The flora, fauna, and typography of this canyon are not very different from any other hiking area I have hiked in Alabama. It's very similar to Bankhead National Forest. The size of the sheer bluffs (and many of the rocks) at Dismals is fairly unique, though. We visited this past weekend and I thought the whole experience was okay. It's not a National Park, or a National Forest, Dismals is a "National Natural Landmark" that is privately owned. The cost in my humble opinion to hike (without a guide) the Dismals *and* take the night tour with a guide is expensive! It was approximately $28.00 per adult. The trail is around 1.5 miles - at least the trail we explored in the daytime before taking the night tour. The creek running through the base was deep enough that there needed to be ways to cross it that were navigable, preferably with handrails. In photos, I've seen concrete blocks, which would have been okay (note, not handrails) but there were no concrete block crossing at areas we needed/wanted to get across the water. There were random pieces of wood, even fallen trees and my husband, who is both a "daredevil" and in great shape, managed to traverse the waters to see the other side, but he did land in the water (on his feet) and absolutely soaked his shoes and socks. The three of us opted to backtrack and not deal with the water. To me, this is very poor planning on the part of the Dismals owners. The trail map we got from the "General Store" had landmarks which were just "cute" names for the features, like "The Pulpit" and "Witches Den" - to me, they were fairly unremarkable "landmarks." Fast forward to the night tour which was scheduled for 9:00 PM. We were told to arrive at 8:30 and if everyone was early, we could start early. I did not note the time we started, however, it was about a 45 minute hike. Parts of this hike were in total, 100 percent darkness to ensure we had the utmost opportunity to view the "Dismalites." That's fine, except, I'm not a fan of walking in uneven/unfamiliar terrain in the pitch dark, with my husband dragging me forward in a group of 13 people counting the guide. This was unnerving and I moved at a snail's pace, and held up those who were stuck behind me. Also, I was hanging onto the rail with one hand and couldn't physically rubberneck around to try to catch a view of a glowworm. I think I saw a total of twelve glow worms. After exiting the night tour trails, we saw firefly larvae that glowed in the shallow water at the entrance to the trail. To me, this was the highlight of the glowing visuals. Another con is the numerous wooden staircases at the Dismals trail's entrance/exit. There is absolutely no way these are constructed to code! These stairs are so narrow in depth that my size 8 ladies shoes, (which is an average women's shoe size) hung off the edge about 2 inches, forcing me to "duck walk" down the stairs. Even if they are built to code, the stair treads are completely worn off, providing absolutely no traction whatsoever. The guide told us due to the "drought" the Dismalite glowworms were not out in abundance. If you keep your expectations low, and really enjoy a sandstone gorge/canyon, and are not risk averse, you will have a nice time here. Our tour guide did a good job providing information that was geared towards the audience which included age ranges from children to senior citizens. I can't comment on the "General Store" food options because we didn't eat anything there, or the campsites (note, the on-site cabins are closed and unavailable). The sole restroom which is a little walk from the General Store and is clean with a barely working hand dryer and no paper towels. The parking lot is ridiculously small with each space being beyond small. The owners of the Dismals need to invest in their property to make it worthwhile, easy to traverse, and safe for their visitors. read more

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Parents Beware Before Approving School Field Trips Here I want to share my recent experience as a concerned parent. Our children's school scheduled a field trip to Dismals Canyon and collected payment for the students. Parents were originally told that we could attend for a $20 fee -- but at the very last minute, the site informed the school that parents would no longer be allowed to go. When I contacted the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce (who were kind and helpful), they reached out to Dismals Canyon for clarification. The canyon's staff claimed the decision was due to parking limitations, parents distracting the kids from learning, and tight spaces. However, this change was communicated only after money had already been collected and plans were finalized. Parents deserve transparency, especially when it involves children's safety at a location with cliffs, caves, and water features. I strongly urge other parents and schools to ask clear written confirmation of parent policies before sending children on field trips here. Families should not be excluded or misled after payments and plans have been made. read more

Overall, the night tour was a great experience. I do think things could be better if there was one tour slot reserved for those with children. read more

