Reviews

We went for a mini spring break to Santa Cruz and had to pick where to visit in just 2 days. So glad we were able to fit in The Mystery Spot! I called as we were driving to Santa Cruz but they didn't have enough spots on the last tour for us. So I booked online for our last day. Early tour at 10:24am on a Wednesday was the right decision. We arrived 30 minutes early and found lots of parking available. Checked in and then relaxed until our tour was called. Nicholas was our tour guide and was knowledgable, witty, and had lots of puns about trees. My husband joined in and we listened to him continue the puns the whole way home! Definitely worth the $8 tickets price and parking. At the end of the tour they give you a bumper sticker, it's a right of passage in California to have one on your vehicle. We will consider going back again and taking friends. This defies everything you've been taught about physics.

This was so much fun. Had kids age 4 to 47 and all had a great time. We are still talking about how it a week later. Somebody needs to call the Mystery Machine in to solve this one.

The road in is pretty bad, which we didn't know (would have taken one of our other cars, lol), it's in a beautiful setting in the trees, had christmas lights up, just beautiful. of course it's a tourist trap, but fun for people. seemed like all optical illusions. a few in our party of 6 got queezy/nautious. One even ended up throwing up later. So don't participate if you think it will mess with your sensory perception, it's NOT worth it. wouldn't do it again.

Make sure to buy tickets in advance.....fortunately some folks no showed after an hour of waiting and we got in

Very fun for all of us- great photo ops, videos, tour guide was hysterical,

Very nice tour with fabilous guid prima! He made the tour so intresting and fun! We had fun and the tour was nice we will recomend others to go

The Mystery Spot is full of entertaining optical illusions. The whole family will enjoy them. My wifeand I and our grandchildren did.

We had a fun time here (just us 2 adults) but the groups seemed to large and we had to rush through without taking all the photos we wanted. Would still recommend it though.

This was a very interesting trip to the hills of Santa Cruz. The entry way where you wait for your tour is beautiful, cool, and nice. There are lots of flowers so of course the butterflies and birds are abundant. The Cantina and the gift shop are good too. The people that work there are really great and helpful with questions. Loved our tour guide Mo! He was fantastic and made us laugh the entire time! He needs a raise! The tour also gives you lots to think about. Our Kids has a great time! Parking isn’t great but that’s normal anywhere on the west coast that has so many people. The drive in was beautiful! Oh and enjoy the banana slugs! Have fun - we will be back for sure.

Its a very interesting place, they make you believe the gravity is different.
It is very believable:) but you will find out later!
Excellent place to take pictures with all the wierd gravity rooms!

Very nice food stall, basic with tables and chairs, but food is good.
Has veggie options too.

Santa cruz beaches arent far away, so you should combine it with a trip to the beaches perhaps

Better to come here early in the morning and go for one of the earlier slots.

Had brad as a guide he was very funny and interesting. Amazing to see the mysteries of this spot. Also a nice walk if you fancy a 20min stretch

Bit of a commercial tourist trap but I would say worth a visit for the novelty factor. You can either take the phenomenon at face value or start really thinking about the amazing things you see and do. My partner thinks he had it sussed but I'm a believer. We turned up and were lucky to get on a tour but it gets very busy. .

This is a great place to take a student to challenge them to explain the optical illusions (which are very well done). All can be explained and this makes a great science project.

Went there on a Tuesday, it had been raining, but stopped when I was there, got the tickets ($8 per person over 3) and only waited a few minutes till the tour started at 1230pm. The guide is what makes this tour fun, ours was really nice and kept the jokes rollling. The ground was wet, but the trail is all cement and not very slippery considering the slope it's on. Not a good place for wheel chairs or strollers in my opinion.
The drive along the Mystery Spot road is very winding, when you get close to the area, you lose cell reception and internet, so don't plan on calling or texting from there. Tour is about 35-40 minutes. They don't accept credit cards, only debit cards with a $2 charge, so bring cash

The tour is very interesting. The staff is great and funny. It's not a very long tour but worth the ticket fee for sure!

This was a fun thing to do with the kids. We had a great tour guide which I think made the tour more fun (I can't remember his name). He even told us where to stand to get great photos, and took pictures for us. Even though it's purely a tourist trap, it is a nice little side trip while you are in Santa Cruz.

