Florida Caverns State Park, Marianna, FL

We love caverns! We think they are so cool! We love learning about the formations, cave dwelling critters, history, and how each cavern has their own unique beauty. When we learned that the Florida Caverns State Park is the only Florida state park to offer cave tours to the public, we thought we’d go over there to explore.

We were not disappointed at all! The Florida Caverns State Park was established in 1935. There are approximately 10 acres of caves in the cavern system and the temperature in the cavern stays a steady 65 degrees all year round. Not a bad place to beat the heat of a hot Florida day!

We went on the guided cavern tour which was around 45 minutes long. The tickets were $15 for adults and $8 for children when we went, and we really feel they were well worth it. Our tour guide was amazing and he was really knowledgeable about the different formations. The caverns have stalactites and stalagmites as most do. It also has a beautiful collection of flowstones, draperies, columns, and soda straws.

While we saw bats, some of the other critters that make their home in the cavern include mice, salamanders, cave crayfish, cave crickets, and cave spiders. Fun fact: the cave salamanders and cave crayfish are blind!

Some history we unearthed about the caverns was very interesting. During the Seminole Wars, it is believed that many Native Americans (especially the Seminole Tribe) hid in the caves for protection. It is thought they did this to avoid being captured and forced to move west during the Trail of Tears. The tunnels extend so far, it undoubtedly provided a great place to take cover.

This cave system has some really amazing features! There is a rimstone reflecting pool, a wedding cake formation in the main cavern, and you can see dinner plates that were cemented by the Civilian Conservation Corp workers to the ceilings to reflect the light and increase the visibility. We had fun trying to find them and counted them as we went. There’s even a mini formation that looks like the titanic! Super cool stuff here!

We really had a great time in the caves and the visitor center was very educational as well. If you’re going through the Marianna, FL area, the whole family would highly recommend a stop at the Florida Caverns State Park!

After the cavern tour we had lunch in the picnic area. We brought some homemade goodies this time including sandwiches made from the bread Juliana baked from scratch. 🍞 If you’re interested in buying quality flour and grains, I’d definitely suggest taking a look at Azure Standard. They have a lot of different organic and non GMO products. You can find them here: https://www.azurestandard.com/?a_aid=b47eb8bb38

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Thanks so much and stay tuned for more Traveling with the Trapps! 😀

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