Adventure is around every corner here in Northern California. In fact, you can even find an abundant amount of adventure underneath it! Just check out these 11 Underground Adventures In Northern California. However, the cave featured here is by far one of the most unique places you’ll ever step foot in. Moaning Cavern is considered the deepest cave open to the public in California. Not only is this place gigantic, but it looks like something from a different planet. You’ll definitely want to plan a day trip to this bizarre place for an adventure you’ll never forget.
Located in Vallecito is one of the most unique cave walking tours in California. Moaning Cavern is a vertical chamber tall enough to fit the entire Statue of Liberty upright. You can find out for yourself what it feels like to stand at the bottom of this massive cave.
Moaning Cavern Adventure Park offers tours of this epic cave from top to bottom. Professional guides will lead you 165 feet below the earth's surface as you wind around the cavern's spiraling staircase. All in all, you'll traverse 235 steps.
The tour lasts approximately 45 minutes. It ends at a spot in the cavern where the bones of prehistoric people were discovered. These people are thought to have fallen into the cavern thousands of years ago.
The walls of the cave are covered from head to toe in the weirdest formations you've ever seen. The cavern's largest stalagmite formation reaches 25-feet high and is referred to as "The Igloo".
The bizarre formation pictured below are called "draperies". They can come in different colors depending on the types of minerals that they are composed of. The reddish-brown color present in the majority of the cavern's draperies show that there is iron present in the cave.
On the tour, you'll learn all about the cavern's fascinating history and geology. Over the years, explorations have traced the cavern to its current depth of a whopping 410 feet below the surface.
The park has had to take extra measures to preserve the cave since opening it to the public. It turns out that allowing visitors to come into the cavern drastically reduces the humidity present in the cave since moisture gets trapped into people's clothes (and taken out of the cave when they leave). This man-made pool is supposed to keep the cavern's humidity up so it can remain active.
Think you're up for an even bigger adventure? The park also offers a 2.5-hour tour that requires a little more effort, like crawling and squeezing through tight spaces. This tour is more intense than the walking tour, but it's led by highly trained guides and no experience is necessary.
How about an even bigger thrill? Adrenaline junkies will be pleased to know that you can rappel down from the top of the chamber to the bottom for an experience you'll never forget.
Northern California is just full of all kinds of interesting natural wonders. You'll definitely want to see this place with your own eyes. You'll find it at 5350 Moaning Cave Rd, Vallecito, CA 95251. Click here to go to the Moaning Cavern Adventure Park website.
