The Black Chasm Cavern is located in the tiny town of Volcano which really feels like a step back…read morein time. I loved that this tour includes some amazing and beautiful natural wonders as well as a little bit of history. The place was very easy to find and a quick 30 min or so drive from Jackson. There is a lovely little store to check out before or after your tour as well. The chasm is a cool 58 degrees which was nice on this 90 degree-ish day. It is a little on the steep side with lots of stairs and a few areas where you definitely need to duck from the rocks but was worth it! The limestone cavern is just amazing with breathtaking stalagmite, stalactite and very rare helictite formations. These helictites look like they defy gravity and grow in amazing curling directions. Incredibly, there is a blue lake at the very bottom of the cavern that can be seen from way above - unfortunately we are unable to access that far down but man I wish I could! We learned the lake has tiny little shrimp that live in the pure crystal waters and the only place they are known to exist, mind blowing. Our tour guide was great and shared so much knowledge and history. History: The chasm was discovered in 1854 long after the Miwok people had already lived in the area. Of course, the discoverers wanted to try and cash in on their discovery so they began charging folks and would literally lower them by rope into a hole in the ground with some candles precariously balanced on a plank of wood. Luckily we have stairs and nicely built platforms with cave lighting to see this amazing magical national landmark. Definitely worth the visit!

This was such a fantastic day trip for our family! We were staying in Angels Camp, so it was a…read morequick, scenic drive of just over an hour to get there. It's super convenient that it's the only cave tour in the area open every day of the week (minus holidays). Our guide was wonderfully friendly, knowledgeable, and patient with all our questions. The stairs throughout the cavern were easily manageable for all the kids--even our 5-year-old handled them with no problem! The tour wasn't crowded at all, which made the entire experience much more relaxed and enjoyable. **A quick tip for future visitors:** Tours start on the hour, so time your arrival for just before to avoid a long wait. It's first-come, first-served, and while there are benches to relax on, there isn't much to do on-site if you end up having to wait for the next slot. Overall, it was a perfect outing and a memorable experience for the whole family. Highly recommended!

The drive here is much more involved than Mercer Caverns with more windy and narrow roads. Once you…read moreget closer the space opens up to a large parking lot and shop you meet at. We were the only ones that signed up for the earliest tour that day and were lucky to have a private tour. The tour has informative history about the caverns with landmarks along the way. The most interesting thing we didn't know about is they have caving adventure tours where you shimny through holes and narrow spaces with a guide but our kids aren't old enough to partake. This was the first show cave in California and townspeople lived in them during harsh winters in the 1800s. There was a bar inside and a church and nails were even given to people to carve on the walls. Because of this there are signs of harm everywhere with soot, broken formations, and dirty coloration from human hand oils and even champagne poured on a rock formation. The caverns are huge and beautiful with some jaw-dropoing rooms. The walking tour is very safe though we loved the slight danger and claustrophobic feel of the Mercer Caverns. When you leave the shop has some cool historical items pulled from the caves on display like glass bottles, etc .. that are worth checking out.

What a cool experience. Got there for the 10:00 am tour, and I was the only guest. The walk to…read morethe cave is only about five minutes, but there's no shade so the earlier the better as the temps heat up. Inside the cave is about 50°. I have no issues with claustrophobia, but if you do there is one tight squeeze that might be a problem. Cash, my tour guide, turned off the lights (after asking my permission) and we experienced total darkness for maybe thirty seconds. It felt like two hours, and I hated it , but still neat and recommend trying if offered. Use the hand rails. They are there for your safety.

Volcano... a small town in Amador County…read more Discovered in 1848, the whole town is registered as a California Historical Landmark! We first knew of its existence two years ago when we participated in a weekend long series of Yelp events in Amador County. We revisited Volcano not too long ago and explored more. Volcano is about 1-1/2 hrs from our place. You know those green freeway signs that announce when you enter a new city. They always show the population and the elevation. Volcano showed a population of 100, someone altered the last digit to make it 103 (maybe a few babies were born LoL)... it used to be population 115 at the 2010 census. Volcano has an elevation of 2,053. From walking around this charming small town we saw: Two hotels - St. George Hotel and Volcano Union Inn + Pub (B&B) General store - The Country Store A bakery/cafe - Kneading Dough Bakery Two theaters - Volcano Amphitheater (outdoor) and Cobblestone Theatre (indoor) A park - Volcano Park U.S. Post Office - zip code 95689 A social hall for events and town meetings - Armory Hall as well as a few art galleries. Everywhere we walked we came across a historic marker with a brief description: On Consolation Street, we saw the site of the first recorded astronomical observatory in 1860 which is where the Great Comet of 1861 was discovered. Next to that marker was the "Old Abe" Volcano Blues Cannon. During the Civil War Volcano's gold served the Union - the Volcano Blues smuggled the cannon "Old Abe" to intimidate rebel sympathizers. Perhaps the coolest marker we saw (located on Main Street) was a memorial for Brig Gen Harry Bluett Liversedge's regiment who figured in the historic raising the flag on Iwo Jima. Volcano is one of those little towns in the Mother Lode that is unforgettable... there is a marker on the front door of the Whiskey Flat Saloon that mentioned in memory of the pioneers of California who assembled in Volcano where Moose Milk was originated. What's Moose Milk? do they still have it around? Well, perhaps they still served Moose Milk in this saloon. It consisted a generous shot of bourbon, an equal measure of half-and-half cream, and some rum and served over ice, and topped with nutmeg. Sounds like an acquired taste to me. Happy exploring... Review #1906

I've been here many times. I have stayed at the Union Inn which is absolutely lovely. The…read morerestaurants are awesome. I enjoy seeing the plays at the theater. They are so awesome.

