
Florida Caverns State Park
Did you know that there are above ground caves in Florida? And you can see them at Florida Caverns State Park on a day trip from Tallahassee or the Florida Panhandle beaches! Make the most of a rainy day on your beach trip with a cave tour. Or stop on your way to/from the Gulf Coast Beaches.
Florida Caverns
Most of the caves in Florida that I was familiar with are under water. The only way to tour them is in a scuba suit! However, I am not a scuba diver, so that is not an option for me. I heard about Florida Caverns State Park in 2018. I thought that it would be a great stop on the way to or from Florida or a good camping destination for a long weekend.
However, as I looked into it, I discovered that Hurricane Michael inflicted significant damage on the Florida Caverns State Park. The park closed for repairs. The roots of the trees that Hurricane Michael felled damaged the ceiling of the caverns. The storm deposited so much sediment at the cave entrance that it was impassable. Volunteers removed debris and the cave tours returned on July 1, 2019. In addition to Marianna Cave, there are other caves in the park. They are still under exploration and are not open for tours yet. They include: Bennett Cave, Natural Bridge Cave, Millers Cave, and Liz’s Surprise Cave.

The Cave Tour at Florida Caverns
We visited Florida Caverns State Park on our way home from Spring Break in Mexico Beach. The drive took about an hour and a half, so it could easily be a day trip. We bought Cave Tour tickets in advance online. I wanted to make sure if we drove there, that we would be sure to see the cave, but I made a crucial mistake. I did not realize that the park is located in the Central Time Zone.
We planned to hang out at the park and have a picnic until our 1:00pm tour and then drive home to Atlanta to meet a friend who was visiting for dinner. We realized that we would never make it in time if we waited until 3pm Eastern time to drive home. Luckily, there were cave tours available when we arrived, but we had to purchase a separate set of tickets, because the pre-booked tickets were non-transferrable.
Purchasing Tickets for the Florida Caverns Cave Tour
Double check the Florida Caverns Gift Shop website for the availability of Cavern tours and current pricing. They are generally open every day during the summer, but they are open on limited days of the week during the rest of the year. The gift shop sells most on a first, come first serve basis. There are a couple of time slots available for advanced purchase online if you want to be sure that you can see the cave before making the trip. You pay the entrance fee to the park separately upon your arrival.

Upon Arrival at Florida Caverns State Park
When we arrived at the park, we followed the signs to the Visitor Center and gift shop, where we found plenty of parking. It happened to be raining that day, so the weather may have affected how many visitors were at the park. The Florida Caverns Gift Shop recommends arriving a minimum of 30 minutes in advance of your tour however, we were able to purchase tickets 5-minutes in advance of our tour. The next tour did not seem to be too far behind us – and in fact, they caught up to us in the cave.
There were picnic tables next to the Gift Shop and Visitor’s Center and a Museum about the Chipola River, the Cave system and the history of the land. A few hiking trails, including the Side Door Trail, Bluff Tail and Beech/Magnolia Trail were accessible from the Visitor’s Center if you have some time to kill before or after your tour time.

Preparing for the Cave Tour
A few items to take note of for your cave tour. The caverns are 65-degrees year-round. Keep this in mind and dress accordingly. The cave is damp and dripping. It may be a good idea to wear a hat to keep the cave from dripping on your head. There are puddles on the ground. You can walk around most of the puddles. However, there is a good chance that you will be distracted by the wonders of the cave – and get your feet wet. Both of my kids solidly planted at least one foot in rather deep puddles. I recommend that you wear footwear that can get wet!
The cave requires going up and down slopes and steps. There are a number of areas with low ceiling that require ducking for a period of time to pass through. The floor is slippery. You cannot touch anything in the cave including to support yourself. The chemicals on human hands kill the cave formations. Then, the cave formations stop growing – or worse, they could be destroyed. Be aware of these conditions if you have any kind of mobility challenges. All that said, my family found our hour in the cave to be a great adventure. We really enjoyed it and I recommend that you explore the cave too!
Exploring the Florida Caverns on the Cave Tour
Our tour guide, Tim, met us upstairs in the museum. The group walked downhill from the museum to the cavern entrance, which was down another 33-steps. Tim explained that water is the main architect of a cavern. Limestone makes up the cave because at one time, Florida was at the bottom of the sea. Rainwater is naturally acidic, so it dissolves limestone over time, eventually creating underground aquifers, including caverns and rivers.

The Wedding Room
The basement or bottom of is cavern is wet or under water. The Tuck & Squeeze is a pinched point in the cave that was only 4ft tall and 2ft wide. The Wedding Room was one of the first rooms we saw. It included a rock formation that looked like a wedding cake. Tim explained that 1-3 weddings take place in the cave each year. A number of couples took photos with the wedding cake formation. Soda Straw formations on the ceiling were formed when water drips through tubular stalactites.

Cave Bacon
We saw curtains or draperies, which as commonly known as cave bacon. Draperies form when water flows down a sloped ceiling. As it drips to the floor, water leaves calcite behind which gradually creates a sheet. Undulations in the ceiling often make the curtain form curve.

