Alabama has a vast array of natural wonders. Most of these wonders fall under the Alabama State Park System. There are a few that are privately owned and operated. Desoto Caverns Park is a privately owned cave. Desoto Caverns is located in Childersburg, a little over 30 miles from Birmingham. It is a theme park designed around a cave. It is fun and at times touristy. Plan at least a ½ day at the park. It is great for groups with kids.
Desoto Caverns was the reason my family visited the park last April. It’s an “easy” cave to tour. The walkways are clear and there are some guard rails. It is also well lit. I have small children, so safety was a concern. This was their first cave, I was also concerned about distance walked in the cave. The tour took about 1 hour. The main room is the size of a football field. It is massive. The tour takes you through the trails within the cave. The guide tells you about the history of the cave in relation to the Native Americans, Spanish, and Confederates. It is very interesting, so pay attention. They also have a laser show inside the cave. The show uses lasers, lights, and water to tell the story of Creation. They receive very high marks from me based on that! It was great. The kids really enjoyed it as well. They were not scared at all.
The cave is the main attraction. The theme park comes in with the other 25 attractions offered at Desoto Caverns. Check the website before you go. Look at all the attractions to decide on how many you plan on doing. Tickets are sold based on the cave tour and the number of attractions you plan on doing. You can buy a Family 4 Fun Pac. That’s what we did. That gave us 4 cave tours and 20 attractions for $99. That was plenty. My girls repeated some attractions and totally avoided others. We did not buy food, we ate after we left. A Pac upgrade does include food.
There are over 20 attractions. Some are more fun than others. A few of our favorites were panning for gold, feeding the goats, the Maze, Cannon Wars, and Squirt Gun Maze. There were many other attractions they enjoyed. A lot of the attractions involve water. Go prepared with towels and maybe a change of clothes. The games also tend to be competitive. My kids enjoyed the squirt gun maze for obvious reasons. You run around the maze with a giant water gun shooting your parents! Bring bug spray. Flys and gnats abound in certain areas of the park.
They also have a really nice gift shop. Kids can spot a gift shop a mile away. We collect patches from the places we visit. They can be hard to find. They had patches, rocks, geoids, candy, shirts, videos, and ornaments. Prices were reasonable.
Desoto Caverns also has a campsite. They have RV hook up and primitive camp sites available. The grounds are nice and clean. If you are brave, church and scout troops can camp overnight inside the cave. We did not attempt that. The information for camping is on their website.
Desoto Caverns is a great family daytrip. It seems pricy at first. It is well worth it. Grab the kids and challenge each other to a multitude of races, wars, and competitions. Then, top it all off with a tour through an amazing cave. Family fun at its best.