They did a cool fortune reading and I got the surfer card which made my partner laugh cause I love…read moresurfing

I had an amazing reading with Maili. She was very friendly, informative and positive. The depth of…read morethe reading has helped me with my journey. She doesn't want you to disclose personal information about yourself, instead she wants you to allow her to transcribe her readings. It was an awesome experience, she is very talented and her insights give you a positive outcome and I definitely will see her again and recommend her to family and friends.

I visited here with my wife during an anniversary getaway. We both love living history and walking…read moreamong historical features that you can visit and explore. Everything here was exciting to read about, there's plenty of walking paths if you're up for that...... so fun! Definitely wouldn't mind visiting again

This is a really well-maintained historic park. I went early, so there was plenty of parking space…read moreavailable. Left of the museum is the North Loop Trail. Had a nice short walk and enjoyed looking at the tall trees. Then, I went back towards the museum and went on the right side. This side has clean restrooms and the meadow to the grinding rocks and reconstructed Miwok village. Highly recommended stop if in the area.

We had a fantastic experience on a 1 day trip on the South Fork American River. We had three 11…read moreyear old kids in our boat and the guide (Parker) was so patient and friendly to them! The trip was just the right balance of excitement and feeling safe. Our guide was awesome and clearly an expert at navigating the river. Also highly recommend the campsite - nice flat sites and clean showers/bathrooms.

To be honest, they had me at "teachers raft free"! Cherry on top of a great summer break adventure…read more We were camping down the road at Hipcamp. (Highly recommend) and did the half day trip. We all loved it. Our guide was fantastic, navigated like a pro. The lunch at the end was nice, but just a cold beer would have been better! Highly recommend this outfit.

We received a gift certificate for this company and chose the Midtown Walking Food Tour! It was a…read moreWednesday afternoon so it was just me, B, and our fantastic guide Mariah! Even as local Sacramento foodies we learned a lot and tried lots of new places! Mariah was really knowledgeable and so personable. We never felt rushed anywhere. I loved learning more about Wide Open Walls and the stories behind murals I've driven by tons of times. This is a great activity for visitors and locals alike, highly recommend!

Don was an amazing tour guide. Very friendly, social, and knowledgeable about the local history and…read morethat of the surrounding area. The food choices were fantastic and the pace was perfect. I've done several food walking tours in various cities and this was the first one I left feeling well fed. The owner, Heather, was also super friendly and was able to squeeze us in last minute. Highly recommend!

River Fox train with Anthony, April and Ashley today was extremely accommodating with superb…read morecustomer service! We took the Old Vine Express and were pleasantly surprised with the cordial attentive treatment, the warm touches and individualized treatment. Anthony cares about his clientele. The Food menu is well-priced. Order the fries! Check out the other train experiences: Boba Tea Train, Brunch Train, Murder Mystery Train.

09/26/2026: My wife…read more& I booked the Yolo Traveller Golden Fox experience. Right as we boarded the train, the direction & guidance to our seats was pretty chaotic & a bit confusing. The staff didn't appear to have a system in place for order-taking so the waiters almost skipped over our table completely at the beginning of the journey. There's supposed to be champagne poured at the tables prior to your food arriving. When the staff finally brought out the champagne, it was quite warm. The food we ordered took a while to arrive at our table. Luckily, the alien themed cheese burger & fries were actually pretty decent & we enjoyed it. They didn't provide any napkins which seemed ridiculous since most of the menu items were greasier finger foods. My wife & I felt like we lucked out receiving our food when we did as there were several other tables that were still waiting a long time for their food to arrive. I overheard at least three different groups of guests complaining about either the food or drinks taking too long or being the complete wrong order. There was honestly a lot of idle time for a short 2-hour train ride & it really felt a bit boring at times with nothing to really do onboard. There were speakers throughout the different train carts, but the music kept cutting in & out with it mostly remaining off possibly due to connection issues to some staff members cell-phone or device. Finally, near the end of the experience, the staff brought us paper review cards to provide feedback to the ride, but they didn't pass out any writing utensils so we were unable to complete their review onboard. Overall, the staff seemed undertrained & there was a clear lack of leadership/structure from the management team. The service was not great, the setting & ambience was only okay, & the experience/activity itself was a bit dull. The one positive was that the specific food we ordered was decent. We won't be returning anytime soon & I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

AWESOME 6-day raft trip down the Selway River in N.E. Idaho near Missoula, MT. The river,…read morecampsites, participants, scenery, etc., were great. We had fun and the trip was smooth and went off without a hitch. What made the trip superb were the guides: Izzy, Emma, Kenny, and Woody. The were personable, informatice, accomplished, .... They took care of EVERYTHING! On top of the everyday everything, they made a birthday cake for someone on the trip including the candles.

Amazing tour! I went as a chaperone for a field trip and the guides were so knowledgeable and…read morehelpful throughout the whole trip. We were safe the entire trip and had loads of fun. I would definitely recommend going with ARTA if you get the chance!