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An absolute must visit gem we discovered in Alabama! The caverns are located within the cathedral state park which has hiking trails and camping. I recommend buying tickets in advance as they sell out very fast and they only allow for guided tours. I absolutely loved our tour guide, Jacob. He was amazing and left us with corny jokes throughout the whole cave tour. I recommend bringing a sweatshirt as if was 50-60° within the cavern as opposed to the 96° weather outside. We didn't want to come back out as the tour concluded. All of the caverns are fascinating with stalagmites and running water. The history behind the cave also made it super interesting. Like learning how they intended for it to be a fallout shelter but didn't realize the large opening would be an issue. Or how the man who bought the cave dug and crawled by hand for some parts of it which is crazy once you see how large it is inside. The only complaint I had is when you get to the end they turn the lights out to show you the pitch black darkness. We had a few obnoxious people in our group who chose to keep their phones on with their flash to record the darkness. Like come on people. Put the phones away. Parking gets a little intense but there are plenty of spots available.
This was one of those last minute decisions to see and wow was I glad we stopped. I'm a little bit weird about being underground to begin with but this cave doesn't have that claustrophobic vibe to it at all in my opinion. The entrance is a huge opening and most of the rooms in the cave are much larger than you would expect. There are some wonderful pictures to be taken and our guide was awesome. She made several dad type jokes. I learned some things about caves along the way as well. There is a part where they cut the lights and it is pitch black. What a strange feeling that was! It is a little pricey but worth it in my opinion. It was nice and cool temperature wise sonic you're a cold type person bring a light coat. Highly recommended.
Cathedral Caverns cave is a hilly 1.5 mile walk to the back of the cave and 1.5 miles to the front. Perfect if you want to get your steps in for the day. This place is very cool (temperature) place if you looking to escape the heat. And it's family friendly. The guided tours go every hour on the hour. You are not allowed to go by yourself. I recommend bringing a light jacket if you are the type to get cold easily, water, and shoes with good traction. The ground isn't slippery but better to be safe.
If you're a fan of caves or even if you're not these caves were beautiful and they were well worth the drive. Our tour guide was excellent, with a ton of knowledge of the history and science of the cave. The tour was perfectly paced. This cavern is accessible to all, which is rare. I especially appreciated that they lighted the cave with natural lighting rather than artificial coloring like other caves I had recently visited. It is $20pp and a great value! Tips: They take reservations up to two days in advance over the phone.
Coming to the cavern was well worth the teip! The cave was huge and we practiced social distancing during the tour with no problem You must wear a mask, but the woman at the ticket counter didn't wear one?? Kind of pricey at $19.00 each for an adult. Anyway, it is a great tour. The guide was very knowledgeable about the cave and its history. The cave had lots of formations. The tour took about an hour hour and a half. You gotta do this. The only reason I didn't didn't give it 5 stars, was because of the clerk not wearing a mask.
I've been here several times now to include their concur the cave 5k. I have to say this is a definite attraction I bring all my visitors to because it's great any time of year and it's a unique cavern. Incredibly beautiful and worth the visit. I still highly recommend calling your reservation in, especially during busy season. I've done this every time and had no issue.
This moment is truly epic, beyond words, etched forever in memory. The journey through time is nothing short of breathtaking. This cave experience is an absolute must; if you find yourself in its vicinity, set aside 90 minutes for the walk--it will transform you into a lifelong enthusiast.
We took a large group of kids and adults to the caverns and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The path is wide and paved and even though you walk down about 70 feet in elevation and back up, it's not a bad walk. The tour takes an hour and a half. The caverns are cool and humid and feel really nice when it's hot outside. The original owner of the caves as a commercial venture did try his hand at repairing earthquake damage in one area, resulting in pipes to run water over the frozen waterfall instead of natural water flow. Other than that the cave is pretty much as he found it, in a natural growing state. It's impressive. Side note, we stayed at the improved tent campsites. The bathhouse was spotless and well maintained. The tent sites each came with a picnic table, metal fire pit, water spigot, AC outlet, and wooden picnic table. The camper sites next to the tent sites are also equipped with water and power but not sewer so the campers are all ten small pull behind truck kinds. It was very laid back. The only drawbacks are that the sites are small, one tent is plenty, and the surface is gravel. Hard to get those tent stakes into gravel and not fun to sleep on without a pad. There were cars driving up to the bathhouse during the night so it's not completely quiet.
