the tour. I beleive you can boat over to the spot below the store on the lake and go on the tour from there. At least a boat did that while we were there.The tour was about 2 hours round trip, all aspects included. The official in-cave tour was about an hour, but it depends on the group size and how fast or slow everyone is with the stairs in the cave. You will climb about 200 stairs in all.The cave is great, but much smaller than all the official pictures let on. I kept waiting for the big room to come, but it never did. They did a great job with the official propaanda pictures. Bring your own bottle water. They charge $2. No other drink is allowed in the cave and it can get warm on the trip over depending on the time of year. The cave was nice and cool at about 70 degrees compared to 95 outside.The have a gift store, ice cream parlor and practice sluice for kids to play in at the main store where you park. Sluice costs about $5 and you keep a cheap bag of shiney stones when you are done. We passed on the sluice since the admission was so high.

Great way to see lake shasta and the caves as we were passing through. They were even nice enough to watch our dog so the whole family could go on the tour! That is full service.

The walk to the lake can be very uncomfortable or even not advisable if you are not in shape or it is hot. The lake is very low (July 2014) and getting lower as the drought continues. That makes the walk longer. Very steep uphill. The business does not "warn" or state the reality of the difficulty. If you can't climb about 800 feet in stairs, get a drink and wait for those who like to explore caves. The boat ride is enjoyable and the views of the lake and geology are special. It would be best to go in the cooler months. Call first and ask for availability! If you must go in the summer ask to be taken to the boat and returned via bus or van. That still leaves the stairs as a challenge if you are out of shape. Two our party are 76 and made ok but tired. Take two bottles of water in the summer.

not only do you get a Cavern tour, but also a boat and bus ride! From the gift shop , take a short hike (depending on time of year and water level) down to the waters edge, board a pontoon boat and motor across the lake very fun! we had a very knowledgeable guide through the Caverns, awesome formations. Very nice views of the lake and surrounding forests as well. worth the price.

It's a workout from start to finish, but a natural marvel you cannot miss if you are near. You won't stop saying "Wow!". Hard to take pictures in the near dark caves, but can always buy a nice postcard at the gift shop if you don't have a good camera. Bring lots of water and grab a hold of stairway rails, it's quite slippery inside. A coupon was available online at the time we saw the caves.