Black Chasm Cavern
Volcano (Amador County) · near Volcano / Jackson / Sutter Creek · Gold Country & Central Valley
Caving
At a glance
- Depth
- 100
- Season
- Year-round · Hours: 9am–4pm · Check website for current availability
- Cost
- Adults $22 · Children $16
- Difficulty
- Easy to moderate · Paved walkways · Well-lit · Blue viewing platform above underground lake
Permits and booking
- Permit
- No permit. 15701 Pioneer Volcano Road, Volcano, CA 95689. Nearby Volcano is a historic Gold Rush town with interesting geology (volcanic landscape explaining the town's name).
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
- Gear
- Jacket · Camera — the underground lake reflections are exceptional
Caving detail
- Cave type
- limestone
- Tour length
- 45–60 minutes
- Formations
- Helictites (gravity-defying formations) · Underground lake with perfect mirror reflection · Stalactites & stalagmites · Rare crystalline formations
- Featured caves
- Helictite Chamber · Underground Lake Platform
- Intl tip
- The Gold Country cave corridor — Black Chasm (Volcano), Mercer Caverns (Murphys), and Moaning Cavern (Vallecito) — covers three distinct geological features within 30 miles of each other on Highway 4 through Calaveras and Amador counties. All three can be visited in a single ambitious day, or over a relaxed weekend with wine tasting and historic town exploration in between.
The guide
Black Chasm Cavern achieved National Natural Landmark status for a specific reason: the helictites. These formations grow outwa…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Black Chasm Cavern — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.4403, -120.625