2 months ago
Our family had the best time at Cathedral Caverns. We attempted to tour on our way down to the beach for Spring Break however no reservations were available at the time we visited so we made reservations for the way back and I am so happy we did. The staff were extremely helpful and so accommodating. We purchased gold mining buckets for our 5 grandchildren but one of them didn't get an amethyst. She didn't notice and neither did we however the staffer did. He sought us out and gave us a piece of amethyst for her. Our tour guide was also amazing, very informative and entertaining. As an out of shape old grandma the cave return walk was a bit challenging for me but worth every muscle ache. read more
2 months ago
10/10 beautiful caverns. The tour took about 2 hours. This is a massive cavern. The tour guide defy gave us a lot of time to take pictures and have a detail history on the cave. Love that this cave is all paved and definitely wheelchair accessible. We did some hiking before going on the tour. read more
We had such an awesome time at Cathedral Caverns State Park! The cave is absolutely gorgeous and the cave's "cathedral" ceilings are amazing to look at. Our guide was great, super friendly and had lots of interesting stories about the cave and how it was formed. The tour is really well done, the walkways are easy to navigate and there were plenty of opportunities to take in the amazing views. Be warned that it is a little chilly in the cave, but you should be good with a decent jacket. read more
An absolute must visit gem we discovered in Alabama! The caverns are located within the cathedral state park which has hiking trails and camping. I recommend buying tickets in advance as they sell out very fast and they only allow for guided tours. I absolutely loved our tour guide, Jacob. He was amazing and left us with corny jokes throughout the whole cave tour. I recommend bringing a sweatshirt as if was 50-60° within the cavern as opposed to the 96° weather outside. We didn't want to come back out as the tour concluded. All of the caverns are fascinating with stalagmites and running water. The history behind the cave also made it super interesting. Like learning how they intended for it to be a fallout shelter but didn't realize the large opening would be an issue. Or how the man who bought the cave dug and crawled by hand for some parts of it which is crazy once you see how large it is inside. The only complaint I had is when you get to the end they turn the lights out to show you the pitch black darkness. We had a few obnoxious people in our group who chose to keep their phones on with their flash to record the darkness. Like come on people. Put the phones away. Parking gets a little intense but there are plenty of spots available. read more
9 months ago
Everything went well! Second time here and our guide Karen was AMAZING!!!!!!!! We will definitely be back! read more
This was one of those last minute decisions to see and wow was I glad we stopped. I'm a little bit weird about being underground to begin with but this cave doesn't have that claustrophobic vibe to it at all in my opinion. The entrance is a huge opening and most of the rooms in the cave are much larger than you would expect. There are some wonderful pictures to be taken and our guide was awesome. She made several dad type jokes. I learned some things about caves along the way as well. There is a part where they cut the lights and it is pitch black. What a strange feeling that was! It is a little pricey but worth it in my opinion. It was nice and cool temperature wise sonic you're a cold type person bring a light coat. Highly recommended. read more
I appreciate the fact this is operated by state parks and not a commercial business. The grounds are well kept and the caves are simply amazing displays of nature. Fair priced for all that needs to be done to keep this experience open and safe to the public. Highly recommend this experience. read more
5 months ago
2 years ago
Cathedral Caverns cave is a hilly 1.5 mile walk to the back of the cave and 1.5 miles to the front. Perfect if you want to get your steps in for the day. This place is very cool (temperature) place if you looking to escape the heat. And it's family friendly. The guided tours go every hour on the hour. You are not allowed to go by yourself. I recommend bringing a light jacket if you are the type to get cold easily, water, and shoes with good traction. The ground isn't slippery but better to be safe. read more
If you're a fan of caves or even if you're not these caves were beautiful and they were well worth the drive. Our tour guide was excellent, with a ton of knowledge of the history and science of the cave. The tour was perfectly paced. This cavern is accessible to all, which is rare. I especially appreciated that they lighted the cave with natural lighting rather than artificial coloring like other caves I had recently visited. It is $20pp and a great value! Tips: They take reservations up to two days in advance over the phone. read more
2 years ago
Impressive caverns with great gift shop also. Lots of cool mineral specimens. The tour was well organized and very interesting. Well worth a visit! read more
9 months ago
Great place, easy to walk inside, very nice!! We were running late after we got stuck in the road waiting for an accident to move out of the way and we called ahead. They were nice to allow us to go in late. Very great experience. read more
