Mercer Caverns

As you drive on Main Street, just before you turn onto Sheep Ranch Road, there is a sign hanging outside of a store that says Mercer Caverns. I almost stopped because I thought maybe that's where the ticket office was, but luckily, there was no parking so I just followed the GPS and kept going. So, don't let the sign fool you, keep driving. We got there at 9am and bought tickets for their first tour at 9:30. It was great, the tour was just the two of us and the instructor, who was very knowledgeable and gave us a wealth of information. Some tours requires a minimum number of people, I am glad this one did not have that rule.

Rating for storeDefinitely not too impressed with this location, especially the store. Barely any available souvenirs in the shop. We haven't done the tour of the cabinet itself, but possibly will down the road just to see what it's like. I will update when we take the tour to the cavern.Quality of service: C Quality of products: DPrice: $- $$

This was perfect for my little family of kiddos, 4 and 12. We got there and bought tickets for the next tour which was an hour or so. So we drove downtown to Main St. for a quick walk around. Grabbed some coffee and candy to them head back. My 4 year old was a bit nervous but once our guide mentioned one of the sides looked like a dino fossil he was sold. There were two staircases that were really steep but he did a great job. WEAR TENNIS SHOES!

Visited Mercer Caverns on a warm summer day. It's a trek in you're coming out from the East Bay but a good way to beat the heat. Tours weren't very crowded and we had a funny and engaging tour guide. I liked that there was a good amount of walking through narrow passages and it felt like a mini (very mini) guided hike.They had a nice covered waiting area outside and a pretty good gift shop. Made this a stop en route to a few other gold country adventures and had a blast. It's my second favorite out of the 4 caverns I toured this past summer.

This is one of several limestone caves or caverns open to the public in this portion of the Sierra Nevada foothills and Gold Country, an an area otherwise mostly consisting of granite rather than limestone. It is an extensive series of caverns with trails and stairs up and down. One must visit through a tour, as is normal in such places. The tour takes close to an hour and we had a very nice time with an excellent tour guide, even though there was a fairly large group at the time. The history explained o the tour is interesting.This one is very different from the nearby Moaning Cavern (or Moaning Cave as I always remember it being called when I was a kid). That one is essentially one giant cave with spiral steps down. This is a series of caverns and caves with trails and stairs up and down in various parts, see even if you've seen one, the other is interesting. I can't compare to the others caves around since I haven't been to any of those since I was a kid an do not remember details yet. I hope to back get to them again eventually. There is a gift shop, of course, plus toilets, and there is also a gold panning thing for kids.

Amazing tour provided by Marshall today. Super educational and answered all questions from our group throughly. Highly recommend this experience if you're in the area! Takes around 45 minutes, steep stairs and some narrow. My cousin is about 6 ft tall and definitely had to duck to make it through but he made it!

Walked in about 2:30pm. Asked for tickets for the tour. Guy sitting on the ground behind the counter. (Guy with a bunch of piercings) said....Sold out come back another time. No hello. Just a rude impolite bark right off the start. Needless to say won't be going back to that place. Poor choice of employee.

I grew up in Calaveras County and have a deep affection for its people. During a 4th of July visit with my family, we chose Murphys as our base camp. Due to the heatwave, we visited Mercer Caverns, a place I had previously enjoyed and wanted to share with my family.We arrived just before noon, and went into the gift shop to purchase tickets. My daughter suffers from an autoimmune disease, so we masked up before entering to make our purchase. We were the only customers, and were met by two members of the staff. Patrick, who ended up leading our tour, explained the tour and we paid. He said we could wait outside or "stay in here and buy some things." Honestly, not much worth buying but I'm happy to support local and probably would have spent some money. Unfortunately, as soon as we stepped a few feet away, the other staff member began making disparaging comments about people who wear masks and COVID. In a quiet, cavernous room with only four people, it certainly wasn't a comfortable situation. I asked my daughter to wait for me outside. I informed the staff that the masks were for my daughter's health, not to make a statement. Despite this, they offered no apology. While the cave was beautiful, the experience was ruined by the staff's lack of compassion.The incident upset me. I taught my kids that everyone has a story. We don't know, and shouldn't make assumptions about, what people go through. Unfortunately, the staff at Mercer Caverns failed to demonstrate basic human decency and empathy. We won't be returning.

We had a great time at Mercer Caverns! We are a family of 4 with 2 young children (9 and almost 5 year old) and so we were not sure if they would get scared or have difficulty navigating the stairs. Our tour guide was Wren and he was fantastic. We learned a lot about the caverns history but he would tell stories in a way that our children were also listening. He was even very kind and answered their silly questions at the end of the tour with enthusiasm. The cavern is stunning and I highly recommend going to anyone that has the ability to climb hundreds of steep stairs, it's worth the effort.

Our visit to this cavern tour got off to a rocky start--pun intended--thanks to the ticket staff. When I asked if we could purchase tickets for a later time, I was informed (in the snippiest tone imaginable) that they don't offer that option. Okay, I get it, but maybe a little kindness wouldn't hurt? Instead, it felt like I was being scolded for asking a perfectly reasonable question.Then, there's the price. Let's just say the tickets were steep--much like the cavern walls. For what they charge, I half-expected a complimentary snacks, and perhaps a dazzling light show at the end.While the cavern itself was beautiful and awe-inspiring, the lackluster customer service and high ticket prices left us feeling like we'd unearthed more frustration than fun. A little polish in the front office would go a long way.