Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Inland Panhandle
Though most of the attractions around here are indeed on the gulf, there are a couple of
spots inland that are worth going out of your way for.
Florida Caverns State Park
Just over an hour from Tallahassee or Panama City, on Hwy 166, the 1300-acre
Florida
Caverns State Park
( 850-482-9598;
www.floridastateparks.org/floridacaverns
; 3345 Caverns
Rd, Marianna; vehicle $5, cave tours adult/child $8/5, camping $20; 8am-sunset)
on the Chipola
River has fascinating caves unique to Florida. Eerie stalactites, stalagmites and flowstone
(formed by water flowing over rock) fill the lighted caves, along with calcified shapes cre-
ated over centuries as calcite has bubbled through the stone. You can take a 45-minute
guided tour, available from 9am to 4pm daily, with a volunteer - who will surely mention
the quirky names they've come up with to describe the various formations, from 'wedding
cake' to 'bacon.' Outside, the Blue Hole swimming area makes for a fun - if freezing - dip.
DeFuniak Springs
Switzerland has one (near Zurich) and the Florida Panhandle has the other: the Walton
County seat of DeFuniak Springs is home to one of just two almost perfectly round lakes
in the world. It's popularly thought that the lake was created by a meteorite crashing to
Earth eons ago, but there's no final scientific word on its formation. Ringing the lake's ap-
proximately mile-long circumference along Circle Dr is the town's historic district, with 39
Victorian buildings in various states of restoration or disrepair. Stroll around the lake and
check out the ghostly downtown: there's not much to do in this sleepy ol' town, and that's
precisely its charm.
Fifteen minutes down the road, the far lovelier
Ponce de Leon Springs State Park
(
850-836-4281;
www.floridastateparks.org/poncedeleonsprings
;
2860 Ponce de Leon Springs Rd,
Ponce de Leon; vehicle $4; 8am-sunset)
features one of Florida's loveliest and least touristed
springs. The spring has clear, almost luminescent waters, like something from a fairy tale,
and is studded with knobby trees and surrounded by ladders for easy swimming access.
Two short trails skirt the bank of nearby Blackwater Creek. The water temperature remains
a constant 68°F (20°C).