Coming to the cavern was well worth the teip! The cave was huge and we practiced social distancing during the tour with no problem You must wear a mask, but the woman at the ticket counter didn't wear one?? Kind of pricey at $19.00 each for an adult. Anyway, it is a great tour. The guide was very knowledgeable about the cave and its history. The cave had lots of formations. The tour took about an hour hour and a half. You gotta do this. The only reason I didn't didn't give it 5 stars, was because of the clerk not wearing a mask. read more
I've been here several times now to include their concur the cave 5k. I have to say this is a definite attraction I bring all my visitors to because it's great any time of year and it's a unique cavern. Incredibly beautiful and worth the visit. I still highly recommend calling your reservation in, especially during busy season. I've done this every time and had no issue. read more
2 years ago
This moment is truly epic, beyond words, etched forever in memory. The journey through time is nothing short of breathtaking. This cave experience is an absolute must; if you find yourself in its vicinity, set aside 90 minutes for the walk--it will transform you into a lifelong enthusiast. read more
2 years ago
1 year ago
4 years ago
We took a large group of kids and adults to the caverns and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The path is wide and paved and even though you walk down about 70 feet in elevation and back up, it's not a bad walk. The tour takes an hour and a half. The caverns are cool and humid and feel really nice when it's hot outside. The original owner of the caves as a commercial venture did try his hand at repairing earthquake damage in one area, resulting in pipes to run water over the frozen waterfall instead of natural water flow. Other than that the cave is pretty much as he found it, in a natural growing state. It's impressive. Side note, we stayed at the improved tent campsites. The bathhouse was spotless and well maintained. The tent sites each came with a picnic table, metal fire pit, water spigot, AC outlet, and wooden picnic table. The camper sites next to the tent sites are also equipped with water and power but not sewer so the campers are all ten small pull behind truck kinds. It was very laid back. The only drawbacks are that the sites are small, one tent is plenty, and the surface is gravel. Hard to get those tent stakes into gravel and not fun to sleep on without a pad. There were cars driving up to the bathhouse during the night so it's not completely quiet. read more
2 years ago
Was a nice walk on a summer's day. Because it's 58 degrees. Looking at the rock formations was nice and the tour guide showed us pretty much everything he could in the cave. He was a nice old man that was very knowledgeable. Would go again if I have free time. read more
2 years ago
Wonderful time. Beautiful cave. Easy walking path and they cater to handicapped. Our tour guide was funny and very informative. I highly recommend. read more
I loved exploring Cathedral Caverns. Due to COVID-19, tours are really small, and there were actually 4 other people on the tour with me. The history is interesting but I was really just mesmerized by the view inside. 10/10 recommend read more
5 years ago
So, so good! Well worth $20 a ticket, especially since you can take your time making your way back to the entrance of the cavern after the initial tour is over. I especially wanted to come on here today to give a special shoutout to our tour guide, Alex, a local who lead the tour to a T. My group was surprised to find that she was only a senior in high school; her charisma, knowledge, passion for the natural world, and kindness made her come across as much, much older. After the tour 'ended,' she took extra time with me, my partner, and our three friends to talk about the caves, formations, and--most importantly--herself! Worth noting as well is that I was disappointed to see and hear one of her supervisors admonish her shortly after we exited the cave for taking too long to come back after the tour's official end time. Yes, there was a concern for her and our safety, but it veered more into the spectrum of being mean-hearted and condescending. I hope this isn't a normal occurrence. Anyway, northern Alabama is great and you should definitely budget out time for this stop if you are ever able to! read more
2 years ago
2 years ago
2 years ago
3 years ago
It's soooooo pretty. Tour took about an hr and a half. The caves have a pretty interesting history. U can actually see the original tour trails from a few decades ago. My 8 year old son loved it, he stayed attentive and engaged through the whole tour (with the help of his own flashlight) read more
Hello fellow Yelpers!!! So my best friend came to visit me in Guntersville from Virginia. I know she loves hiking & touring caves. I have done neither. But based on other reviews I planned this tour for her visit. So we did the 10 A.M. tour yesterday. Our guide was Milton! He was very knowledgeable about caves, answered all of groups questions & made it very enjoyable. My friend & I both commented ... "did that feel like an 90 minute tour?" He kept it so engaging that you had no idea how long you were there! I highly recommend this tour for any & everyone to visit. Hopefully you get Milton as your guide! I won't share pictures because they don't even do it justice to seeing it with your own eyes. Thanks for a great experience Milton!!! read more
4 years ago
5 years ago
Had a blast! Was a nice tour that kept our kids attention and was really neat. We enjoyed the fact it was about 66° in the cave and had a great path that was lit. Would recommend it for sure the path seems a little fast for some of the people in the group but we had a blast. read more
