The Colony Fire, which merged with the Paradise Fire to form the KNP Complex in September, ignited within a mile of Crystal Cave, and the area around the cave sustained serious, high-severity fire. There were many fallen trees and rockslides along the road to the cave, and the trail down to the cave experienced multiple rockslides and damage to safety railings. Despite all the damage outside, we don’t think that there was any significant damage inside of Crystal Cave. We will know more in the spring.

Our park partners Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks will be focusing on recovery efforts in 2022 including reestablishing safe access to Crystal Cave. If all goes well, we are planning to reopen the cave in May 2023.