A friend was very persistent and was able to snag 4 spots for a night tour to go see the dismalites, and I'm so thankful she invited me to join. The tour was wonderful. We got there right before sundown so we got to look around before it got dark. The gate and entrance are super cute, and we got a glance at the terrace by the gift shop, which looked like a lovely lounge. After introduction and signing of waivers, our guide took us down to the canyon where we got to see so many glow worms! It was really a living galaxy, so special. Similar bugs are only found in Australia or New Zealand, so if you get a chance, try to go check this out. The glow worms appear around April-May and also September-October, so keep an eye for that. Getting reservations is tricky as you gotta call, so you definitely need persistence but it's worth it! read more

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This place is absolutely beautiful! We went in the night hike to see the glow worms and it was awesome!! The sounds of the waterfall were awesome. The glow worms were very cool! This is a very rare occurrence in only a few places on earth! How lucky we are to have them in Alabama! Super reasonably priced as well. If you can do it! Bring a red lens flashlight so you can save your night vision. read more

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It's a beautiful nature Walk and the waterfalls and pathway are easy to get to and you will be in awe of the beauty of it all

It's like going back in time The canyons are so beautiful I will be bringing everyone that comes to visit read more

This place was amazing! The bathrooms are located in the parking lot at the top of the hill and are your only option period! You can try to go in the woods BUT there are too many hikers and snakes are a consideration off the beaten path. Worth every single dime to explore here! Breath taking and beautiful, take water shoes to explore the beautiful creek beds and a towel. Take water as the hike back up MANY MANY flights of stairs will not be made easily after making your way back out of the canyon. Highly recommend this place! read more

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This is a hidden gem. Heard about this place from a friend & was not disappointed! There's a ton of hidden trails to explore. It's pet friendly & very family oriented. Everyone was super nice & so friendly! They have cabins & night tours here which is awesome. The water was so clean & beautiful! I will be coming back!! read more

Dismals Canyon - Parks Near Me - Phil Campbell, Alabama

Small trails, waterfalls and canyons for the journey about covers it. You can camp out, hang out, swim, rent a cabin, or just have fun. It is very family oriented. -Jake read more

Dismals Canyon - Parks Near Me - Phil Campbell, Alabama

Love this beautiful place ! I saw the "dismalites " glow worms at night! Very cool ! Beautiful cabins now !but my favorite part is The gorgeous waterfall swim area ! Wild swimming is huge in the UK but hard to find good spots in the states ! This is one of the best read more

This is a National Nature Landmark great place to take in when your close by . We are in Arley Al about an hour away but worth the trip.

The people complaining about the admission fee need to get a life! Stuff costs money. You could easily pay thirteen dollars for a meal at a fast casual restaurant or pay the same for 1.5 to 2 hours of hiking and exploring. Gah. We visited the canyon with 2 children under 10. They were absolutely fine with a 1.5 hour tour. I could have easily been there 2+ hours exploring all of the pathways, rocks, trees, creek, etc. We kept our tour shorter due to attention spans and the fact that we were returning a few hours later for the Dismalites night tour. Check videos on YT or the DC website to get an idea of what to expect. I mainly interacted with one employee and they were perfectly polite to me. The general store was adequate with snacks, drinks, T-shirts, tons of candy, knives, polished rocks, stuffed animals, etc. The store pricing was all over the place - the T-shirt I bought was nineteen dollars (good/fair) and a small pkg of trail mix was three (gas station pricing, I suppose). Overall I'd highly recommend DC for a day trip. Read on for a review of the Dismalites tour... Apparently tours fill up VERY quickly. I called 2 weeks in a row only for them to be full by the time I got through. The employee said that many times that a group of 10 to 15 people will call for a tour, so the group capacity of ~15 goes fast. (Usually 3-4 tours of 15 people.) Because of this, I ended up visiting the park in person to buy tickets to guarantee a ticket. In the end, I'm glad I went in person because I also toured the canyon by myself and had plenty of time to explore and make mental notes when my family would come with me a week later. The actual Dismalites night tour was good, but I expected there to be more larvae. I thought they might be brighter too. Unfortunately if someone in our night tour turned on their flashlight at an inopportune moment, that would ruin your viewing of the larvae for a few a while. The guide did their best to remind people of this. The guide did say that the number of larvae in the spring can be 10,000 or more, whereas the fall counts are 1,500-2,000. I believe I understood the guide to say that springtime tours would happen in the near future. I'd return for 10K glow worms. The fact that glowing worms / larvae are only found at 3 locations in the world and 1 is in Alabama is pretty amazing. If you are going to DC in Sep or Oct, definitely consider a Dismalites tour too. read more

