Our tour guide, Jerry, was great. He told stories, history and jokes and we were all so entertained that we almost forgot that we were walking down 16 flights of stairs. The cave is beautiful and apart from the stairways is basically untouched. I'd recommend this place to adults and families (but not with babies that have to be carried). read more

My claustrophobia made my heart pound at times but I'm so glad I did it! So worth it! The whole family loved it! Our tour guide was amazing and had a very calming positive voice and attitude and that really calmed me down when I felt kind of freaked out! I don't remember his name but he's in my photo I posted. I love caves and caverns they are so cool! I'd live in one as long as it's not a tight squeeze! read more

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Wonderful cave tour. Our guide was informative and interesting. It wasn't very busy when we went so we had a great opportunity to enjoy the cave. They have a fun gift shop as well. read more

Mercer Caverns - Tours Near Me - Murphys, California

Caves were cool, but the people who run this place are snotty and rude. Arrived at 1pm, attempted to buy the tickets and a geode, and was told by the elderly cashier that they were resetting their system and it would be a few minutes. Fair enough. Browsed the shop while we waited for them to let us know the system was back up and could take cards. We checked back in with them after 10 minutes and was told, "Sorry buddy, you should've purchased the tickets when you first got here, we're sold out now." Right. So we had to wait an hour for the next tour. I'd give the caves 5 stars, and the bumpkins who run the place 1star. read more

The family and I went for a tour at the caves last weekend. I can't remember the girl's name, tour guide, but she was really good and very patient. We had a lot of little kids on the tour and she made sure to explain things in a way they could understand which was great. Lots of steps so expect a bit of exercise. Recommend for sure. Great family outing. read more

This is not for little kids. Tall people you just have to duck. My son is 5'10" and he did fine. People of certain shape or size honestly might have a hard time going through certain areas. We enjoyed ourselves. The history of Mr. Mercer was very interesting. The cave is well light and cool. 55 degrees, not cold. It doesn't really seem that you descend that far. The stairs are steep and sometimes feel like a ladder. But just go slow and listen to your guide. If you are in the area I would recommend it. read more

The staff is very friendly. Nice gift shop with lots of things to purchase. I was looking for Mercer cavern Christmas ornaments. Hopefully they will get some soon. The tour was amazing! The tour guides were very knowledgeable and personable, nice mix of humor. Also made it interesting for my children by not getting too academic. The tour takes about 45 minutes. Even then, it seemed like the guide should have slowed down. There's so much to see! read more

We made it in time for the last tour of the day. Our guide was zack and he was great! The cavern was not strenuous at all. My 8 year old and us adults found it easy to keep up. And the caverns gorgeous inside. The gem mining was fun too read more

It was the worst guide tour I've ever had. The quality of the tour was far from satisfactory. The place itself is not bad, though. (This is not my first caverns tour.) They put 36 people in one tour group because of their mistake . The guide first said that she cannot tour since the maximum is 20 but they decided to do the tour anyway since the next tour was also packed. They placed one staff, "sheep dog: M" on the end of the group to keep the group move as fast as they can. She barked orders to the visitors to avoid the delay. I reminded her that the group is too big because of their mistake. She tried to dismiss my words at first but changed her attitude after my complaint. The guide talked like a machine gun and it made the tour uninteresting. Although she asked the group if there was any question, she answered only one and ignored the others. But, the sheep dog and the guide were very happy about their "great job" to finish up the tour on time. THINGS TO REMEMBER : Do not touch anything in the caverns except for the staircase. (A couple of visitors accidentally touched the wall because it was overcrowded. The sheep dog was not happy.) Do not break a line even if you are old or have a health condition. Make sure the shoelace won't get untied during the tour. Do not wait for your company to get together back on the platform. RECOMMENDATION: Moaning Caverns: The deepest caverns in the west coast. Our tour guide was very friendly. He demonstrated "playing music" by tapping the wall and recommend us to try it. The cavern is deep;so, climbing stairs up and down may hard for some people. There are not so many formations in this cavern;but, the tour guide made it very enjoyable for us. (Our guide recommended us to go to Black Chasm Caverns. According to him Black Chasm is the best cavern around there since it has many varieties of formations of stalactites, stalagmites, flow-stones and the vast arrays of rare helictite crystals). Hope you will get a good tour guide for your caverns experience. It seems that their male guide is better than female guides in Mercer Caverns. read more

