Subterr-ific: Crystal Cave Opens for Summer

Venture to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks and experience an underground wonder.

WHEN IS AN ADVENTURE "SUBTERR-IFIC"? Clearly the experience needs to involve entering a beneath-the-earth kind of place, whether it is a secret passage beneath an old castle, a cool tunnel connecting different magical lands, or a beautiful national park cave that observes a seasonal calendar. Of course, finding the first two subterr-ific subterranean situations mentioned might be slightly more challenging than finding your way to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks at the end of May. For that's when Crystal Cave opens each year, starting its always fascinating four-month run. Well, let's be real: Crystal Cave exists throughout the calendar year, as it has for eons now, but visitors may call upon its formation-filled spaces when warmer temperatures arrive. That is now, as of...

MAY 24, 2019, which is the official seasonal opening date for this classic California cave. The final date to see it this year? It's Sept. 29, just a week or so into the fall season. Best make for the tall trees, then, and your subterr-ific stroll, which will involve "... a steep half-mile walk to and from the cave parking area to the entrance." Once you're underground and inside the splendid marble cavern? There's a "half-mile loop" to enjoy on the tour, which runs 45 minutes. One nice notable thing about the tour? The esteemed Sequoia Parks Conservancy is at the lead, so come prepared to learn a lot about the cave's long and storied past. Super-duper important on the "things to know" list? No tickets are sold at the cave itself, so be sure to line up your entry well ahead of arriving (and, yep, weekends are pretty dang popular). Consider...

CRYSTAL CAVE... as the perfect "opposite" complement to the mega trees standing not too far from its entrance. As they go up, up, up to the sky, the cave winds into the Earth, offering visitors a day that is, in a whimsical way, beautifully bookended by two distinct yet neighboring ideas.

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