Make sure you are prepared. The surface is uneven with rocks and tree roots. Recommend hiking shoes or boots. Walking stick. They provide you a map but sometimes it is hard determine which direction to go. Recommended they put up Signage or arrows. read more

This was a great pit stop for us to stretch our legs on our camping/road trip through LA, MS, AL, and FL. The trail is short and easy, with some really cool formations and historical stops along the way. We arrived right around the time the office opened and it was still getting rather crowded as we were on our way out. It was also pretty highly priced and rather touristy around the entrance, but I guess that's something to expect nowadays. read more

Great place to visit spring, summer or fall! The little resturant even has great food. I clean nice walking trails, they also offer night tours and canoeing. read more

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We took a group and thoroughly enjoyed the trails and swimming. It was a blast. Th little cafe was nice. The entire day was well worth it. CAUTION THEY USE PEANUT OIL TO COOK WITH. Strongly recommend that a sign be posted. read more

My family went on the Dismalite Tour last night and we were totally amazed! Bill, our guide, was very knowledgeable and nice to us, explaining and making sure we were all safe. The dismal items are an absolute show! They are truly like living stars in the walls of the canyon. I recommend this time of year for a visit since it's peak season for the larva and not too hot while walking. Everyone needs to take a flashlight/red light to help with the trail since you are in complete darkness. We couldn't get over the natural beauty. read more

Great day trip on a nice weekend. Spent about 4 hours walking the trails and looking at all the huge boulders. We had a 12 & 3 year old and walked it with no problem. Definitely recommend not wear anything white. It was muddy in some spots but also you have to cross the creek a several spots. Boots, water shoes or hiking boots would be best. read more

Great for a little get away. Map of canyon was confusing but we still enjoyed being outside. Hiking up and down stairs was strenuous. Store is small and you can't really social distance there. We opted to eat at a cute little place Backwoods Grill and Fish House. Burger and grilled shrimp were really good. read more

Way overpriced at $13 for adults, $12 for seniors over 60. Cashier was very unwelcoming and unhelpful. Interesting rock formations though the trails are very poorly marked. In its current condition we'd give it 3 stars if the entry fee was $5 for adults. read more

We just got back from a great weekend camping here. The park is not large but the fascinating canyon is green, cool, and it has a great history. It is amazing in that there is no hint that the canyon is there and how spectacular it is once you get into it. There are shear stone walls covered in moss and giant boulders that have split off. There is a trail through the canyon with a detailed map of the various formations and its history. The trail is not long but it is rocky, root covered, slick in areas and sometimes requires a little squeezing. There are bolders to climb on and through. It was a bit of a workout. There is a night hike to see the Dismalites which are tiny, glowing larve found only in this canyon. There is a swimming area at the top of the canyon which looked like it would be a lot of fun in the summer. The entrance to the canyon is through the General Store which is a charming cottage with flower filled decks, rocking chairs and a porch swing. Inside there are oriental rug covered wood floors, log rafters hung with animal skins and a chandelier. Souvenirs, candy, knives, soda, and camper supplies are sold in the front. In the rear is a cafe. Not sure what they serve, but was told they have awesome milkshakes. This is a private park so it has a great deal of charm but it is not handicap accessible. Everyone at the park was nice and very helpful. The restrooms were very clean and the showers were hot. The have a "bunkhouse" accommodation and two cabins. I'm hoping my next visit will be a stay in one of the romantic, cozy cabins. Even though the weekend was "booked" and there were two boy scout troops there, it was never loud or crowded (except for the men's restroom at times). I made the campsite reservation the weekend before but I think you would have to book much further in advance for the summer. The campsites are primitive but beautiful and well spaced from one another. We had Dead Water Bluff and it had a picnic table, trash can and fire ring. While we could hear a little of the campers from the Sleeping Waters site, we only saw them when we passed them on the trail. There is a hike from the car park to the site which is downhill, across a stream and a little uphill - make sure your stuff is very portable. My only complaint was there was not really a level spot to pitch a large tent and we pitched two tents, a 4-person and a 6-person so sleeping was a challenge. In short, it is a place unlike any other and we had a fabulous weekend there. read more

