Calaveras county is known for its caves. But only some of those caves offer spelunking tours, where you can shimmy through narrow passages and get covered in mud. Moaning Caverns is one of them. The Expedition Crawling & Spelunking Tour of Moaning Caverns is a half-day adventure for the relatively fit and brave. For a tamer cave experience, take the 45-minute Spiral Tour.
How to Visit Moaning Caverns
If you’re in the charming town of Murphys, California, don’t miss Moaning Caverns. On summer days, when temperatures can surpass 100, it feels wonderful to descend into the perpetually 61-degree underworld. The cave is a geological wonder, a thing of beauty and an subterranean playground all in one.
Moaning Caverns Adventure Park is just six miles from downtown Murphys, on a well-maintained road. (The company suggests you bring a paper map in case your GPS doesn’t work outside Murphys.) In addition to the cave, there’s a gift shop on the property that sells souvenirs, cold drinks and snacks.
With a name like Moaning Caverns Adventure Park, you might think that this place has lots of different activities. In reality, there are only two activities offered other than the cave: kids’ gem mining and axe throwing. I didn’t see any axe throwing, so I’m not sure if this is something that’s available all the time or just at certain times.
The Moaning Caverns Expedition Crawling and Spelunking Tour
If you are ready to get down and dirty in the bowels of the earth, this is the tour for you. In a small group with a guide, you’ll first don elbow and knee pads, gloves, a helmet and a headlamp. Trust me, you will need all this equipment!
The staircase and the chamber
From the cave entrance, you descend a 165-foot winding staircase into the cave’s single chamber. Look around at the gorgeous calcium formations — curtains, frills, and something that looks like a massive white jellyfish. You’ll learn a little about the cave from your guide. Look up at the daylight peeking through the small hole in the ceilng, the cave’s only natural entrance.
Directly below this hole, your guide will point out a pile of calcified bones. These are the remains of countless animals and humans who fell through the hole over the years. Our guide explained that the hole may have been obscured by long grass or shrubs. Imagine just running along, maybe hunting a bear, and then — whoosh! No one ever hears from you again.
Next, you climb down an ordinary metal ladder, lashed to the rock wall. From this floor below the main walkway, you can see the calcified bones up close.
Note that there used to be an option to enter the cavern by rapelling. This is no longer available. Too bad, that would have been fun!
Claustrophobia test
Then, it’s time for your “claustrophobia test.” One by one, each spelunker must crawl through a short, narrow passageway. The idea is that if you can’t bear to shimmy through this one narrow wormhole, you should turn back now. After this point, getting out of the cave will require retracing your steps through multiple passages. So if it turns out tight spots are not for you, it’s best to to turn back early on.
The spelunking expedition begins
Throughout the rest of the tour, your group will navigate various passages, many of them dark except for the illumination of your headlamps. You’ll belly crawl, propelling yourself like a snail with friction between your body and the stone. Other passages require you to twist your shoulders or hips just so. One particularly challenging passage, the Pancake, requires you to enter head first on your back. Somehow, you’ll manage to squirm through a crack just a few inches high.
For some of the passages, the whole group must go through to get to the next spot. Other passages are optional side adventures. One of the side passages was particularly challenging to me: You drop in feet first, without being able to your feet. And getting out of this mini chamber was even harder. You have to either find a foothold to push off of, or hoist your body out using your arms. My upper body strength to weight ratio is not great! That was the only moment of the tour where I thought I might be stuck underground forever. Fortunately, my flailing feet eventually found a niche to push off of, and I freed myself.
The Meat Grinder and the Birth Canal
Toward the end of your expedition, you take on two especially challengeing passages, the Meat Grinder and the Birth Canal. The Meat Grinder isn’t too bad, really — it’s just kind of long, and you crawl over a lot of rocks with pointy edges. Make sure your kneepads are snugly in place before you start, and the Meat Grinder should be fine. (I did have pretty sore knees the next day.)
The Birth Canal, on the other hand, is a doozy. It’s not as long, but there is a spot or two where you really have to twist and maneuver your body — especially if you have hips or a butt on you. My 15-year-old son had no trouble getting through any passage in the cave, but I had trouble squeezing through a few, including the Birth Canal. I blame this section for the bruises on my upper arms the next day.
