Cathedral Caverns- Alabama's Newest State Park

Cathedral Caverns, located in Woodville Alabama, just outside Huntsville, has a massive opening- a truly memorable sight as you walk into the 25-foot high opening. It actually happens to be the largest cave opening in the world, and that's not the only world record the cave owns- Cathedral is home to the world's largest stalagmite, as well as four other world records.

The cave was originally called Bats Cave, a pretty apt description of it, and was bought by Jay Gurley in the 50's, who changed the name. It has been a national park since 1987, and attracts visitors from all over the country. As caves go, it has a large area of passability- there is a concrete walkway through it to the back, complete with lighting and handrails. It is accessible for wheelchairs, and is passable for children. The walkway can be slippery, however, as it is wet in most places, and the cave is fairly dark, even with the lights on. I recommend carrying your own flashlight, particularly if you are bringing children. The full trip to the back of the cave and out again is over a mile, but it is stroller friendly.

Some of the rooms are impossibly huge- like the room that inspired the name Cathedral. The massive room is home to the world's largest 'stalagtite forest,' and is absolutely worth seeing even if you go no further into the cave. But there are several other interesting rooms as well. One room has a fossilized shark's tooth imbedded in the ceiling, which the guide will point out with a flashlight. If you go close to the winter months, there are also hundreds of tiny brown bats attached to the ceiling.

Once you get to the very back of the cave, the guide will take a moment to turn out the lights to show how dark the cave really is, which is one of the rare opportunities to experience true total darkness.

The tour that you get is pretty much the same at any time of year, and the temperature stays 60 degrees year round. The information that you get, however, largely depends on which guide you get. I once had a guide tell our group that the largest stalagmite was 20 billion years old. I was able to refrain from telling him that this is four times the age of the Earth...

There are no food or drinks aloud in the cave, with good reason. Trash and litter could seriously impede the ecosystem inside the cave. You are also banned from touching any of the formations, as oils from the skin will "kill" a growing structure, i.e., the silt will no longer stick to it and it will cease to grow.

The area around the caverns is also part of the state park. It consists of 461 acres of woods, and is a great place for hiking, light rock climbing and picnicing.