Historic Russ House built in the 1890s is a beautiful and historic building to house a tourist…read moreinformation center as well as a Veterans' Center. Julie greeted us as we arrived. She welcomed us to peruse the house on our own as well as offered us a tour. A few minutes later, Chastity guided us through the mansion. The many stories of the house and its former occupants are fascinating. We also learned about the Battle of Marianna which took place during the Civil War. Soldiers gathered at a nearby corner in preparation for battle. Plaques throughout Marianna commemorate the battle. The surrounding neighborhood features several pre-Civil War homes including one home called the 1840 House. It's like a step back in time. I'm glad we stopped in! The tour was worth our time plus we were able to pick up some brochures for other places of interest in the area. Thank you to Julie and Chastity for welcoming us at Russ House.

Had an employee stop whatever they were doing to give my family and some local visitors and her 2…read morechildren a brief tour. Appreciated her taking the time to show us around and give us a brief history of the property and mansion. Glad the building was repurposed and is being used.

This marker is located near the center of Marianna and commemorates one of Florida's few land…read morebattles. It reads, "On September 27, 1864, Gen Asboth's force of 700 Federal cavalry from Pensacola arrived in the Marianna area to forage and secure Negro recruits. Confederate forces of a few hundred home guardsmen barricaded the streets of Marianna and withstood the first assault but Confederate casualties were 26, Federal about 55. Marianna was spared, but St. Luke's Church, situated in the middle of the battle, was burned." Marianna, the home of Florida's ardent secessionist Civil War governor, John Milton, was an important supply depot and recruiting/mustering center for Confederate militia and reserves. By late 1864, it was the largest northwest Florida town besides Tallahassee still in Confederate hands. Due to the fiercer-than-expected fighting and high casualties, particularly among the officers, Asboth's plan to turn south toward St. Andrews Bay was cancelled. Instead, that evening and the next morning, the raiders withdrew toward Choctawhatchee Bay. The column brought with it over 600 liberated slaves, 17 wagons filled with captured arms and stores, 200 captured horses, and 400 head of cattle. [Review 14702 overall, 202 of 2021, number 1262 in Florida.]

Located in front of the Jackson County Courthouse, this simple granite memorial lists the names of…read morethose from this area who lost their lives fighting for the United States in various conflicts. The names include World War I, World War II, the Korean War, The Vietnam War and Afghanistan. Entirely too many names. It is a very nice monument and there is metered street parking nearby. [Review 14703 overall, 203 of 2021, number 1263 in Florida.]

Tried to visit the historic/haunted bridge but were swarmed by horseflies within the first tenth of…read morea mile. We raced back to the car and then read Google reviews which warned about mosquitoes, muddy trail, and stream crossings.

If you've never been to the Florida caverns being that there even is any caverns in the state of…read moreFlorida is pretty awesome and unique the experience is always exciting and fun. I've been to this cave a few times over the last 15 years.. and every time I've come, there's always something different about it. When you first get to the cave, be prepared to stop and pay five dollars to enter the state park this is probably one of the only cons about the whole place. I don't know why the state park doesn't include admission to the park along with your admission to the caves, all in one. . At any route five dollars per car load to enter the state park after driving some twists and turns you come up to the visitor center. Don't be discouraged by everybody coming out in sweatshirts or hoodies I was informed by our tour guide that these items would not be needed as the cave is a Balmy 65° all year round. We scheduled our tour online, which showed up three hours early. They're scheduling physically at the place is different from their scheduling online we showed up with the intentions of waiting around for two hours before our tour and was told by the visitor center. There was a tour leaving in five minutes if you want to jump on that one and I gladly accepted . We joined the tour group of about 25 people and Jack was our guide. A local FSU university student. He did a phenomenal job explaining that to the caves along with a lot of humor to make it more enjoyable. After a short three minute walk from the visitor center down to the entrance of the caverns at a depth between 60 and 100 feet underground.. you emerge in a area on a slight incline, surrounded by slag mites, and slag types. As you walk through the cave, your reminded that overtime, the cave changes, especially after hurricane Michael came through in 2018. The caverns apparently filled completely up to the ceiling and along with it brought several tons of sand into the caverns, which all had to be excavated by hand looking at the massive case system seems like such a daunting task, but with the help of volunteers from FSU in the surrounding area, they were able to get it done in three months time. Back to the caverns as you meandering your way throughout your showing multiple different formation names all of which I can't remember, and you come upon the original entrance to the caverns Jack explained to us the former owner of the caverns and their intended use as a tourist trap before eventually turning hands over to the Florida conservation corps.. the walk through the caverns just about 3/4 of a mile before emerging back out the other side and tour. I didn't wanna leave because it was so extremely hot the day that I went outside and being inside, the cave felt so much more relaxing.. Overall, it's a very unique experience . I highly recommend anybody that hasn't been to go to it. You will not be disappointed in anyway.. it's also very good for children as well. I had my eight year-old with me and they learned a lot..

Florida Caverns State Park is located in Marianna, FL, 68 miles northwest of Tallahassee. It's $5…read moreper vehicle entry into the park and then it's $16 for a guided underground cave tour. Tours last around 45 minutes and they run throughout the day from 9am - 4pm Central Standard Time. A limited number of cave tour reservations can be made online ahead of time at floridacaverns.com. This cave tour is pretty straightforward. You enter 65 feet below the surface into 8 illuminated rooms learning insights into limestone formations, mineral deposits, rock columns and fossilized shells. A lot of the rooms are colorful exhibiting a sort of glow in the dark appearance. The tour guide gives background and history into what makes the caverns unique and how they came into existence. Once the cave tour is completed, a great way to continue your visit is by driving 2 miles down the road (within park limits) to check out Blue Hole Spring. This has to be one of the least talked about springs I discovered in all of Florida. An absolute hidden gem, the Blue Hole is a tucked away swimming treasure that lights up turquoise blue colors when the sun is shining. Refreshing off in these waters was the best part about the park visit and quickly put my cave tour experience in the rear view mirror. The waters of Blue Hole Spring are incredibly translucent even while continuing the 2-mile flow through the woods and connecting with the Chipola River. Some extras at the park are...overnight camping for $20, hiking trails, picnic pavilions and launching canoes and kayaks. Overall, Florida Caverns State Park can be a worthwhile stop when visiting Marianna, Florida, with a combination of cave exploring, swimming at Blue Hole Spring and spending time in nature.

There are no markings to indicate that you are at the park, but it is located on the cornet of…read moreNoland Street and Butler Avenue in a residential neighborhood. When you get to the wooden fence, there is a donation sign, but there is no real indication that it is a park. It is pretty much just a path that is getting overgrown, but hey, that's real nature in its natural environment.

Mainly an open field, when I walked down the nature trail, Probably only want 0.15 of a mile before…read morerunning into a private property No trespassing sign & trail had some cameras on it. It was disappointing not really worth the drive out there to check out the nature trail. But it does have an open field if you want to play football or soccer.

Had a blast , it's an Oasis's, and the kids enjoyed themselves, the music was perfect, we saw so…read moremuch little creatures.definitely will be back

Alex was the most engaging guide! We made a stop to collect shells! We will definitely come again.read more