We made our way through California after our stop at the Grand Canyon. We stopped in Lakewood, California for a few days, just a few miles from Lake Shasta. There is a wonderful cave there and I love caves. I once dreamed of being a spelunker.
While Lake Shasta Caverns was well known to the local Native American tribe, the Wintu’s, it was “officially” discovered in 1878 by J.A. Richardson and Charles Morton. In the 1950’s the Thompson brothers discovered some more beautiful lower rooms while blasting for a new entrance. It was opened for tours in 1964.
While the caverns were discovered before the dam was put in, once the lake was created, it was necessary to use a boat and a bus to reach the caverns. The boat ride was cold but enjoyable and the bus up the mountain allowed us to see the beauty of the area from a different vantage point. The second picture is our view from the boat. The second boat has an interesting history. It was on the beaches of Normandy in World War II. That was discovered after it’s second sinking on the lake and parts were needed. This boat is used to bring the buses over to the other side of the lake.
We exited the bus and went into a visitor center, which had a history of the cave on the walls and a very large bear.
We entered at the lower entrance and began our walk up and through the cave. It is a living cave, meaning there is water and it is still forming. Living caves are much more interesting than dead ones. But I like them both. There are a lot of stairs, so if that is difficult for you, I’d rethink going. My legs felt like jello by the time we were done. 80 steps to one room and another 57 to another room. Upon exiting the cave you walk down over 200 steps on the outside back to the visitor center. I know this because a young girl was counting as went down.
One of the more interesting things about this cave is there is a light show at the end. Caves often have times when they turn the lights off so you can see how dark it is. This one added music and lights. There are some dark spots but turn on the sound an enjoy the lights.
I highly recommend the campground in Lakeland, Trail In RV as well. It was quiet, the staff was great and it’s very close to Lake Shasta and the Caverns. The caverns have three tours a day during the summer and up to 15 a day during the summer. They also have dinner cruises that return in May throughout the summer.
Our adventures continue, but we’re close to “home” in Washington State. We’re in Oregon for the next three weeks but close enough to home to see our family. We’ll be moving on to Long Beach for three more weeks taking care of appointments and resting before we begin our journey to Yellowstone in June with adventures along the way. Hope your days are filled with adventures!
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