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Senior Staff Writer
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March 22, 2026
Crystal Cave is a captivating destination in California’s Sequoia National Park, drawing over 50,000 visitors annually since the 1980s. After a four-year closure caused by successive natural disasters, the cave successfully welcomed visitors back for tours last summer.
Now, reservations are open and filling up quickly for the 2026 season, running from May 22 through November 1.
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Visiting Crystal Cave
As one of the few developed caves in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon region, Crystal Cave requires a guided tour for entry. Each tour accommodates up to 35 people and must be booked in advance.
Plan to arrive early for a 20-minute, self-guided hike to the cave entrance, at which point a guide will lead a 50-minute walk through the cave’s steep paths and stairs. The half-mile, round-trip journey takes you through multiple chambers with fascinating geological formations.
Daily tours run from 9am to 3pm starting May 22nd, 2026. You can now book them at the Sequoia Parks Conservancy website.
NPS Photo by Dale Pate
History of Crystal Cave
Crystal Cave’s architecture is the result of a 1.2-million-year geological process, beginning as limestone deposits from a prehistoric seabed. Intense tectonic heat and pressure eventually forged the limestone into marble, and acidic groundwater carved its way through the stone to create a subterranean landscape of fissures, stalactites, stalagmites, and crystal draperies. An ancient stream winds its way through the chambers to this day.
Though Indigenous groups like the Monache and Yokut have lived in these mountains for millennia, the cave was officially documented by National Park Service employees A.L. Medley and C.M. Webster in 1918.
Park Superintendent Walter Fry protected and developed the site as a visitor attraction, which opened to the public in 1940. Park rangers have offered guided summer tours since 1982.