3 years ago
3 years ago
6 years ago
Great history, organized tour, very friendly, clean, 1 hour tour, gift shop, restrooms, big cavern, parking lot, trails around. read more
6 years ago
The Caverns is an AMAZING an educational family fun day, super friendly staff, short wait times between tours, wonderful gift shop with decent prices, Beautiful walking trails an they even have a hands on activity where you can "mine" an sift for nice rocks. read more
On a small road trip from Louisiana to Tennessee and found this spot. We wanted to visit a cave and ended up picking this one out of the few around northern Alabama. Beautiful formations. Enjoyable 90 minute 1.5 mile tour in and out of the cave. Highly suggest stopping by. My only slightly negative comment would be that our tour guide seemed a little inexperienced. But she was nice and it didn't upset our experience. read more
9 years ago
If you are considering visiting this cave, let me assure you it is worth the drive! ----- THE SCENE I've only been to three other caves: Ruby Falls, Marvel Cave @ Silver Dollar City in Branson and Mammoth Cave, which is said to be the largest cave in the world. I honestly didn't think anything could top Mammoth Cave, but I was wrong. Cathedral Cavern is impressive from its entrance, which is believed to be the largest width/height of any commercial cave, to its massively wide/tall halls throughout the entire touring areas of the cave. While in Mammoth Cave, there were several areas where you had to duck low and other areas where you had to squeeze through very tight rock or walk through very narrow passages. Cathedral Caverns had no such areas. As a matter of fact, it was easily wide enough throughout most of the cave to fly a commercial airliner through it... no joke! So if you are the type to worry about feeling claustrophobic, I think you would probably have little reason to panic here. ----- THE EXPERIENCE Our tour began at the 126 feet wide & 25 feet tall mouth of the cave, where our guide Alex gave us an overview of what to expect and how to behave. Next you walk through a metal gate meant to keep vandals out, but still allowing bats to enter and exit. The cave is paved the entire .66 mile distance of the public area, but extends almost 2 miles from the mouth. Our tour guide told us he's been beyond the stopping point of the cave and says the private area is far more beautiful that the public area. He says there is even a room entirely made of crystals. There is also a second stalactite forest even more impressive than the first! You can actually see these areas on the "Wild Cave Tour" offered by the State Park. But I digress, back to the entrance gate. So much information was given that I can't remember it all, but I do vividly remember (thanks to my camera) many of the cave features, such as: * THE FROZEN WATERFALL - a flow stone 'waterfall' measuring 32 feet tall and 135 feet long that looks like frozen water! * GOLIATH - One of the largest stalagmites (or columns) in the world measuring 45 feet tall and 243 feet in circumference! This is a beast of a formation that is more impressive than I can describe, especially as it stands in this huge dome-like room in the cave. * THE BIG ROOM - Measuring 792 feet long and 200 feet wide * BOULDER AVENUE - Where HUGE chunks of the cave ceiling have broken free over the centuries. Not a very comforting thing to mention on the tour! LOL * THE CATHEDRAL - The first stalactite forest where the original owners wife thought the formations were so grand it looked like a cathedral, thus giving the cave its name. * THE MYSTERY RIVER - flows through the cavern and is prone to flood when rains are heavy * THE IMPROBABLE STONE - a stalagmite formation that is 27 feet tall and 3 inches wide! There are old bridges from earlier explorations, incomplete suspension bridges, fossils of sea creatures on the ceiling showing how this was once an ocean floor, several sharks teeth and sea sponges forever encased in stone! Other fun discoveries include cave bacon and many of the formations that have familiar shapes such as the one that casts a perfect shadow of Abraham Lincoln lying down. While you might be tempted to bring a jacket, the cave remains a pretty consistent 60 degrees. It was early March (about 45 degrees outside) when I visited and I was actually sweating at the end of the tour. ----- FINAL THOUGHTS Most yelpers I know like for their centennial reviews to be of special places. I couldn't think of a better 900th review than Cathedral Caverns. It is indeed a very special place that anyone living in the South should make a priority to visit! 2017/39 review #900 read more
7 years ago
Great place to visit . A hidden gem ! Good for strollers , you can request a golf cart if elderly tour guides will drive it ! I no stepped and paved way but lots ups and downs . Highly recommend stop , great friendly guided ! read more
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More info about Cathedral Caverns State Park
637 Cave Rd
Woodville, AL 35776
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(256) 888-0230
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http://www.alapark.com/CathedralCaverns/
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Ask the Community - Cathedral Caverns State Park
Is there a 'best time' to go, or when its super busy to avoid? Are there areas to exit the cave if someone isn't well and needs to step out?
If I recall from the tour, temperature in the cave is 58-60 degrees all year round. It doesn't seem to be super busy.… Read more
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