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Mission34

Forestiere Underground Gardens

Forestiere Underground Gardens in Fresno. Tour a hand-dug home with trees growing to skylights.

Walk through the tunnels, rooms and courtyards one man dug by hand under Fresno to escape the summer heat. Fruit trees grow down in the pits and reach up through openings to the sunlight. On the guided tour, each pick the room you'd want as your bedroom and explain why. The photo to get: you under one of the skylights, with leaves overhead.

  • Date or adventure
  • 1-3 hours
  • Easy
  • Under $20
  • Indoors or out
  • Spring, summer, and fall
  • Daytime

Good with just you, friends, family, and kids

Check before you go: a reservation and whether it's open this season

Ask about discounts: seniors, military and veterans, and students

Forestiere Underground Gardens, West Shaw Ave, Fresno5021 W Shaw Ave, Fresno, CA 93722
Kids' version

Underground hunt! Find each thing.

  1. A tunnel
  2. A tree underground
  3. A hole to the sky
  4. A secret room
  5. A selfie underground!

Checked November 2026

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About this place

Baldassare Forestiere came from Sicily around 1901, bought land that turned out to be too hard for farming, and started digging instead. Over about 40 years he carved out underground rooms, a chapel, a fishpond and courtyards, using only hand tools. Down below, it stays much cooler than the Fresno summer above.

Some of his citrus trees are still alive and fruiting more than a century later. The gardens are a California Historical Landmark. Tours are seasonal and book up, so reserve ahead.

Also in: Kid-Friendly Adventures

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