The canyon is beautiful, day and night, but the trails were not clearly marked and could be maintained better. The dismalites (glow worms) were beautiful, but the night tour was a joke. We had to wait 45 minutes past the scheduled time of our tour for it to even start. The guide told us lots of incorrect facts (like that we might see white-footed mice, which are flying squirrels, which is completely false, and that the glow worms are glowing because of phosphorous, also completely false). They stressed on the night tour that we shouldn't touch the rocks at all with our hands because the salt on our hands kills the worms, but no one told us this when we came during the day, so I'm sure hundreds of people a day unknowingly kill the worms because they aren't educated about it. Also, the customer service as we arrived and at their soda fountain was sub-par. read more

We celebrate our 2 year anniversary here and it was amazing.the cabin was beautiful , warm and inviting. The people were extremely helpful and accommodating. The glow worms were a once in a lifetime experience and the canyon was breath taking. I highly recommend this to anyone who appreciates the outdoors and the wonders it has to offer. read more

We did not stay on site so I have no negative experience in that aspect. I will say, however, that we chose not to because looking at their prices online, we deemed it too expensive. The staff was friendly and helpful. They suggested a good restaurant a few miles down the road since their restaurant was closed (not open during weekdays). The experience was good and enjoyable. It's a little pricey but I felt it's worth it. I think it would be enjoyable to explore more of and see the dismals. Overall it was a decent trip. read more

The day hike was absolutely beautiful! The waterfall, the Fall colors, and God's handiwork were exquisite. There weren't many dismalites and no glow worms on the night tour ($30 per person).Very disappointing. The outside lounge was beautiful and we enjoyed watching a college football game out there as we had perfect weather. However, the biggest disappointment was the TINY campsite on a 10 degree grade hill with large buried rocks right in the tent site. There was no way our tent would fit there. If it had, it would have been a miserable night on that hill and rocks. The lady in charge refused to refund our $72 that we had paid for just one night (due to it being a 2 night minimum but we only stayed one night). Thankfully, Bill (an employee) found us another camp site usually used by the scouts. He made sure we were taken care of. We have tent camped at many places for decades and have never seen a primitive camp site so terrible. Thank you, Bill, for making sure that we had a good place to sleep. The lady in charge sure didn't care. For the high prices of everything there, she really should make sure that the camp sites are decent. Thanks to Bill we still enjoyed a beautiful weekend with our family. read more

We popped in our way back Birmingham via Florence. We weren't ready for our mini vacation to end, so decided to give Dismals Canyon a try. Keep in mind, that I hiked this in a dress and converse and still had a fantastic time. The canyon is absolutely gorgeous and the hike is very doable. I can see why people would complain about parking because their lot is so small but we got there early and didn't have a problem. You have to walk down the path from the parking lot to get to the general store that accesses the park. It's there that we bought our passes ($12 each), got the rundown of the park rules and headed on down. It's just absolutely breathtaking! All the natural beauty that the canyon contains just blew us away. They provided us a map to get through the canyon that had plenty of "landmarks" throughout like the Dance Hall and Witches Cavern. We went during the day so didn't get a chance to see the dismalites but plan on returning soon for a camping trip. read more

Dismals Canyon - Parks Near Me - Phil Campbell, Alabama

The canyon and the employees are nice but everything else is lacking. Website says there is a fire pit and a grill at the cabin. There is one fire pit for the two cabins to share, but it is under construction like most of the property here. I wouldn't touch the grill. The cabin is small but clean. Check in is at 4, but the office closes at 5 so plan trip accordingly. The small check in window is a little crazy, especially if you have a drive to get here. There are multiple gates that let you into different parts of the park, maybe 5, with each gate having a different code. We were informed at check in that if we didn't lock the gates behind us that we would lose our $175 security deposit. Once the park closes at 5pm, you aren't allowed to explore the canyon and are pretty much confined to your cabin and the immediate area around it. Unfortunately this leaves you with nothing to do since the area surrounding the cabins is small and only includes a sitting area with the fire pit. There is no cell service at the park with AT&T or Verizon but there is a cell booster in each cabin with a land line also. All in all, the canyon was neat, but had we known we would basically be confined to the cabin after 5:00 and that a large portion of the area is under construction, we would have gone elsewhere. If you happen to be passing through, I would recommend stopping to do the hike, but I wouldn't recommend specifically coming here to stay. read more

