Florida Caverns State Park - Cave Tour and Trails

State: Florida

Trailhead: https://maps.app.goo.gl/oHRM3sxv4c9zkv4D7

Park: Florida Caverns State Park

Cave Tour Duration: Approximately 1 hour

Above Ground Trail Length: Beech Magnolia & Bluff Trail Loop (1.1 miles)

Above Ground Trail Length: Red and Blue Trail Loop (2.0 miles)

Fee: $4.00 (single occupancy vehicle), $5.00 for more than one occupant

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CAVE TOUR

The caverns offers one cave tour to the public, which is an hour long guided walk among the formations. There are whisperings they may bring back a flashlight tour in the future. While the cave is not ADA accessible, it's an easy walkthrough experience. Taller individuals may need to crouch through the lower passageways, but otherwise, this is an easy and family-friendly experience.

Tours start at 9 AM and can be purchased as late as 4 PM. This state park is located in CST. In the busier months, I recommend reserving your slot online to grab a space on the tour. Check out the displays in the visitor center while waiting for the tour to start. There's also a food truck parked outside offering options like coffee, burgers, sandwiches, and wraps.

The cave was formed approximately 38 million years ago. One of the main highlights includes marine fossils along the ceiling - including seashells, corals, and sharks teeth. This cave system will occasionally flood. Following Hurricane Michael in 2018, the system was flooded for 3 months, necessitating the eventual removal of mud from the system to enable tours again.

The cave is home to three different species of bats: the tricolored, Southeastern myotis, and Rafinesque big-eared bat. If you snag one of the early morning tours, there's a likelihood you'll see a bat or two. Keep your eyes peeled, they are very small - about the size of a chicken nugget.

In terms of formations, there are several great examples of drapery formations or cave bacon. One formation was thin enough to be partially translucent. And the tour guide explained how acoustically these formations differ from stalactites and stalagmites.

Beech Magnolia & Bluff Trail Loop

This trail leaves from the main parking lot and takes you on a short stroll with plenty of highlights, including a brief rock tunnel you can traverse.

Tunnel cave, as seen above, is the most adventurous part of the hike. You'll have to crouch through the "cave" and then hop over a large boulder towards the exit. The remainder of the trail has several educational signs to familiarize the hiker with the local flora.

You'll be walking through a floodplain forest. Views of an ancient bank of the nearby Chipola River are gorgeous. Trees in this area include bald cypress, green ash, water tupelo, water locus, ironwood, and red maple. As the signage notes, the trees often have buttressed roots, an adaptation that helps the tree hold on during floods, when the water may rise 10 feet or more in just a few days.

Red and Blue Trail Loop

If you'd like a simple stroll through the woods after the cavern tour, this is a solid option. I wouldn't consider this the highlight of the park, but it's a nice way to add on some hiking mileage to end the day.

The bald cypress trees are particlularly striking on this trail. There are apparently gators in these waters, but unfortunately I didn't spot any on this day.

--Happy Hiking