So disappointed with the staff here. Our family traveled here last week and were given the runaround. We were not allowed in to tour due to schools being present, and rather than allow us to purchase tickets for later in the day we were told we had to come back. Which we did and we were still turned away. The staff was rude and unprofessional. This was our last day in Murphys, and sadly we were unable to tour the caverns read more

We really enjoyed this place. We had a wonderful guide. She was very nice. There are a lot of steep stairs so take your time and hold on to the rails. It is well worth it though the cavern is amazing and wonderful. We loved it! read more

Although we had to wait over an hour for the next tour, it was well worth the wait. Much easier walking tour than the Moaning Cavern. Loved the great srories abiut Mr. Mercer. Beautiful and amazing. Lots of names for the different formations in the cave, ... some I could see, some just was well... you have to use your imagination... It's cold in the cave so bring something like a light jacket. read more

Fun place to be and extremely informative tour given. Went last minute. Definitely worth the drive. It gets cold under so wearing a vest played out well. read more

The caverns are amazing. I would have have it a 5 star, however the tour guy was really rude to us. We had a family member who was 70, doing her best to make her eay through, & he kept yelling at us to move faster. Mind you, its step stairs. Told us to not take photos, tell we caught up to him. Would have been better with less people on the tour, because when he would explain things, us in the back couldnt see what he was talking about, then when we would get a chance to look, he would say....no time for that, keep up we are moving on. How is that far to the ones in the Back? I mean we paid just like the ones in the front. Other then that, the store is nice, plenty of bathrooms, and the caverns are amazing! read more

This was an amazing tour. Our guide Bernard was excellent-he knows so much about the caverns that he shared and was always very willing to answer any and all questions. I cannot imagine going down on ropes and candles and the first people did. Even tho the steps are steep and small it is well worth the trek down 16 floors. Would love to return this winter after the rains have returned. read more

Our tour guide was very friendly, funny, and informative. We went in the winter month of December, the cave temperature is 55 degrees year round. I wore a light jacket and a beanie hat and that was comfortable for me inside the cave. It was very easy for my 5 year old brother to complete this tour. Though it is 160 feet deep it was an easy travel down. Going up was a little more challenging, but fun at the same time. I was able to take beautiful pictures of the cave with my phone, but our tour guide said we could not take any videos down there. The gift shop was full of merchandise and snacks to choose from. You are not allowed to take any snacks, water bottles, or food on the tour. The tour is 45 minutes long and very entertaining. read more

We spent the weekend in Calaveras County and went to three caverns. They were all limestone caves with calcite structures, but were all distinctly different. If you appreciate nature in all its subtlety, I suggest you visit more than one of the caverns. In this one, the Mercer caverns, there are steep staircases and lots of steps (over 200 down ... and therefore over 200 back up!) my husband and I are both in our 50s and each more than 50 pounds overweight, but otherwise healthy. I was out of breath by the time we climbed out, but otherwise it wasn't that difficult - and very much worth the effort! The guide told corny jokes and related pieces of (sometimes opinionated but not terribly offensive) history - both on the way down and back up. There were many places where the natural formations were protected by clear plastic enclosures, but you can't blame them for trying to protect things that took millennia to form and can be destroyed in mere moments! Overall, the tour took less than an hour and was interesting. This is not a thrill ride and young kids might get bored. Those who have bad knees or claustrophobia might not like the tight spaces and all those stairs. But if you appreciate getting a a bit of exercise while being awed by structures that were created over thousands of years one drop at a time, you should spend 45 minutes in the year-round coolness of more than one of the local caverns! We want to come back during a different season to compare the subtle differences. read more

