Friday, May 22, 2015

4th of July Holiday through August


Boyden Cavern is located with in the Sequoia National Monument, 19 miles East of Grant Grove. Typically GPS does not recognize the location address so we suggest you navigate to Grant Grove CA located in Kings Canyon National Park, then continue East on Highway 180 for 19 more miles descending into the deepest river carved canyon in the country, just as the highway crosses the Kings River, Boyden Cavern will be on the right.

Here is a Google map to our location Boyden in Kings Canyon - Giant Sequoia National Monument

Boyden is open 7 days a week through end of August and 5 days a week through September.

Purchase your tickets at the small visitor center/gift-shop which is located right at the trail head to the cavern. Ticket prices are as follows.
  1. Adults 13 years and older $14.50
  2. Children 12 and under $8.75
  3. Children 3 and under free
  4. We accept Master Card, Visa and Discover Cards
Tours are conducted on the hour, first tour departs at 10:00 AM and continues through the last tour at 5:00 PM. Tours are about 1 hour long including a 5 - 7 minute hike up to the cavern entrance and back down. Please be advised that the walk up to the cavern entrance although short is considered strenuous, steep in two sections and for the average person will take your breath away.

Cameras are recommended and we suggest using a flash.


No advance reservation necessary for the holiday, just come by the visitor center and ask one of the guides for details. Tickets are purchased first come fist served on the day of arrival. Except for  Holidays or when we have school groups tours, wait times for tours are rarely more than 1/2 hour long.

Tours during holidays in the morning or late afternoons are the best time to visit and miss the crowds. Tours from 11:00 am through 3:30 pm tours can fill up and be sold out up to 2 hours, tickets can be purchased in advance. During the busiest time of the holiday management will begin adding tours on the 1/2 hour, so 10:00, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30 throughout the day until at least 4:30.

Now if you are a group of 15 or more and would like to make a reservation there is a couple of things you need to know. Reservations can ONLY be made for weekdays and No Holidays, typically. Sorry for any inconvenience that may cause your group. Prices are based on time of year and which day is selected. Special request often are considered and if we can accommodate we would enjoy serving your group. Some of the special request we have had in the past:

  •  Early morning tour (sometimes on a holiday), ask at the visitor/gift-shop
  • Very late afternoon 6:00 PM or later, ask at the gift-shop
  • Flash Light only -  Oh and very fun!! and only in the evening, ask at the visitor/gift-shop
  • Entire tour time booked just for group (no General Public), contact boydencavern@gmail.com
  • Entire picnic area and cavern booked for very large groups, contact boydencavern@gmail.com
To book a Group reservation please contact us at boydencavern@gmail.com with your group details and preferred date, please include an alternative date in case the first date is not available.

Cavern access and difficulty:
The cavern is accessible by a Wilderness trail which is located near the visitor center at the Boyden parking lot. The hike up the trail consists of 5 to 9 minutes of hiking which includes two sections of very steep trail. Even the guides are out of breath after the short hike up to the cavern entrance. If you have concerns about the hike let the guides know, they will suggest that you start up trail 5 to 10 minutes early so that you may take as many brakes as necessary and not fill hurried to stay up with the group.

Inside the cavern expect, cement trial with hand-railing throughout parts of the cavern. There are some steps of only 3 to 5 at any one time. Some steps however require a person the bend over to miss the ceiling while climbing the steps. Expect occasional low ceilings and once in awhile narrow passages. Claustrophobia is normally not an issue inside Boyden Cavern. The last three rooms to Boyden DO NOT have cement trail, you will be following the stream bed, no water at this time, but many slippery spots, small rocks, uneven surface and low ceilings. The cavern is one way in and one way back out, however there is an optional lower trail out of the cavern (lot's of fun and adds an entire different feel to the trip), this lower trial is strictly optional because it follows the stream bed out of the cavern and is also very slippery, has very uneven surfaces, is narrow and primitive, make sure you have very good shoes.

Canyoning Update
Currently we are still unable to offer any canyoning trips at this point. We are working with the USFS on routes with in the Wilderness, each route needs to be scouted by our guides then approved by the Forest Service. So to all our canyon folks guests, I would like to make a personal suggestion, located in the California Gold Country about 5 hours north of Boyden and about 2 hours South East of Sacramento is a beautiful little cavern called Black Chasm Caverns. They offer the neatest mini canyon trip (not in the cavern)with all sorts of interesting physical elements, amazing geology and a host of other amazing clever and fun surprises . Although this adventure is not for high end risk takers, I have to suggest the trip to just about everyone else. Children as young as 8 have been able to do the Mini version of this trip. They call the tour the Labyrinth Tour and below I have included a link direct to their site. For everyone else who wants our waterfall rappels and canyoning experience in Kings Canyon, stand by, we are working as fast as we can.




Thank you to all our valued guests
Get Out, Breath Hard and See the Wilderness

Monday, May 11, 2015

Here is your most up to date information for Boyden Cavern

Boyden Cavern is located with in the Sequoia National Monument, 19 miles East of Grant Grove. Typically GPS does not recognize the location address so we suggest you navigate to Grant Grove CA located in Kings Canyon National Park, then continue East on Highway 180 for 19 more miles descending into the deepest river carved canyon the country, just as the highway crosses the Kings River Boyden Cavern will be on the right.