First time I visited in 1995. Core 'Mystery spot' has remained the same. We still miss the elderly person's explanation. And his 'Deep Physics' rather 'Gravitation theories'! He used to write equations with chalk on board... Now it’s so crowded. Prior reservations are required to take the guided tour. I still don’t understand #why only Asians# come visiting here. The Mystery Spot is a visual illusion–based tourist attraction near Santa Cruz. Visitors experience gravity-defying demonstrations on the short but steep uphill walk. It is a popular tourist attraction for people worldwide. Teens with the knowledge of Newton's laws get engrossed here!

The Mystery Spot is no fake attraction. There is really some odd magnetic occurrence right there. You can feel it in your head as you take the tour. When we came back to our car, the newly installed electronic radio in it had been completely deprogrammed. Great place to take out-of-town friends, and it's right in the heart of Santa Cruz.

Beautiful redwoods surround this tourist gem. It's a group of cottages built on an incline with slanted floors to fool you into thinking things go against gravity. It's a little funhouse in the woods, great mountain air, kinda fun to listen to the guide's stories, some kids (and adults) will probably believe the scientific double-talk, a little like Santa Claus when they kids were younger. Adults will appreciate the presentation and overall outdoor woodsy environment. Locals go there too with their kids to enjoy. It's entertainment, and can be educational if kids can learn to question things and explain the funhouse style experience, or just enjoy it for fun.

We were booked for morning 10.36 tour. The initial introduction given by our guide made us a bit nervous. The house itself was looked strange and when we entered it, it was a weird feeling...a strange feeling of being pulled to a corner. Intially had difficulties to stand straight and later found it easy to stand at different angles without any support.....quite interesting experience....water flowing uphill, ball going up the climb.....kids enjoyed it the best.

Entrance fee is $8 and parking $5. Better to book online.

you must go there it fun exciting and yet a mystery. staff is friendly grounds well maintained and exciting and don't forget your free bumper sticker had a super fun time

You will be amazed by what you see, and better yet you will enjoy the presentation. Pay attention to your tour guide, they have plenty of jokes!

Strange experience in Santa Cruz. Still trying to figure out how they do it, but interesting and a must see.

This was just a quick spot of fun! The tour was cute and the hiking trail was nice. Cheap and fun, but pretty quick only about 20 minutes.

The short drive thru the Redwood forest was breathtaking.
The guide - Hope. She was lovely and very informative, she took the time to listen to my questions, didn't mind taking photos for us and she didn't rush our group thru the tour, she was fun in nature.
The spot was amazing, mind boggling! I would definitely come here again and bring friends & fam.
Best $8 ever spent!!!
Highly Recommended.

This is a unique place to visit and I would recommend seeing it at least once! There can be a long wait time so next time I would call ahead. They have plenty of seating and a store with food,drinks, and souvenirs.

We had no idea what to expect just that this was a little tourist destination, Tours are every 30 Minutes and our guide was funny and knowledgeable , very interactive and fun for kids !

Nicely located in a forest and developed with a gift shop and food/drink sales and benches. Small groups are led through the exhibits so everyone can get a picture standing on a wall or standing on the ground at a 45 degree angle. It was a fun place and good for any age kids. Even adults were saying "how does that happen?"

Can not give an accurate review as we never actually made it to “the spot”. The wait for the next available tour was just over an hour and a half and we didn’t have the time to wait. We grabbed a snack and went to the gift shop both which were good. There are hiking trails to kill time as you wait for the tour.

Interesting attraction. Fun visit worth the small entrance fee. Staff are friendly and engaging and it makes you think!!! Not far from Santa Cruz.

Went with a group of teens. I think everyone had a pretty good time. I'm not sure any of os would feel the need to go back

It's fun. It's cheap. It's in a beautiful place. Go along and enjoy it.

This tour really challenges your mind and the optical illusion does make you feel a little woozy just to warn you. Some of it I really couldn't explain.

Our tour guide was a little jaded I think, especially as we had some sceptics in our group who were outspoken but it didn't stop us enjoying ourselves.

It's just a bit of fun.

