Florida Caverns State Park — Attraction in Marianna

We came down to this area for a few days and decided to check out the caverns. It was a cold rainy day when we arrived. Here's how it went:

The Good: the whole park is quiet, clean, and natural which I really like there was a small shop to get tickets for the tour. It had some nice as well as some things for trail hiking you may have forgotten you start your tour in the main building which has some displays for education about caves and wildlife you might find there. There are even some things kids can touch since you are not supposed to touch anything in the actual cave. short hike to the cave itself. The walk back from the cave is either short or long, your choice depending on how much meandering you feel like doing cave itself is down some steps cave has maintained paths and is well lit for you to see everything THIS CAVE IS LIVING, meaning the formations are still active. Please do not touch anything. lots of water in the cave with some pools adding some very nice variety to the rock formations tour guide was knowledgeable and taught a lot about the cave and the history even in the late winter, the plant life outside the cave was beautiful and well worth the longer walk on the way back other trails in the park were fun to explore. my kids really enjoyed the tunnel cave, the trailhead of which is on the other side of the main parking lot also went hiking on a loop trail near the campground; great hike with fun nature and views of the river; also has a blue hole you could swim in if the weather is warm. WATCH OUT: if it has rained a lot recently, the loop trail gets very flooded. We were hiking during the rain and just accepted the fact that we would be wading in the water on the trail.

The Not So Good: this is not an accessible cave. sorry the tour guides move at different paces. Ours was taking her time which I really enjoyed since I wanted to see everything, but there was one coming up behind us (even though they started about 15 min after us), so we had to speed up and it cut down how much I could just look around and enjoy although we came on a slow day, if the parking lot were full the cave would feel very small with all the people on one tour

Bottom Line: If you are in the area, this place is worth the time to visit. If it is a hot day, you will appreciate the cool interior of the cave. But whatever day you visit, it is a beautiful, if small, cave, and the hikes around the area...

In 2018 hurricane Michael devastated this area of Florida, and the park didn't escape. It's almost April of 2021, so the amount of cleanup & reconstruction is extensive. The only areas open: the visitor center/museum, 2 picnic shelters & the cavern tour. Everything else is closed. We visited today for the cavern tour. Got here at 10 and the earliest tour was at 11. While we waited we spent time in the visitor center & museum. You buy tour tickets in the visitor center & they have knick knacks, t-shirts, rocks, & bottled drinks to purchase. In the museum, there's a 20 minute video that hubby watched (he didn't think he could manage the small spaces) and he said it was very informative...seemingly more so than my guide. The museum could use more pictures & written info for people who don't want to watch the video. It was adequate for the wait. The guide showed up 10 minutes late, so the tour was rushed as a result. They allow 15 people per tour. The guide (early 20s, maybe) spoke most of the time, the 2 assistants helped some. I was at the back of the line. It seems like at least one of the guides should always be at the back to keep track of people. 🤔Masks are required (unless you're taking a picture of someone) & there are white dots on the floor to separate groups. Because of the masks, it was hard to hear the main guide...and he spoke a little too fast. The cavern itself was beautiful, cool temps, and well lit. Saw a couple of tiny bats & a crawfish. Kind of cool to learn that you're standing under what used to be the ocean millions of years ago. In spite of the closures, go visit the caverns, but get there in the morning before...

Second visit and we stayed at the RV Park. Two night stay. Park recently reopened 1 Oct 2021 after almost two-years of repairs after Hurricane Michael. All sites have water/sewer/electric but the water is NON_POTABLE. Most of the beautiful shade trees this Park was known for are gone and while the Park Service has replanted, it will be many years before any of the sites will have shade. All of the sites are back-in, on gravel, with a fire ring and picnic table. Blue Springs is a short walk away and if you have a bike, you can ride to the Visitor Center and take the Cavern Tour. Backing into some of the sites can be challenging as the Park Road is narrow and if the site directly across from yours is occupied, you may have to drive on the grass in order to back in. All sites are lined with wooden beams and we saw several rigs hit these as they departed their site. Fire wood is available from the Host Family. No WIFI and Verizon had one bar.

Our visit coincided with days of bad weather. The bad was we could only view 80% of the cavern. The good was we got a private tour from Elissa. Very knowledgeable young lady and we learned a ton about the caverns. The museum upstairs is a must see as well. Again, very informative, three videos are available that tell you about the park, and lots of displays. We discussed coming back in better weather for a second visit and our guide cautioned us to avoid the summers - the park is crowded and the tour groups...