Purchase your tickets at the small visitor center/gift-shop which is located right at the trail head to the cavern. Ticket prices are as follows.

  1. Adults 13 years and older $14.50
  2. Children 12 and under $8.75
  3. Children 3 and under free
  4. Discounts need to be ask for before purchasing ticket. We offer Military, Senior and AAA
Tours are conducted on the hour, first tour departs at 11:00 AM and continues through the last tour at 4:00 PM. Tours are about 1 hour long including the 5 minutes up to the cavern and the walk back down.

Cameras are recommended and we suggest using a flash.

Boyden is open 7 days a week through end of August and 5 days a week through September.

No advance reservation necessary or currently available, just come by the visitor center and ask one of the guides for details. Tickets are purchased for that day and rarely is there ever a wait, with the exception of Holidays or when we have school groups.

Now if you are a group of 15 or more and would like to make a reservation there is a couple of things you need to know. Reservations can ONLY be made for weekdays and no holidays, typically. Sorry for any inconvenience that may cause your group. Prices are based on time of year and which day is selected. Special request often are considered and if we can accommodate we would enjoy serving your group. Some of the special request we have had in the past:

  •  Early morning tour (sometimes on a holiday)
  • Very late afternoon 6:00 PM or later
  • Flash Light only -  Oh and very fun!! and only in the evening
  • Entire tour time booked just for group (no General Public)
  • Entire picnic area and cavern booked for very large groups
To book a Group reservation please contact us at boydencavern@gmail.com with your group details and preferred date, please include an alternative date in case the first date is not available.

Cavern access and difficulty:
The cavern is accessible by a Wilderness trail which is located near the visitor center at the Boyden parking lot. The hike up the trail consists of 5 to 9 minutes of hiking which includes two sections of very steep trail. Even the guides are out of breath after the short hike up to the cavern entrance. If you have concerns about the hike let the guides know, they will suggest that you start up trail 5 to 10 minutes early so that you may take as many brakes as necessary and not fill hurried to stay up with the group.

Inside the cavern expect, cement trial with hand-railing throughout parts of the cavern. There are some steps of only 3 to 5 at any one time. Some steps however require a person the bend over to miss the ceiling while climbing the steps. Expect occasional low ceilings and once in awhile narrow passages. Claustrophobia is normally not an issue inside Boyden Cavern. The last three rooms to Boyden DO NOT have cement trail, you will be following the stream bed, no water at this time, but many slippery spots, small rocks, uneven surface and low ceilings. The cavern is one way in and one way back out, however there is an optional lower trail out of the cavern (lot's of fun and adds an entire different feel to the trip), this lower trial is strictly optional because it follows the stream bed out of the cavern and is also very slippery, has very uneven surfaces, is narrow and primitive, make sure you have very good shoes.

Canyoning Update
Currently we are still unable to offer any canyoning trips at this point. We are working with the USFS on routes with in the Wilderness, each route needs to be scouted by our guides then approved by the Forest Service. So to all our canyon folks guests, I would like to make a personal suggestion, located in the California Gold Country about 5 hours north of Boyden and about 2 hours South East of Sacramento is a beautiful little cavern called Black Chasm Caverns. They offer the neatest mini canyon trip (not in the cavern)with all sorts of interesting physical elements, amazing geology and a host of other amazing clever and fun surprises . Although this adventure is not for high end risk takers, I have to suggest the trip to just about everyone else. Children as young as 8 have been able to do the Mini version of this trip. They call the tour the Labyrinth Tour and below I have included a link direct to their site. For everyone else who wants our waterfall rappels and canyoning experience in Kings Canyon, stand by, we are working as fast as we can.




Thank you to all our valued guests
Get Out, Breath Hard and See the Wilderness

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

See below for pricing and tour times for Boyden Cavern.

As a Public Service Announcement the Unites States Forest Service has initiated new fire restrictions, these restriction are critical to fire safety during these critically dry times. Please click on the link to read full details, Important Fire Restrictions

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Boyden Cavern Updated Schedule
 
Boyden schedule from May 2nd through May 10th 2015 is as follows.

May 2nd and 3rd 

First tour departs at 11:00 am
Tours depart every hour on the hour. Last tour is at 4:00 PM

May 4th

Only (3) tours that day 11:00, 1:00 and 3:00

May 5th through May 10th

Tours depart every hour on the hour
First tour leaves at 11:00 am
Last tour of the day departs at 4:00 PM

Check back regularly for updates regarding our schedule after May 10th.  Ticket purchases are made right at the Boyden trail head inside our small visitor greeting center. Tickets are $14.50 for folks 13 years and older. $8.75 for folks 12 years and younger. Children 3 and younger are free.

Discounts available for AAA, Military and Senior, make sure to request your discounts before purchasing your ticket.

Groups are 15 or more people, reservation can be made at www.boydencavern@gmail.com Prices are vary with group size, time of day as well as time of season. May and September weekdays are the best deals for groups.

Finally for the folks interested in our amazing canyoning trips - Currently we are going through a restructure phase and can not offer these trips for the 2015 season. However we strongly urge you to keep an eye on our Blog for any last minute changes and updates.

Remember the Forest and Parks belong to you, get out, breathe more, explore more and get away from the crowds by visiting Kings Canyon located within Giant Sequoia National Monument, the nations truly undiscovered Forest and Park.

Thank you to all our valued guests!!