The chimney climb and slide
At this point, your group gather in a medium sized chamber with a small opening that looks up to the main platform where you started your tour. From here, your guide will offer you the opportunity to climb right out to the platform and be finished. Or, you can take on a grand finale: Climbing a narrow “chimney,” then roping up and sliding down an almost sheer cave wall back to the platform.
During our tour, one or more members of our group had trouble getting through the Birth Canal section. So, after my son James and I had entered this final chamber, the guide had to leave us there and go back. She led the rest of the group all the way back, through the Meat Grinder, the Pancake, etc. During this time, James and I waited in the final chamber alone.
This wait became pretty fun when a tour group descended the stairs. We soon recognized the voices of some friends who were taking the Spiral Tour. With our headlamps on, we stuck our heads near the opening and called their names. The moment when they noticed us calling them from the depths of the earth was a laugh.
Once our group made it back to the platform — which only took about 15 minutes — our guide and some of our group members joined us in the chamber. Finally: time for the chimney climb. This climb was both the most fun part of the entire tour, and the only part that seemed unsafe. There is a knotted rope hanging down the middle of the “chimney,” but you are not harnessed or roped in. Rocks inside the vertical tube provide footholds and handholds, so I only occasionally needed to grab the rope.
I tried not to think what would happen if I slipped while climbing the chimney. Of course, the idea was to keep hold of the rope. But as an indoor rock climber, I’m used to the security of a harness and belay rope. So I didn’t love this setup.
When you emerge from the chimney, you’re high above the platform that you were previously looking up at. This is the part where the guide tells you to sit down and ropes you up. Still, though: no harnesses. The guide simply wrapped the rope around my waist twice, then knotted it. I have no experience with the safety of this set-up, but it didn’t feel super secure.
Another knotted rope runs from this perch down to the platform at the bottom of the staircase. Scooting on my butt back down to the platform while clutching the rope made for my least favorite part of the tour. Even though I’m a skier, I have trouble letting go and allowing gravity to take control of my body. And even though our guide held the rope wrapped around my waist, I worried that I would start sliding out of control. But it went fine. I managed to land safely on the platform after just a few awkward minutes.
Before we talk about the Spiral Tour, a few answers to questions you may have about the Moaning Caverns Spelunking Expedition:
How much does the Moaning Caverns Expedition Crawling and Spelunking tour cost?
We paid $130. They offer a 10% military discount. I searched for other discounts such as Groupons but couldn’t find any at this moment.
Guides also appreciate tips. Members of our group tipped $15 to $20 per person.
What should you wear down into the cave?
The cave provides an info sheet in which they recommend wearing long sleeves and long pants. They recommend loose fitting clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty or ripped. Personally, I wore loose jeans and a Tshirt and this worked fine. I like jeans in a cave because they’re tough and yet flexible — and they have both front and back pockets. My friend wore leggings and she also seemed quite comfortable in those.
My clothes didn’t get torn or ruined — in fact I was only moderately muddy when I emerged from the cave. But my running shoes got pretty gross. If you have an old pair of sneakers or hiking boots you don’t care about, wear those to the cave. And definitely don’t wear sandals.
The cave management advises that you bring a complete change of clothes and a bag to carry your muddy clothes in, but we didn’t bother. In fact, some members of our group went straight to a restaurant right after the cave. (I went home to shower!)
How old do you have to be to go to Moaning Caverns Spelunking Expedition?
The minimum age is 12. We were kind of bummed about this because we had a 10-year-old on the trip with us who would have loved this adventure and could have easily completed it. However, I can see that they don’t want to risk having children get scared or behave carelessly.
Do you have to be really fit to do a cave spelunking tour?
I would say no. I am 50 years old and only moderately active. Yes, I go to a rock climbing gym about twice a week, but at the moment I went to the cave, I was pretty out of climbing form. And some people in our group had never gone rock climbing or anything like that. A couple of the maneuvers left me huffing and puffing, but I never felt like I was in over my head.
Larger people, either in height or girth, might have more trouble squeezing through the narrow passages. The cave management lists conditions that would disqualify you from the cave, including “excessive weight.” I am at the low end of obese — 185 pounds at 5″6 — and I had no trouble getting through anything. The staff at the cave should be able to advise you on this — either on the phone or when you arrive for your reservation.
How long is the Moaning Caverns Expedition?