The Fractured Room
Broken formations filled the Fractured Room, but the damage was not caused humans. The cave sits on an aquifer and when the aquifer shifts, it causes the formations to break. Minerals in this room included Calcite, Manganese and iron. Calcite is white. Manganese is brown and iron is red. This room previously used the name, Donald Duck room, because of a formation that looks startlingly like a duck! This rooms includes Columns too, which form when stalactites and stalagmites grow together.

The South America Room
The South America room contained a rim stone pool in the shape of the continent. Soda straws covered the ceiling in this room too.


The Waterfall Room
The Waterfall Room was fascinating. The flowstone found here looks like a frozen waterfall. As water flows over this location, it deposits minerals over many years. My favorite part about this room was the plethora of sea shells. It was easy to look up and see all the sea shells in the limestone ceiling!


The Enchanted Forest
Stalactites, Stalagmites, and columns populated the Enchanted Forest. Green lighting made it feel even more like a forest. The cave floor was rather wet here. The puddles provided plenty of opportunities to get your feet wet!

The Original Discovery Room
The cave was initially discovered in 1937. This room contained the original entrance to the cavern. The men who worked for the CCC were paid $1 per day in 1938-1942 to prepare the cave for tours. They placed white porcelain bowls on the ceiling of the cave to reflect the light to help them see. If you look up, then you will notice that many of these white bowls are still in place.

The Cathedral Room & the “Catacombs”
The formation in the Cathedral Room looks like a european cathedral with 2 spires.

Next, we passed through the “Catacombs.” This area of the cave contained a number of niches in the walls that were very similar to burial sites. It was easy to see how it earned its name. We saw a tiny salamander sticking his head out from between the rocks in this room. Our guide, Tim, pointed him out.

The Round Room
The final significant space was saw in the cave was the Round Room. A whirlpool occurred in this space, which caused the formations on the ceiling to fall to the floor. We walked around the formation in the center of the room to explore it.

The Park Beyond the Cave
Luckily, Florida Caverns State Park offers more than just cave tours. More fun things to do in the park are listed below:
Blue Hole Spring
It was still raining steadily when we wrapped up our cave tour. I wanted to visit the swimming area. Blue Hole Spring is a second magnitude spring, which means that it discharges 6.5-65 million gallons of water per day. It is part of the Chipola River watershed. The water in the spring is 64 degree year-round. There is a dock available for swimmers to reach the water. Beautiful trees including cypress surrounded the edge of the spring. An adjacent covered picnic area is available along with restrooms. I read that the spring changes color based on the color of the sky and how much sediment may be in the water. However, it did not look particularly blue that rainy afternoon. There are over 1000 springs in Florida, check out the map of all the Florida Springs.

Chipola River
Canoes and kayaks are available for rent at the Visitor’s Center to explore the Chiploa River. We crossed the river on the way to the spring and it was quite beautiful. Wildlife that makes the Chipola River home include Alabama shad, shoal bass, Apalachicola snapping turtle, Barbour’s map turtle, and the Suwannee cooter. Kayaks and canoes are welcome on to use the Chipola River Paddling Trail.

Multiuse Trails
There are a number of trails available in the park. Bumpnose Trail, which is available for hiking, biking, and horse-back riding, provides a view of Bumpnose Glade, which is one of Florida’s most rare natural habitat: an upland glade. These glades are grassy areas that are frequently predominated by black bogrush, where a thin layer of dirt covers limestone. They are typically surrounded by wooded areas with deeper soils.
Camping
We drove past the campground on the way to check out the springs. It looked very busy. Most people had RVs or Trailers. However, we are tent campers, ourselves, so I pay attention to the ratio of tents to RVs. There were few trees, so not too much shade. We also saw the horse camp that was not too far from the spring. There are tent only sites and few horse stalls with hook ups for RVs in this location. There is a barn as well. Reserve campsites on this website.
If you are spending the night at the park, look for the flashlight tour. Book this seasonal tour ahead via the Caverns Gift Shop website. Keep in mind that you must bring your own flashlight on this after-hours tour where you will see parts of the cave that are not included during typical day tours.
Scenic Landscape
The 9-hole golf course built by the CCC closed following Hurricane Michael. The park has plans to repurpose this land as a scenic landscape including mountain bike trails and camping amenities.
Visiting Florida Caverns State Park
For more information about Cave tours, Wedding, Photo shoots, and canoe/kayak rentals, check out the Florida Caverns Gift Shop website.
Dress for the year round 65-degree temperature inside the cave and expect it to be damp and drippy. Wear footwear that can get wet! Expect to slippery floors, steps, and narrow passages. The park is in the Central Time Zone! Check the Florida Caverns State Park website for seasonal hours when planning your visit. Remember that most cave tour tickets are available on a first come, first serve basis, so it is a good idea to call before you drive to the park to find out about ticket availability the day of your visit. Tickets may be purchased online 48 hours in advance for the 1:00pm and 3:00pm cave tours if you want to guarantee your ticket.
Let me know if you’ve visited or if you plan to visit Florida Caverns State Park – and what you think – in the comments!
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