Lake Shasta Caverns

Missed out on the caverns...here is an opportunity for you to voice your complaint.

Unfortunately, and beyond our control, Lake Shasta Caverns will be closed for tours due to the Forest Service Closure Order. This closure impacts ALL federal Forest Service lands until 09/15/2020. The reason for this order is because the number of fires in CA has consumed all of the available resources. If a fire were to break out there is a concern that there may not be resources to attack the fire. If you have a complaint or questions, we strongly suggest contacting the U....S. Forest Service - Shasta-Trinity National Forest as we have no control over this order and the details were very slim to say the least. Here is the contact information: Shasta-Trinity National Forest Headquarters 3644 Avtech Parkway Redding, CA 96002 (530) 226-2500 711 (TTY) All Offices Shasta Lake Ranger Station (530) 275-1587

Good morning cavern explorers! We have resumed tours after the wind storm that blew through yesterday. Fortunately, for the time being the strong northerly winds blew back all of the smoke. Currently we are sitting at 16 AQI. We are watching the smoke closely as it does seem to be working back our way but at a higher altitude. This leaves us with clear air on the lake but it also blocks out the sun reducing the temperature.... It looks horrible and red, but you can breath freely and at least it is MUCH cooler! The summer crowds are gone, come up now to enjoy the piece and quite!

Thank you Daisy Caballero and KRCR News Channel 7 for covering how successful our weekend was

Looking for something to do this weekend? Get out and explore!!! We have a plethora of outdoor recreation available surrounding the area. Not just your run of the mill activities either! Here is a list of Attractions that have won the 2020 Tripadvisor Award in the area (among many other awards): Sundial Bridge: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g32952-d28609... Whiskeytown - https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g32952-d84889 Turtle Bay - https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g32952-d26530 Burney Falls - https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g32125-d10268 Lake Shasta Caverns - https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g32601-d64830 Shasta Lake - https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g33078-d14243 Lassen: (TripAdvisor breaks Lassen down into individual attractions rather than listing it as one place.) Mt Lassen: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g143042-d1465 Manzanita Lake: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g143042-d1451 Hiking Trails: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g143042-d4355

Guess what??? WE'RE COMING BACK! Monday, we will officially opening tours! Apologies to those who could not attend the tour recently, and thank you for your feedback. Your support has not gone unnoticed! ... Before I offer anymore details, I would like to personally thank the Shasta County Board of Supervisors and the Shasta County HHSA for the cooperation in working with us...we know your time is extremely valuable and thank you for giving us the opportunity. We will make sure #ShastaStrong is heard loud and clear. Most of all...our guests. You really have no idea how much we missed you! Thank YOU for all of your support. The stories you have shared with us have been amazing! We are honored to have you visit us! Tours will resume 9am Monday morning. The gift store will be open at 8am. If current trends rebound, I respectfully request that if a support crowd wants to come out and cheer us on, please do it at the exit. I do not want to jeopardize another closure. Again, we cannot tell you how much we love the support, but let's not damage a good thing. In regards to being mindful and respectful, we will be posting our current COVID-19 Guidance. We still have minor edits and a cross check with new protocols. If you could imagine, it has been scrutinized. Thank you National Caves Association and the International Caves Association for your assistance and cooperation with local governments to provide guidance. We are missing our cave family this year as we were supposed to host the 2020 NCA Convention, but next year is going to be a BLAST! But first, let's get through this together. Cooler heads will always prevail. K....whose ready to go cavin'?! A BIG PS - We are possibly going to be needing a number of employees. We are not quite sure how many yet, but we are accepting applications NOW! Any resume or generic application will be fine. Please call at least an hour before arriving as we do want to see you, but we are going to be stretched thin. #ShastaStrong https://www.facebook.com/watch/

Good evening Cave people! We have had some very promising movement with the Shasta County Board of Supervisors amd Shasta County Health today. If you jump to the 3 hour, 45 minute mark (03:45:00) the discussion of the caverns starts.... Unanimous support from the board and an agreement by the Health Officer to reclassify and reopen Lake Shasta Caverns We meet with Shasta Health and the National Caves Association tomorrow to classify the cave and get the cave tours going again This may also has the possibility to help the other magnificent caves in CA such as Mercer Caverns, Moaning, Black Chasm and California Caverns! Thank you all for the support and we will continue to keep you posted