They tell you to budget “half a day” to go down into the cave with them. We arrived at about 9:45 a.m. for our 10 a.m. tour, and left at around 1 p.m. However, we spent a decent amount of time waiting around. We met with our guide at 10, signed waivers, then she said she’d meet us in about 20 minutes to get our gear on. Getting the gear and instructions took a leisurely 15 minutes. Once inside the cave, we took our time, sitting back to chill in some chambers and exploring side caverns.
We spent one to two hours making our way through the cave. When the group was able to backtrack the same path in 15 minutes, I realized that we probably could have gotten through the whole tour in under an hour. However, doing it slowly was more fun.
What if I can’t make it through the narrow passageways on the Expedition Cave Tour?
Don’t worry. Our guide, Hayley, who was really patient and nice, told us we’d never be forced to attempt a passageway. We always had the option of going back the way we’d come. Once you’re pretty far into the cave, you might think that having to turn back would be a nightmare. You might worry that the rest of your group would be mad about it.
But in reality, when our group ended up going through the entire cave backwards, they found the return trip even more fun than the first time around. This time, they knew what to expect with from passage. So it was less scary and went a lot faster. James and I would have been jealous that we didn’t get to do that, except that we were having a good time hanging out in the final chamber entertaining our friends on the walking tour.
What can you bring on the Spelunking Expedition?
The management discourages bringing a phone or camera. However, after discussing it with our guide, I decided to bring my iPhone so I could take the photos you see here. Since I was wearing jeans, I was able to shift my phone to my front or back pocket, depending on whether I was navigating a passage on my belly or butt. However, there were moments when the phone got in my way, or when I worried it might be scratched or damaged. In the end, my phone came through the adventure fine, but I can understand why they don’t recommend it.
Other than that, you bring little to nothing. You can’t carry a bottle of water or a snack. My friend kept her Apple Watch on, and it didn’t get damaged.
How many people can spelunk Moaning Caverns together?
They take reservations from the public for up to eight people per tour. However, if the whole tour is booked by one party, they’ll let you add up to 10.
Moaning Caverns Spiral Tour
If you don’t feel comfortable getting down and dirty like a worm in the depths, the walking tour through the cave’s main chamber may be your speed. Since I didn’t go on this tour, I’ll give it a shorter description:
You walk down that 140-step spiral staircase down to the platform above the cave floor. You take in the grandeur — the “cave bacon” near the opening, the glossy white calcite frills, the formations. Your guide shares a little more history and science than what we heard on the expedition. The guide turns out all the lights so you can experience how dark it is underground without electric light. (During this part, James and I were asked to also put out our headlamps as we sat in the chamber below.) You walk around the platform, take photos, and then you walk back up the stairway.
Other caves I’ve visited, such as Mercer Caverns, have multiple chambers you can walk through, but Moaning Caverns is just one main chamber. Still, it’s very beautiful and an interesting tour.
How much does the Moaning Caverns Spiral Tour cost?
$23 for ages 12 and up, $17 for ages 2 to 11, and free for 2 and under. Yes, you can bring your baby into Moaning Caverns — but not your stroller. In fact, the management says babies have to either walk on their own or be carried in a front pack.
How long does the Spiral Tour take?
45 minutes. They leave at the top of every hour that they’re open.
Do you need to be fit to do the Spiral Tour?
You need to walk back up those 140 steps, but that’s all. It’s not hard for most people if you take it slow. And you see a lot of the beauty of the cavern walls from the stairs; taking it slow gives you time to take it all in.
More Info on Moaning Caverns Adventure Park
All in all, I’d highly recommend a visit to Moaning Caverns if you happen to be in Calaveras county, California. I loved the Spelunking tour, but if short on time (or money) I would have enjoyed the Spiral Tour as well.
A few answers to common questions about Moaning Caverns:
Do you need reservations to visit Moaning Caverns?
They recommend reservations for the Spiral Tour and require them for the Crawling Expedition. We reserved by phone about a week in advance.
When is Moaning Caverns open?
10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 7 days a week, year round. They run one Spelunking tour per day and a Spiral Tour every hour.
Why is it called Moaning Caverns?
We didn’t hear a single moan in this cave. But apparently, Native Americans and early settlers were aware of a moaning sound periodically emitting from the cave. Apparently, droplets of water falling into an eroded cavity in the calcite floor caused a small “thunk” sound. Then cave acoustics magnified that thunk into a eerie moan. However, development of the cave, including the addition of the tall winding staircase, must have messed up these acoustics, so no one hears the moan any more.