Crystal Cave, located in Sequoia National Park, was discovered in 1918 by park employees while fishing along Cascade Creek. In 1982, the nonprofit Sequoia Natural History Association started offering tours of this beautiful cave to the general public. The 45 minute walking tour is reasonably priced, and they also offer a more extensive "wild trip" to areas of the cave which regular visitors are not allowed to visit.

In 1991, the Crystal Cave Restoration Project was started to help keep the cave as beautiful as ever. One weekend a year, volunteers from all over California, and even a few from out of state, gather at Crystal Cave for cleanup, restoration, and other repairs. Some of the activities include:

  • Cleaning and repairing formations
  • Installing handrails and walls next to the tour trail
  • Removal of blast rubble from the fault room (45 tons and counting!)
  • Restoration of a room built into one of the cave entrances

There is no special experience required to volunteer, and it is the perfect trip for new cavers! The restoration is hard work, but as a reward for your help, the park service is happy to take you caving in other parts of the cave Saturday evening. If you would like to get involved, check the calendar of events for the next trip, or better yet, drop by a grotto meeting and ask the executive committee for more information.


Park Service Crystal Cave Page
The Park Service maintains a page on Crystal Cave, including directions on how to get there and ticket information for the 45 minute walking tour, as well as how you can participate in a park-led "wild tour."

Sequoia Natural History Association
The Sequoia Natural History Association is responsible for running the Crystal Cave tours for the Park Service. They are also very much involved in other conservation issues related to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

©2008. These pages and their contents are property of the San Francisco Bay Chapter Incorporated, part of the National Speleological Society, except where otherwise noted. Opinions expressed within are not necessarily those of the SFBC, its board members, or the NSS.