Cathedral Caverns State Park

Cathedral Caverns State Park is a publicly owned recreation area and natural history preserve located in Kennamer Cove, approximately northeast of Grant and southeast of Woodville in Marshall County, Alabama. The state park's main feature, first known as Bats Cave, was developed as a tourist attraction in the 1950s. Cathedral Caverns was declared a National Natural Landmark in 1972 and opened as a state park in 2000.DescriptionCathedral Cavern is a karst cave with a large stalagmite forest covering approximately 3acre. The public portion of the cave extends along 8ft wheelchair-accessible, concrete walkways for approximately 3500ft and has some 2mi of paths; another 2700ft extend beyond the end of the pathway. Some have been surveyed and explored; only experienced cavers are allowed to go beyond the developed trail. The cave system laid claim to many world records in its commercial heyday though their accuracy has been disputed.FeaturesNotable features of the caverns include: an entrance measuring tall and, believed to be the world's widest entrance to a commercial cave; the column known as Goliath, one of the largest stalagmites in the world measuring tall and in circumference; the large flow stone "waterfall," 32ft tall and 135ft long; an "improbable" stalagmite, only in diameter at its base and rising at a 45-degree angle from a rock formation to the cave ceiling 25ft above; the Big Room, 792ft long and 200ft wide; the Mystery River, which flows through the cavern and which due to limited outflow may cause flooding after heavy rain.