Mercer Caverns

Discovered on Sept. 1, 1885, by Walter J. Mercer, Mercer Caverns is one of the oldest continuously operating show caves in California. Located in the heart of the California Gold Country in the Sierra foothills of Calaveras County just outside the historic gold mining town of Murphys, Mercer Caverns has been welcoming visitors for over 125 years. Visitors taking a tour of Mercer Caverns have the opportunity to view an amazing variety of cave formations such as stalactites, stalagmites, draperies, columns, flowstone, helictites and soda straws. At one of the deepest parts of the caverns visitors will be able to see a beautiful and delicate array of aragonite crystals for which Mercer Caverns won a Grand Prize at the 1900 Paris World Exposition. Visitors also have the opportunity to experience a world of total darkness when the lights in the caverns are briefly turned off. Designated as California Point of Historic Interest #004, Mercer Caverns is truly a jewel of the Motherlode.