The canyon itself is amazing, the property and the campsites not so much. We are avid campers and were disappointed. Campsites were primitive which is fine but there were no good places to place a tent that wasn't on a significant slope. It's almost as if they just rented out their woods and threw up a fire pit and added a trash can and an old rotting picnic table. Parking is a mess as well. There is a tiny main parking lot and a place they call "overflow parking" is nothing more than the shoulder on the road outside of the park. The country store appears to have a recent addition of a deck/porch that was very nice but it isn't representative of the rest of the grounds. The dismalite night tour was cool if you've never seen it but it wasn't breathtaking and wasn't as depicted in pictures on their site either. The tour was short, maybe 45 minutes and most was spent standing waiting for the group to catch up and standing in place looking at the dismalites three times. Wasn't what they make it out to be. I'm usually not one to post such a lengthy and negative review but I really felt like we drove 5 hours and spent $200 on camping and admission for something that wasn't at all as advertised. The only reason I didn't give this 2 stars is because of the canyon itself. It's natural beauty makes you feel like you are off somewhere in another exotic country. It is worth a day trip to hike but I'd suggest lodging elsewhere. read more

I had seen this place online and had been wanting to visit for a while. This past weekend we made time on a Sunday to drive to the two hours to Dismals canyon. The parking lot is strange and you could easily get blocked in, so watch out for that. The only bathrooms are in an outbuilding at the parking lot (not in the country store/restaurant/check in area) so make sure you plan accordingly, although they were very clean. We walked up on to the porch attached to the country store and noticed a sign that said no eating/drinking/smoking on the porch. The no smoking was understandable, but since they are serving food inside, odd that you can't eat or drink on the very nice covered patio. From the minute we walked in the door of the country store, we were ignored. The cashier was talking on her cell phone very loudly (personal conversation), didn't acknowledge us, and walked away from the register. Okay, well we planned to eat lunch first anyway. We walked over to the little cafe, and were further ignored by the two employees working. Apparently we interrupted their lunch, which they were preparing, and then proceeded to sit at the counter (customer side) to eat and further ignore us. They finally gave us a menu, but continued to eat with their backs to us. Once we had sat there about 10 minutes, one came over to ask what we wanted. She was short and rude taking our order. Then proceeded to go back and sit down to eat rather than bringing us drinks. When she finally did bring the drinks, the cherry coke was very flat- we later heard her tell the other employee she didn't know why people ordered it since it wasn't good. Once all three employees had more personal conversation, we received our food about 20 minutes later. The cheeseburger I ordered was good, as was my daughter's corn dog. My husband ordered the slug burger (mistake) and wasn't too happy. They never checked on us and all throughout our meal we had to listen to their very loud personal conversation about a friend. Other customers came in during this time and were treated the same way. They seem to be more interested in checking their phones every five minutes than serving anyone. Probably why the tip jar was empty. We paid to hike the dismals and it was worth it. Expensive, but worth it. I definitely would not camp here or rent a cabin after seeing the customer service during a short day trip. The hike is beautiful and so unusual to be in Alabama. There are water crossings and steep rocks to climb over/down. This is not something an elderly person or very small child could do. The stairs to get to the canyon floor are very steep and slippery. We saw several women with infants strapped to them which looked very dangerous given the conditions of the hike. All in all I'm glad I hiked it, but will never visit again. The owners really need to consider how their employees are turning people off of this amazing place. read more

I recently visited Dismals Canyon and stayed in the Bringing Down the Sun cabin. The cabin was very charming, super clean, and had everything we needed. The staff at Dismals Canyon was friendly and very helpful! We really enjoyed exploring the Canyon during the day and then going back to take the night tour. I highly recommend Dismals Canyon! read more

