Tourists looking for some real excitement and a great
California cave
getaway adventure should consider visiting the Lake Shasta Caverns,
first known as Chalk Cave. The cavern attraction is located along Lake Shasta in
Northern California north of Redding. This California Kids Vacation "must
see" is ideal for children around the age of 10 and up because there are
lots of stairs to climb and younger children tend to wear out. There are
many fantastic natural wonders in the rugged, beautiful Shasta-Cascade
region and the cave tour is a perfect way to round out a
fun-filled trip in which you can stand at a spectacular waterfalls, tour the
Shasta Dam, look at mudpots from an active volcano in the pristine forests
of Lassen Volcanic National Park and get free kayak lessons at
Whiskeytown
National Recreation Area. This tour takes you both in and outdoors, so on
the Lake Shasta Caverns tour, you may experience a drop of over 30
degrees from the heated 90-degree summer temperatures outside.
Lake Shasta Caverns tour
station is located in the region called O'Brien. The tour that's
billed as the 3-in-1 bonus excursion begins with a Catamaran boat ride
across Shasta Lake, a hop aboard a bus up a steep mountain incline and
finally a spectacular tour with large amounts of climbing. It's worth the
effort to see the 200 million-year-old tiny cave coral, cave drapery, flow
stone, stalagmites, stalactites, and columns on this flashlight tour.
For the price of
admission which is usually less the $25, you receive an informative tour
describing the history of the formations and many stops at landing spots
where something quite special is discussed. First off, you are advised
not to touch the formations. They are living columns or entities that do not
respond well to human touch. People have oils on their skin that stunts the
growth of the formations and can kill them.
Taking photos in the cave
requires a decent flash unit. Without a flash, your photos will be almost
black. The eyes adjust, however and can perceive the colors of the
growth, appearing mostly in oranges, yellows, browns and tans. It's hard to
show the scope of the objects so you need to back up when taking photos in
the caves. There are many surprises and a grand finale ending in a spacious
area with bench seating that allows guests to sit and look at the grandeur
of one special display. But the tour's not over, as you leave the cave and
hop back on a bus that goes down a steep incline to the docks. There your
Catamaran awaits for a boat trip back to your car on the other side of the
lake.
Opened to the public in
1964, the Caverns are on privately owned land but the land used for access
roads, parking, reception centers, and boat docks is under a U.S. Government
lease through the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
Lake Shasta Caverns,
20359 Shasta Caverns Road, O'Brien, CA 96070 Call: 1-800-795-CAVE
lakeshastacaverns.com