This is an amazingly beautiful natural place. I felt blessed that Mr. Mercer found this place and opened it to the public. It is a guided tour 16 stories underground. The climbs in and out are extremely steep so you need to be aware you will be climbing. There are stairs but they are narrow so this place would not be recommended for anyone that is claustrophobic or a larger person. The guide Jerry was HILARIOUS and we really enjoyed him. read more

This was a nice introduction to the caverns in the area. The tour is only 45 minutes and goes by quite quickly. As there were only the 3 of us we were able to ask questions and view the wonders of the caverns without being too rushed to keep on time. The tour guide at the beginning did seems to recite the info by rote but as we got into the caverns we asked questions and she answered them politely but still imparted the set cavern tour info without seeming rote any longer. It is steep on the stairs at times, it is narrow at times, and anyone who is unsure with their steps or doesn't like tight spaces I would wave them off to seeing these caverns. The beauty of the cavern and it's varied rock formations was a nice addition to our visit while in Murphys. read more

If this is your first cavern visit or your only it's worth the tour. We've been on several other cavern tours (Shasta, Carlsbad, Moaning and some place in Oregon that I can't remember the name of). This was my least favorite. All caverns are amazing but this one was the least spectacular. No large room, not well lit. Not many unusual formations. Each time we stopped it was in a very narrow, crowded area. Not the kind of cavern tour where you can look around on your own at all. At the end I could help but ask, "that's it?" It was difficult to find. Not well marked. GPS doesn't work well in this area. The store is small, expensive and loaded with junk (more so than the usual tourist attraction). One nice point, our tour guide was knowledgeable and friendly. read more

Not bad. The cavern itself was a lot of fun, but could be a bit much if you get claustrophobic easily. Our tour guide was great, but the gal in the gift shop selling the tour tickets could use an attitude adjustment. I'm sure she gets the same questions all day long, but she could make an effort and try to be a bit more polite when answering them. That put me off. The cavern is chilly - around 55 degrees. Refreshing in the scorching summer, but bring a light jacket just in case. It's damp down there! Due to the tight quarters, you can't bring in a camera bag or video cameras or large bags. Plan ahead. read more

Very interesting tour. 16 stories is quite a hike...up was definitely tougher than the down. Our guide, Elise, was amazing! Well informed (in the matters of the caverns & the Mercer family) and full of entertaining information. The kids enjoyed it, too. read more

Horrible experience. Tour guide made multiple racist references to Native people. They gave us our money back but expressed no interest in accountability, just defended racist remarks. read more

I have taken a few Cave Tours in the area and Mercer hands down has the best tour around. The guides are very informative and the cave itself is very interesting. Lots of stairs (you walk about 16 stories down and up) but what do you expect when you are going into a cave! They have a cute gift shop and some activities for the kiddies. It's a pretty cool getaway especially on a hot day! It read more

I had a great experience at Mercer Caverns! The staff was incredibly friendly and talked me through some of my claustrophobia, assuring me that it wasn't that tight of a space below (which it wasn't). My tour guide (Josh I think?) was awesome. The staff is young but incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic. I was the last tour of the day at 5pm and they still took their time to go through the cave and answer all questions. The power and electricity was actually out so we all had flashlights which was really fun. They make safety a top priority here and alert guests to every short ceiling or possible tripping point. Overall I highly recommend Mercer Caverns!! read more

Mercer is an easy cave tour in the middle of nowhere! The 45-minute trip went very fast but was informative and worthwhile.

Really cool visit. A must do if you can handle the stairs. It will hit your wallet, but you're on vacation, splurge a little..it's worth it.

We got here just in time for the first tour. It was a cool 55 degrees. It was awesome. Incredible things to see. We had a fun tour guide. Very steep stairs but manageable. I highly recommend this place. read more

Hard to find but great way to beat the heat. It was over 100 degrees outside but about 60 degrees in the cave. The tour does have a lot of stairs but does not feel like a major hike. The tour guide was very nice and knowledgeable. However, there are formations near the stairwell so some twisting and turning and ducking is needed. Also, not great for people who do not do well in small spaces. read more

The cave was great, If you don't like tight places or stairs you might rethink this trip. the guide was very good! You will need a jacket! read more

Kids really enjoyed seeing variety of growths in cavern. A bit pricey for 45 minute cavern tour. I think it was $16 adult, $9kids.