I've been there a few times already to bring some visitors.
It's a short visit but it's worth the just 8$ you must pay. The environment is great surrounded by redwoods and the "mystery" spot is fun no matter what causes this phenomenon. It is highly recommended to experience with children (3 and under are free).

My husband, a close friend and I had been to this place in early April. I didn’t have time to do any research before going so I didn’t know what to expect. Maybe that, or the company we had, or the talkative friendly guide was the reason we enjoyed the experience. I did feel lightheaded inside the cabin, as did many other people. It’s good to visit once, maybe not a second time.

The place is remote and felt like hill station. The tour was about 45 minutes and we had a fantastic tour guide Nicolas. He was fun and got everyone engaged, specially our 9 year old. If you are around Santa Cruz and have half day to spare with young kids, its an ideal place.

easy day out at the Mystery Spot, its a fun place to go , been a few times now ,as we are local to the area and its not far from where we live . Great place to take out of town friends and family. Its well priced for the experience you get(the Mystery of the Spot) and the laughs .
gift shop has lots cool things to see and buy.
its all ways fun to visit .

The Mystery Spot is a strange place but good to go see for the $8pp and $5 parking fee if you have spare time. It's a house obviously built "catiwompis"/crooked. Has some oddities about it. I got really dizzy and nauseous and had to step out....unusual for me. It is also really on a slant and kind of slippery so don't recommend if you aren't stable on your feet. There is also a semi-short/steep hill to get up to it.

I'd recommend getting tickets ahead of time online as they were extremely busy and sold out by the time we got to our 3:00 reservation.

They serve food onsite and do have tables if you go early bring a picnic lunch. However I'd recommend walking up the hiking trail about 100 feet to the platform for a picnic......
There is also a short (1 mile??) hike on a trail into the redwood forest if you feel like hiking before or after.
Parking is busy and the drive in is tight but there are attendants at the entrance to help out.
There is a gift shop that has your usual coffee cups, t-shirts, toys, ice cream and magnets.
There are toilets there but they are less than pleasant. 🤢

The biggest mystery at The Mystery Spot? Why they can't seem to control the bees that swarm all around during the tour. If I had had a bee allergy, I would have been terrified.

As for the attraction, my biggest complaint AFTER the bees would be why charge a parking fee on top of an admission fee? It's a gravel parking lot way away from the nearest town, so who's going to be there and NOT park? Just makes more sense to me to simply bump the per person price from $8 to $10 and call it good. More than 2 people and you've made even more than the $5 parking fee.

Anyway, I won't spoil the Mystery Spot's claim to fame, other that it helps to be well-balanced...so to speak. If you are susceptible to vertigo or easily lose your balance, save you money and stay away. There is a bit of a climb before the main building, and then some rather interesting effects. Hopefully you'll get a good guide, as they really will make or break your experience. Note that the tour is only 40 minutes max, and beyond this tour there is really NOTHING else to do here.

Last note: you get a free bumper sticker at the end of the tour. Wait until after the tour before buying anything from the gift shop.

We went here as children and have recently returned. It has not lost it's mystery. Balls roll up hill, tall people become short and more. It is worth the 8 dollar entrance fee. Be warned, cameras do not work properly. Part of the mystery?

Last time, I went. I was charged six dollars and that was it. Now, they charge eight dollars per person plus five dollars for parking. The scripted jokes are getting worse but the demonstrations are the same. What was funny: the guide's fly was wide open. The only reason I went because I was hosting a friend from Australia. I think this will be the last time I go to this place.

Plan ahead. Buy tics online. Short drive but worth it. Low key fun. Bring a coat a little chilly set in redwood trees. Tour guides are more fun earlier in the day...fresh. But a good time for kids & adults

Cool place. Make sure to book a tour online in advance. Road to Mystery spot is not paved and it’s bumpy. Our tour guide was funny but after a while it felt the jokes were scripted :) Worth a visit when you are in the area.

What a Cool spot! If you get McKenna your in for a treat what a comic! even the surrounding trees shook with laughter. Dont miss this amazing cool unlike anything you experienced And shhh...only those who go knows

This is simply a fun time. I went with my daughter and we had a blast. Interesting and thought provoking activities that make it a true mystery! And the tour guides are really funny

This was made in 1939, it’s a visual illusion based attraction. Visitors are generally grouped in a cluster of 15 – 20 members and for every cluster a guide is given by default. This spot is on a hill and there is a ramp to ascend, which will not take more than 5 min.
This spot challenges the law of gravity and even our group which consists of engineers, MBA, Urban Planners from the top university were amazed and thrilled.
I would say it’s worth visiting and not to miss.