Good evening cave people! Tomorrow morning could have the possibility of good news. We will be on KCNR Talk Radio at 7:30am. We will be discussing the details about the Cave Tour closure and the impacts that it represents. After the interview, several employees and I will be presenting in front of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors and Shasta County HHSA to for these 2 items:... 1) Reclassify the caverns to a closer category to what they are, "Underground Recreation." A very close second that would suffice is "Outdoor Recreation." 2) With the new classification, allow cavern tours to resume with COVID-19 protocols. 3) Describe the socioeconomic impact of the caverns. One major example is that from July 1 to July 15, Lake Shasta Caverns NET payment to employees on paychecks was $100,000. The new closure will drop that to roughly $30,000/month. What really hurts the community is that we were actively hiring when they closed the tours. We appreciate anyone who wants to come out and support us, but we do ask this. Please act respectfully. Although we disagree with the classification and subsequent closure, we absolutely respect our community and officials and are simply offering our expert advice on education of caves and their classification. After all, that is exactly what we do! ;-) Over 2.8 million guests since starting in 1964! Education, conservation and stewardship constitute our goals and we simply want to continue to do that in a safe and respectable manner. Since re-opening under compliance in June and until this new closure, we have had not one tracing call nor a sick employee. We are actually beating the statistics and continue to plan to do so. At no point will we jeopardize the health and safety of our guest or employees. Not only has our actions and compliance produces a safe environment, but one in which our guests have been promoting us specifically because of the steps and precautions we have taken without compromising the tour. For those of you who have already reached out with your support, thank you! With every ounce of pun that I can muster up...YOU ROCK!!!

Thank you Record Searchlight | Redding.com for covering this story.

Good morning Cavern Fans. Unfortunately, we are the bearer of bad news. The State of California and Shasta County Health and Human Services have issued a temporary closure notice for our cavern tours ONLY! The agencies have now decided that Lake Shasta Caverns National NATURAL Landmark is an Indoor Museum. Although we vehemently disagree with the order, we will be respectful to our community and re-open in a compliant and proper manner as we did before. (FYI - we will provi...de our COVID-19 compliant plan upon request). While the rest of the property and activities are open, we have obeyed the notice while Lake Shasta Caverns managers and owners work with the agencies to re-open the tours. The closure was NOT enacted by non-compliance of COVID-19 protocols or complaints. In fact our ratings and reviews have increased due to our ability to provide safe environments for our employees and guests. While the news is discouraging, we are looking at this with positive ideas and creating a host of new experiences for our guests. Extended lake tours, private family functions anywhere on the lake, mountain top bus tours and outdoor activities to ensure our guests retain the excellent educational opportunities that our guides provide. We will remain the most trained and educated outfitters on the lake...just with new tours! The managers and owners will continue to work with the agencies in order to correctly classify Lake Shasta Caverns National Natural Landmark correctly as an "Outdoor Museum." If you would like voice your opinion, I have included the contact information below to reach the people who are making the decisions. We sincerely apologize to our guests and we completely understand the frustration. Stay posted as the press release will be coming soon...we want to open our cave tours ASAP!!! Shasta County Health and Human Services: (530) 225-5591 2650 Breslauer Way Redding, CA 96001 CA Department of Public Health: COVID 19 Information Line: 1-833-4CA4ALL (1-833-422-4255) PO Box 997377 MS 0500 Sacramento, CA 95899-7377 Respectfully, Matthew Doyle General Manager Lake Shasta Caverns National Natural Landmark Lake Shasta Dinner Cruises

Just another day at the caverns..... our Elsie! LCM-6 Vessel. Vessell weight 75,000 lbs, 32,000 lb carrying capacity.... The pride of the cavern fleet. She has carried busses, materials and a plethora of goods to ensure that we can operate. "Elsie," we love you!

"Geochemical analysis from the last ice age may hold clues for future climate change and preparedness strategies" This is an article describing what we are learning from caves right now! Written records of the weather really only started in 1850. 170 years of records to describe what may or may not be happening to the climate. Considering that the planet is roughly 4,500,000,000 years old, that 170 is a very small sample. Cave formations, speleothems, are created through c...hemical processes and leave evidence behind of how they were formed. Many formations have layers or rings just like a tree. Instead of just one year, these "rings" can capture hundreds, if not thousands of years. These formations can hold information spanning back tens of thousands of years! Oxygen, CO2 and other impurities can be measured and help scientists to create a more accurate depiction of past climates. This broadens our understanding of climate change in timelines and severity! This is just one of many projects that we work with agencies, colleges and the community in encouraging conservation and stewardship of our natural resources You'll never know what you'll find, or learn, at Lake Shasta Caverns! #CaveIntoYourCuriosity

One of our guides caught this Mama and her cub on the lower half of the cavern road. We do believe she has 2 cubs (recently saw 2 in tow), but the other cub must have been out of site. The cavern access road to the caverns is the only road this far south on the peninsuala. This allows for the natural haibtat and wildlife to roam the area without fear of interuption. We treasure conservation and stewardship of not only the cave, but the surrounding area and actively have proj...ects to ensure the survival of our amazing and beautiful wildlife! You'll never know what you'll find at Lake Shasta Caverns!