Alabama
Franklin County
Dismals Canyon
Follows Dismals Branch stream on the Canyon Floor
Dismals Canyon is a privately owned National Natural Landmark. The main attraction is the summertime light show displayed by the dismalites, these glowworms are found in New Zealand and a handful of other places including Dismals Canyons. The trail meanders through a pristine wilderness filled with ferns and giant trees, It passes below huge bluffs that make up the canyon walls, and - inside Witches Cavern - it follows a strange and beautiful labyrinth of moss and fern covered boulders where the largest colony of Dismalites resides.\ Summertime finds Dismals Canyon cool and inviting. The temperature on the canyon floor runs some 14 degrees below Alabama's summer average. There are no mosquitoes, flies or poison oak.
Length: 1.5 miles
Difficulty: 1
Nearby Trails
Bee Branch Trail
Popular but unmarked trial through the Sipsey Wilderness
Borden Creek Trail (Trail 200)
Great family hike through the Sipsey Wilderness
Flint Creek Trail
See various species of plant and animal life associated with an oak-hickory forest
Dancy Bottom Trail
Located in bottomland hardwoods near Flint Creek
Riverside and Indian Mounds Trail
Hiking trail in Shiloh National Military Park