We were fortunate to be told about this mysterious spot by a local and decided to venture there on our way through. Definitely worth it! Something different and unexplainable- and one you can say you've not seen anywhere else on earth. Our guide was very humorous and entertaining. An hour well spent!

I've wanted to visit the Mystery Spot since seeing bumper stickers as a child. Finally got to go! I don't know how much is just optical illusions and how much real "mystery" but like Mulder, I want to believe. I was laughing my head off, grinning like a fool, loved the place. Sure, lots of stuff they try to sell you, but for an $8 ticket, deal of the century. Loved it 100%!

Been wanting to go here for a while and we finally checked it out. Cost is $8 a person for the tour, which is a bit more than half an hour long. The tour guide was cheesy, but I guess that's part of the point. It was really interesting to see and feel how gravity changes at this spot. Once you enter the house in the middle of the tour, your equilibrium goes a bit and you get dizzy. Not exaggerating. It was fun though and for the cost, worth it.

This is a fun place to take the kids and their friends. My 14 year old daughter enjoys the tours because the tour guides are good at using volunteers in the presentation. The whole tour is about 45 minutes. The one thing you need to realize is that when you arrive they will charge you a $5 parking fee, and if you want to use a debit or credit card there is an additional $2 charge, so bring cash!

Sensory perception and a real "mystery" is going on here! Bring the whole family and have fun...... It's a great teaching tool for kids and adults alike come for a few hours and learn something!

Had a great time playing in the cabin. A must see at least once if you are in the area
Recommend getting tickets on line to save some time and reserve your slot, especially on the weekends. Otherwise wait time could be 1-2 hrs

Fascinating. A definite “Must Do” if you’re visiting Santa Cruz. Did this on a whim with my 4 yr old and teenagers and they LOVED it! The beautiful redwoods are an added bonus.

The winding, bumpy, sometimes one lane roads there only add to the anticipation. The Mystery Spot is a Landmark! Not a place to spend all day but fun and surprisingly interesting. I’ve been a couple times and I still can’t figure out how they do it. Interactive and fun!

This place is a true mystery... and was very cool. We had fun and our tour guide was great! I am not sure what causes this mystery but I would recommend it especially with kids (not small ones).

The group tour guides were very funny and entertaining. It is very educational too. Many people in our group visited it multiple times. We would like to visit it again too.

I've lived in the Bay Area my whole life but never experienced the Mystey Spot. My husband hadn't either and since we are both lovers of the odd and mysterious, we decided to check out it.

We were the second tour of the day on a Friday and there were already quite a few people. I would get tickets ahead of time like we did to secure your spot. Our tour guide was really funny and great at explaining all the strange aspects of the mystery spot.

I will say I was pretty surprised how affected I was by this place since I'm not one to be very affected by my surroundings easily (no getting dizzy on curvy roads, not motion sick, etc). The hill up to the leaning house is quite a climb and the steep incline was slightly activating my fear of heights, but not enough to really notice. When we actually got into the house, I just could not get my head around it. I wasn't dizzy or sick to my stomach at all but seeing how we were all standing relative to the angles of the house made me feel like I was going to fall. My husband and I waited outside the house on more sturdy but still tilted ground. The guide was so great and came out to give my husband and I a cool picture in front of the house. He even gave me a helping hand because he could see I was so thrown off balance by the whole experience.

The tour is really quick but informative with small groups that allow for lots of picture time and space as well as the ability for the guides to involve at least every person in the demonstrations. My husband and I aren't sure we'd go back in the near future because of the whole throwing off our equilibrium thing, but if we have kids someday we might be persuaded to make another stop. It's definitely worth seeing at least once!

Read about this place on Atlas Obscura and thought it sounded fun. Both my partner and I had a lot of laughs and the guide was both informative and fun. The whole group were allowed plenty of time for photos opportunities

We had limited expectations, and had a good time. It's an optical illusion and as long as one is just trying to have fun without trying to solve the science, you will have fun. Phone service isn't great in the mountains so know the way back or else you might have trouble getting back to the city. And it gets dark pretty fast.