I am not totally sure how this is a National Protected area or whatever it is. Apparently our current president does no funding for this location. I had been wanting to come for many years, so my wife and I decided upon a day trip from Huntsville. Parts were beautiful, but there is so much maintenance needed it's not even laughable. The store and registration area receive the most attention and was nice as my wife said, but when paying we were told you haven't seen anything yet. Well lady behind counter was correct, I didn't see anything, except a paper map where she said you can't go here or here and then when on the trail it was guesswork. Trails are not marked at all except for some locations. We, along with others found our way out. I would expect a National type area would have blazes on trees or rocks. I've hiked many National Parks and had great experiences and knew where I was going. This is my first and last time here. Bucket list thing. Check. Don't bring older people because they will not be able to do the hike even if in decent shape. read more

I don't even know where to start. A couple friends and I decided to go camping here. We tried to call for reservations multiple times during the week, in which the old man on the phone told us to call back at later dates. Finally, that Friday morning he told us to just come on up and he'd have a place for us. Fast forward 3 hours in the car, we're on our way there and decide to call to double check. The same man tells us we won't arrive in time (10pm), and we'll have to come back tomorrow. He said specifically if we came the next morning, he would have a site for us. Meanwhile, we find a different place to camp up in NorthWest Alabama. We get up the next morning and go to Dismals Canyon, just like the man told us, to get our camp site. I walk in and ask him politely and immediately he responds with rudeness and tells me they have no camp sites available. I told him I spoke with him last night and he said he would. After quite a discussion, it turns out he'd given two spots to two other groups and because they called first, they got the spots. He said they had a "First Come First Serve" policy -- but we were there first! And when we tried to call ahead of time he strictly told us he would not accept reservations and we had to come in to get a space. So we're there first because he wouldn't let us reserve over the phone, and we lose a space to two families who call over the phone! Ridiculous! We ended up leaving without even walking into the park -- the complete rudeness and unhelpful attitude (I can't stress enough how incredibly condescending this man was... and he acted like he didn't have time for us) of the staff was enough to turn us away for good. AND, the place looked like a faux fancy-schmancy place looking for tourist camper dollars, anyway... ugh. read more

The park is wonderful the staff for the park, not so much! We reserved our cabin three months earlier than our arrival date and called multiple times just to double check everything was still in order. They replied yes so we hopped in the car for our 5 hour drive and let them know we wouldn't be there until an hour and a half after check in time. When we arrived it was pouring down rain, the man at the registration desk said we were not able to check in because the skylight in the bathroom was leaking, after a 5 hour drive with a one year old and a pregnant woman this is absolutely not what you want to hear. We stood on the porch of the cabin for another 20 mins while the staff tried to fix the skylight, THAT THEY TOLD US THEY HAD KNOWN WAS BROKEN SINCE TUESDAY! Apparently the maintenance man had just forgot to fix it, it was now 5:30 pm on Friday. One of the maintenance members told us she had used a lot of our paper towels and that if she forgot to bring us some we could grab some at the registration office. She apparently forgot to stock the toilet paper as well because we had half a roll on the holder and one full roll on the back of the toilet. That evening we called to get some more paper towels and they said we were only allotted two full rolls per cabin, we let them know that she had used the majority to clean up the mess the leak had made, she said she'd have to talk to the woman we spoke with in the morning. The next morning we went to the registration desk and asked for paper towels and toilet paper once again, she then argued with us that we had been provided the correct amount and that they had just sent someone to give us another roll of paper towels. We actually ended up having to drive into town for toilet paper and paper towels! You would think a place you were paying $300+ a night for would be less stingy about paper towels and toilet paper allotment! The hike was beautiful and very interesting, the rock formations, and flora and fauna of the area were quite spectacular and it seemed like there were interesting surprises around each turn of the path we took. The nighttime glow worm tour was also amazing and highly recommended! Overall we enjoyed our time at Dismal Canyon immensely, however none of that was due to the staff. If you can do a day trip and minimally interact with the rude and incompetent staff, I would highly recommend it, or find another place to stay where you don't have to be brow beat about something as petty as the amount of toilet paper that was left for you. read more