A fun trip and well worth the $15. BUT: Anyone with any physical disability or limitation should avoid this attraction. It's beautiful, our tour guide was knowledgeable and funny, and it's an impressive experience with mother nature. One problem is that they want very much to preserve the caverns in their natural condition and so they don't allow you to bring a camera case or anything else that can swing and hit the walls, etc. If you are wearing a jacket or have pockets, you can keep your small camera in them. If you have an iPad or a Rebel or other large camera, you're walking up or down (very) steep staircases, holding on to the railing so you don't fall, and trying to hold onto your camera at the same time because if it falls, it's gone. Anyway, a fun place to go. And they also have a fat old mountain goat who likes roaming outside the store. Worth the trip. read more

Very cool! Friendly tour guide (and patient with the struggling toddler in our group, which she handled with class) and knowledgable. My two kids (8- boy & 13-girl) really enjoyed it - not an easy task to find something they both like! read more

Ask for Kaitlyn to be your tour guide. She was very informative, and entertaining. She was interacting with the entire group, and made the tour interesting! I would definitely recommend this place. Awesome job. (: read more

Went to the caverns for a tour and decided not to go on it due to the the fact that we were treated horrible by the man selling tickets. Try Moaning Caverns, as the better alternative. read more

Beautiful cave. Our guide, Elise, was amazing. She was knowledgeable and humorous and really seemed to be enjoying herself. When my five-year-old got scared, she was very patient and encouraging with him, while still managing to answer everyone's questions and make sure that all of the other people on the tour got to have a great experience. Afterwards, while we were eating lunch, she even came over to check on him and give him a high five. My wife had to turn around early because our two-year-old was getting squirrely. They refunded our money, which we promptly spent in their gift-shop which is well-stocked with interesting stuff. Top shelf in every aspect. They went out of their way to give us the best possible experience. read more

This place was super fun. Our tour guide was awesome. He offered great stories, history and jokes. He was very accommodating to letting us stop to catch our breath or take pictures. I highly recommend this! read more

Great for the family! We had five kids ranging 5-12 years of age and they all did great. The five year old felt more comfortable going up and down the stairs herself rather than me carrying her. Our guide was well spoken and kept the tour running smoothly and interesting. The only thing I wished the tour did was allow us to take some time to really admire the place; to have a few minutes to take pictures and soak in the beautiful caverns. I felt like we could only see what the guide wanted us to see before making us move on to the next platform. Still, a must-see when visiting the area. read more

This place is the Schist! I really enjoyed this informative and beautiful tour. This cave wasn't too far from Angel's Camp where we were staying. It's mind blowing to see a glimpse of what lies beneath the earth. We arrived here at about 10:50, and the next tour wasn't until 11:30. I suggest you call ahead and ask for the tour times so that you can plan accordingly. We had about 45 minutes to look around the gift shop, which was really cute. The tour itself was 15 dollars a person. Not too bad for something you don't experience everyday. If you're staying at a nearby hotel or timeshare like we did, ask them if they have coupons for the tour and that can save you a few dollars. There are a lot of stairs and tight spaces. I wouldn't recommend this for those with little kids, or those with mobility issues as you need to be extremely mobile for this tour. Also, you can't bring your purse or backpack, etc. I had a small wristlet, and they even said that I couldn't bring it. You can take pictures, so make sure you can secure your phone or camera in your pocket. The tour guide was nice, patient, and encouraged us to take as many pictures/ look as long as we wanted. The only thing that freaked me out about the tour is that they will impose a 1K fine if you are caught touching the formations (intentional or not). So, keep the hands away. read more

Had a wonderful experience at Mercer Caverns this past weekend. The caverns themselves were amazing with several unique things to admire the further we went down. What made the experience even better, was our tour guide Lane. He kept my wife and I, and our two children, engaged the entire time with history and humor. We will not forget the experience. read more