The Mystery Spot is a little out of the way, which adds to the experience in my opinion. It was a beautiful drive through the forest, back to the parking area for the spot. I do not recall if we had to pay to park. This place gets BUSY. Buy tickets in advance, or go knowing that you are buying tickets for a few hours later. We bought tickets, went to eat some lunch, and came back. The tour was informative, but if you a SUPER science nerd like my husband, you might be a little disappointed that the tour guides don't have super scientific explanations for things. Myself and the two other people in our party were not disappointed in the explanations we received. It was fun to see the experiments (I won't spoil it) and crowd participation is encouraged. There are some books in the gift shop that explain some of the theories of the spot. Overall, I think it was a great time and worth the trip since we were in the area. I recommend it. Kids will get a kick out of it!

A great place to take kids and not even bad for adults I dare say. They have a few optical illusions which really does play with your mind and leaves you wondering how the illusion is working. It was a pretty good time.

The setting is in the forest, reminded me of Gravity Falls from the Disney Channel. I was astounded by the place and the weirdness of the whole tour. I saw things I could not explain and the feeling of the phenomena takes a little getting used to.

We had more fun than I thought we would. Our tour guide was hilarious ad at only $8 per person it was an great value

Hard to know what to make of this place, but it was far more interesting & "mysterious" than we anticipated. The 45-minute tour encompasses a very short but steep trail, a couple of strange tilted shacks, lots of demonstrations & pic opps ... & tons of corny jokes. The optical illusions are clever tricks of perception, particularly in the shacks, which are really weird, especially for pics. Other demos with carpenter levels, balls rolling uphill & whatnot are less easy to comprehend for non-scientific folks like us. I imagine it's all explainable, but the fact remains that it seems amazing ~ & the entire experience is fun & amusing. I understand keeping the tours short to make more money, but ~ really ~ they should be less rushed; an extra 15 minutes would make a big difference.

Keep in mind: some folks actually feel weird on the tour, especially in the shacks. My sister & I felt a little dizzy & (literally) off-balance. And this tour is not for folks with disabilities, trouble walking &/or balancing, anyone who'd have difficulty with steep terrain. You'd have to be very careful with babies, & pets are not allowed (tho we saw one couple carrying a teeny dog).

Our guide (Mo) was a hoot. I've been a tour guide myself so I know how hard it is to appear fresh & entertaining over & over (& over) again, but Mo was great. And tho the jokes are canned, they're still funny. I really wish more folks had thought to tip him at the end.

The little gift shop is ok, the snacks are helpful (the hotdogs actually look good), & the bathroom / grounds are neat & clean. The road in is indeed very narrow & rough, tho it looks as tho they might be making improvements. I highly recommend going online to make reservations ahead of time, keeping in mind that the $5 parking fee is paid when you arrive.

Go... It's a non-generic, fading piece of "Americana," & worth keeping alive.

Our guide, Fergus was awesome and funny. Definitely something different. More informational stuff then actually touring. Informational stuff was somewhat interesting. Wish there was more spots to look at then the few we saw. Other then that, I guess you really can't complain for paying 8$, but I don't get why we are paying for parking when we spent maybe 45 minutes there. If you don't have reservations, then expect a wait. And don't go later. Not enough parking. Was there first in the morning

Very reasonable fun experience for young and old alike. Tour lasts about 30 minutes, just the right amount of time for kids. Highly recommend if you haven't been there before.

We visited on a whim on the recommendation from someone while visiting Monterey and glad we went! Not difficult to find, my gps directed me until I lost signal right at the entrance, but by then we arrived so it didn't matter. Seemed to be staffed mainly by young adults/ teens but everyone was very friendly, especially our guide Rory. My kids enjoyed the mystery of it all and were given free stickers when our tour was done. We were starved, so we ate lunch there, but don't really recommend the food. All three of us tried different things and nothing was particularly good even. Nice gift shop and beautiful surroundings!

Not sure what it was. Some kind of optical Illusion or magnetic field or something else. The actual place is very small where you feel the so called magic. The gravitational forces you feel is intense.
They don't accept credit cards for tickets and have $2 Sircharge for using Debit cards.
Staff is just few young kids.

