Spontaneous Trip - Florida Caverns

Caves in Florida? 

You say we're in Florida there is no way you have caverns to explore, think again! We took a trip to the Florida Caverns run by the Florida State Parks department.  Unless you're looking for it on the State Park website or you know it exists by word of mouth you have probably never heard of the Florida Caverns even if you have lived in Florida your entire life, I hadn't. So, when I found this place on the Florida State Parks website we just had to visit.

The Florida Caverns State Park 

We had to make a 3-hour car ride to this beautiful state park that is located near Tallahassee Florida.  However, the drive was definitely worth it. We had an amazing time with our park ranger guide that took us down into the caverns. My husband and I have been to caverns in other states, many of which restrict your ability to touch the formations. In addition, other caverns run the risk of falling from great heights.  The Flordia caverns allow you to touch one of the formations so the kids loved being able to feel what it was made of and to be able to put their hands on it.

Here in Florida, our land is pretty flat so these caves that are formed really don't have much depth to them so the risk of sliding off to your death is very low. I know you all think about it when you think of Mammoth Cave and Luray Caverns so I just wanted to put that out there.  Although, I'm sure the larger caverns are very safe otherwise they would never be able to take tours into them. Despite the lack of depth, the Florida Caverns are still very stunning.

Tips For Your Vist

The cave tours sell out quickly so you should call ahead of time to make sure they have availability and arrive early to buy your tickets.  The tour is about 45 minutes and you can expect to walk and or stand the entire time.  I would not advise going during the summer months as it gets pretty hot here in Florida.  Walking, hiking and cave exploration is rough in 98-degree temperatures with a heat index that feels like 100+ temperatures.  The best time to visit would be December to February that is usually our cooler months.

Come check it out for yourself

In addition to being able to explore the cave, you can hike several trails while you are visiting the park. There are lots of picknick areas to have lunch. In addition, they have an area to kayak and fish if you are interested. They have a lot of other activities at the state park you can take advantage of, we did not due to the 3-hour drive but next time we may plan to do some camping there so we can explore the entire park.

So if you're looking for a great nature area to visit here in Florida you should definitely go check out the Florida Caverns State Park.  It is a beautiful place, great for families, and is very unique to Florida as most of the caves we do have are submerged.