What a cool place. A hidden oasis of awesomeness, a mildly challenging hike for smaller kids, plenty for older folks too. The swimming hole is a great way to end the hike on a hot day. Very beautiful, family memories can be made here. read more

I have been to state parks and natural areas all over the southeast. I would have to say this is the most disappointed I have been in a long time. First of all we paid 48$ for 2 adults and 2 teens. I can not see where this is going as far as the upkeep of the property or trails as they need improving. To say the place is somewhat pretty is true, but not exceptionally so. Many sights across the southeast surpass it and don't charge an arm and a leg.They brag about having a rare "glowworm" which I highly doubt is limited to their little area. I drove 4 hours to get this money trap. It is a "dismal" idea to visit this place. We later went to nearby "Natural bridge" and at least had a nice ending. read more

For 2 adults and 2 small kids under 5 it was 37 dollars just to hike. They have a couple of decent bridges but mostly just some concrete blocks halfhazardly thrown in the stream. I strongly recommend not going with clumsy preschoolers or elderly. They haven't invested anything in the trails so it can be a dangerous at times. It is beautiful but not worth the price. After a hard 3 hour hike we wanted to get a milkshake. No one acknowledged us with even a hello and proceeded to help people who arrived after us. Totally bummed, we gave up and left sans milkshake. read more

My mother and I went hiking there today. The Good: the trails were beautiful. I loved that they were somewhat challenging. as a self guided tour we had a lot of freedom to explore. It had caves and waterfalls. The lady at the desk in the store was very helpful. The bad: overpriced drinks and the trails could've been better marked. Tips: it's not an easy walk. It is 1.5 miles in rugged sometimes uneven terrain. Elderly people and small children may not wan to do this as a lot of it is uphill. Also you'll want to keep a close eyes on your children as I could see where the rocks could be a hazard for children who like to climb. read more

Brought my Boy Scout troop here last year for the 3rd year in a row. That was the last time I will stay on site. The place is beautiful and the diner has some good food. The service and price are suspect. We arrived late on a Friday and where charged a late fee (which I can deal with). What I don't like is the gate is locked after dark and you cant get in or OUT. Their was a group trying to get out when we arrived and they had to wait about 20 minutes to have someone open the gate for us to get in and them to get out. Then when we went to pay the next morning the man behind the counter could figure out what my trooped owed for the weekend of camping. He finally figured an amount and I paid (mind you I had put a 50 deposit to reserve). The last insult was when we went to check-out. The guy ended up remembering that he didn't charge me correctly and I had to hand over some more cash. We ended up paying $370 for 2 nights camping and the tours for 8 boys and 2 adults. I can go to any state or private campground with my troop and pay much less. We're going back this year for the day/night tour. Depending on how it goes we may never go back. read more

This rating is based on beauty alone. If you are looking for a natural beauty that used to be one of Alabama's best kept secrets, you will love Dismals Canyon. It has some of the most incredible, indigenous foliage I have ever seen, especially for Alabama and when in the Canyon, it is as if you have left civilization behind and expect a dinosaur or other prehistoric creature to appear. Think "Jurassic Park"! I moved back to Alabama five years ago and had never heard of Dismals Canyon which is shocking since I had spent numerous summer vacations at my Grandpa's house in Hamilton, just a few miles down the road. My sons told me about it and we visited Dismals the first summer after we had moved to Hamilton. I was absolutely amazed at the beauty. The country store was rustic and the staff, cordial. In the five years that we have lived here, we have visited the canyon every year, sometimes more than once as we enjoy sharing its beauty with our visiting family and friends. Admission was very reasonable and probably a pittance for the maintenance that the park required. However, in these five years, the price of admission has increased substantially and is no longer affordable for the quick trips that we would make to "show off our hidden treasure." With each yearly visit, the price of admission has increased and the park has definitely become much more "commercialized", with its purpose being more revenue-producing rather than a place to spend a quiet afternoon with grandchildren, family or out-of-town visitors. There have been been "improvements" to the surrounding property to entice campers and tourists but my fear is that the Canyon's exploitation will ruin its appeal to true nature lovers. read more