It was fun to take my 9 year old granddaughter here. Our guide Fergus was the best! Great stories and one liners that kept the entire group entertained. The floor on the house is very slippery, wear good gripping shoes to expérience the mysterious pulls of the House.

Went with visiting family. The kids and parents all had fun. Great illusions for the younger kids to be amazed by. The adults enjoyed watching the good fun being had and how the staff had elaborate stories about why the "Mystery Spot" has its incredible features. I'd go again, it was a great family activity on a drizzly day.

We ventured out to the Mystery Spot with not prior knowledge and no understanding of what it was that we were going to look at. It ended up being one of the highlights of our stay and despite my many travels throughout the USA, this will always remain one of my most favourite memories. The staff are friendly and welcoming, the atmosphere is inviting and the gift shop is well stocked and reasonably priced. Would visit again and again.

You either need to be high, go with kids or be a kid to like this I feel.. For me personally it was a waste of money, it’s not even a cool experience. Maybe I just had too much expectations?

The entrance into the Mystery Spot begins with a short drive through a beautiful mature forest that sets the tone. We arrived just in time to check in at the gift shop, get our tickets and meet up with the tour group. Our guide was humorous and made everything enjoyable and interesting. Several demonstrations of the mysterious forces at the Mystery Spot were performed by our guide using our fellow tour mates. Each appears as a remarkable optical illusion but there seems to be something more at work. We shared in the fun by participating in activities once within the house structure during which we felt slightly light-headed and off balance. It is difficult to adequately explain exactly the natural wonder we had come into contact with however, we both agreed that we had sensed some kind of unusual energy unlike any previously experienced. For something that will entertain as well as leave you wondering afterwards, the Mystery Spot is highly recommended.

This is a really fun place to visit with the kids. There seems no logical explanation for it although I am sure there must be one. Put aside your scepticism, watch a ball roll up a hill and just enjoy!

The ever so famous mystery spot is definitely a must see when you are in Santa Cruz. It's a lot of fun to see everything completely backwards! Really trippy and a lot of fun. You must go!

it's located near santa cruz in the redwood forest- the place is full of history- there is a guided tour and it is very fun to see- just a fun thing to do

I had always wanted to go to the Mystery Spot after seeing bumper stickers NUMEROUS times. Got an opportunity to take my three little kids with us, ages: 1, 4, and 6. We had the baby in our Dueter kid carrier during our visit. Interesting tour. Reasonably priced. Our kids were engaged throughout the tour guide, and definitely amazed. Would definitely recommend to family and friends with school age kids.

This was such a fun tour for my family. The teenagers were amazed and in awe. The guides were fabulous and made the journey really fun. I love how they involve the group in the demonstrations. Well worth the $. Make sure to stop at the end to see the banana slugs. Very cool.

WoW is the best expression to describe the experience. there are many surprises while one takes the guided tour and you will definitely feel the tour duration was too short and you wished you had couple more minutes to spend.

Don;t hesitate to take more stickers, at the end of the tour to distribute as souvenirs to your friends.

We went there on a rainy day. Great place, just drive there carefully (lots of potholes). Make a stop at Great Basin Redwoods SP nearby. We had a funny guide but I don't recall his name. He was also very helpful w/ our toddler. Overall, it's worth the admission. Set aside about 1 hr.

We have seen the sign for years and decided to finally stop here. It is a good thing we looked them up online before we came. They highly recommended you buy tickets online (which we did) especially if you come on the weekend. We came on a Saturday. They are out of the way. Once you turn on the road up to there it is rough, bumpy and narrow! They have several employees guiding traffic and where to park. We checked in and luckily we were early so we ate a quick lunch at their food area. Which was not bad. Our tour was called and off we went. The tour was a lot of fun! It is something to experience at least once! The price is reasonable. You have to pay for parking when you get there. We are happy we went!

This is the second time I’ve been to the Mystery Spot and it was just as fun the second time. The tour guide we had was so sweet and did a great job. Would definitely recommend. Wear comfy shoes and be prepared for walking up and down steep hills a couple of times. After leaving my friend and I did feel a bit woozy for a bit.