dismals canyon

We have been here several occasions. Once as husband and wife and next time with the whole family. They have done not a lot of work in the 2 years time span between visits. They had only built back very few of bridges. The bridges first time were no longer there due to recent tornado, and the trails are very hard to follow. They need better signs marking trails. The points of interest marked on map given to you when purchasing tickets are not marked well either. It is a lot of searching, back tracking. We were disappointed that they have not updated their signage in the 2 years. This place has lots of potential with the right hands guiding it along. Beware of swimming hole, the last step is big one. The water was over my 5' 2" height. We place in stream coming off waterfall, lots of fun to be had there also. I see if money was put into this place it could go really far. On last visit, again no signage, some skipping stones to cross river still gone, hard to follow trails, and overall condition of place not that well taken care of. Disappointed that they could not treasure what a true gem they have! Tip: Be very careful going down the stairs they are slippery.

The Dismals is located between spruce pine and Hackleburg no where near Haleyville. I have no clue how it could have a Haleyville address since it so far away from Haleyville Al.

Great experience! Great hiking! The dismals were super cool! National Geographic was there filming when we went!

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.

We stayed in one of their cabins for our wedding anniversary. It overlooks a stream, and has an indoor fireplace, and outdoor firepit. A grill is provided as well, and their country store and diner was quaint and delicious. Hiking was spectacular! The dismalite tour was run by a knowledgable young local. Couldn't have had a better experience!

I read thru almost every review and maybe I'm picky but I think there's some things about here people aren't saying first of all let me say just from a standpoint of the canyon itself, it's amazing. The vegetation and rocks are more than impressive. Natures beauty is truly to be seen. What i wish someone had told me was about the night tour. We spent a couple of hours hiking thru the canyon, stopped to take pics, etc. signage sucks, it's easy to get off the trail which will have u backtracking. No big deal really though. Staff was extremely friendly which surprised me after the reviews. I do believe money needs to be invested in the steps/stairs. I find them to be extremely dangerous, easy to trip on and so small your feet slide under the step above. Very dangerous for ppl with kids or older hikers. Another thing that was disappointing was the amount of construction going on, that looked to be at a standstill. It took away from the beauty of the park. Why not do that in months when they are closed???? My last complaint was the glow worms....maybe I should have googled dismalites but when u say I'm gonna see a glow worm, I expect to be able to see it clearly. I was expecting something the size of a small caterpillar. Oh my, after waiting five hours for our tour, when we were standing there listening to our guide and we heard these things were the size of a string we almost passed out. We were tired and wouldve bypassed this tour had we known. Please take a flashlight because with the dangerous steps and rocks in the paths, you will fall. And you don't wanna bump your head and miss out on the glow dots. Yes people, DOTS. THEYRE SO SMALL, and when u initially look at them you will swear your vision is failing you. Yes it's a neat concept but if you're expecting to see something the size of your pinky finger you will not be happy. We were told we would have a special treat not the tour and we did, however it was better than the glow worms to some degree, but still....lightning bug larvae. I'm glad I went once and van mark this off my list, I would not visit a s second time. And btw, restrooms are located in the parking lot and are a substantial walk from inside the park. Plan this trip carefully and call ahead in advance for the night tour so you don't have to wait til after 9pm to begin. It makes for a long day and there's nothing else to do while u wait.

DRIVE ON TO BANKHEAD or SMITHLAKEWay too many fees and lists of rules. I am an avid camper, hiker and backpacker. NEVER will I go here again. I have always followed "Leave No Trace" methods of camping, but with staffers patrolling trails telling everyone "don't swim there, "don't hike on that trail", don't sit on that rock"...it was smothering.Poor, yet expensive campsites. The little tent space was slanted and cramped next to neighbor site.Saw 6 dismalites on the night tour...

Visited here with my 4 and 7 yr old, my parents (in their late 60s/early 70s), my SIL, her baby, and her 4 and 7 yr old. We hiked in, explored, splashed in the creek and the falls, fed the fish, and generally had a great time ( plus ice cream after.) bring lots of water and snacks, towels, extra clothes, etc. it's a moderately difficult scramble in parts so not really an option if you have mobility issues. Only bathroom is near the parking lot.

Went here because we had heard good things about it, and we were not disappointed--we did not do the night tour, but will if we ever go back and spend the night. The rock formations and trees were so pretty. The diner was too cute and the food was good.

Nice daytime hike in a nicely kept mini-canyon. The staff was very friendly and enviting. The hike was not too long and didnt require a full gear preparaton which is nice when taking along first-time hikers. We didnt get to camp out, but hear the dismalite show is one of a kind. Would definitely return with others and to spend the night. Didnt see any creatures. Try to wear water shoes or something you dont mind getting wet/muddy if you want to play in the stream.

My 13 year old son and I visited July 7. Trails lead through lovely undisturbed nature. It took a little less than 3 hours. Then we enjoyed sandwiches and ice cream in the general store.

We were excited to visit this place. The owner(A big fat guy) was not so welcoming but we didn't bother. When we saw the trail and started off we were so pleased. The man-made waterfall seemed so splendid. We moved ahead started clicking pictures and everything was fine till we reached the scariest part. There is a sign saying SNAKE DEN, be cautious. Off course it was a natural area so we were like ok. climbed down into the bed for a picture and a 10 foot snake crawled past by me and i ran screaming back to my husband. Another hiker startled by my scream tried to calm me down and told that his sister came here last week and saw a much bigger snake.later in the trip passing by the fat man's misery my husband almost stepped on a small black colored 10CM snake. I was scared all the way.The 10$/Person is too much and not worth it. we stopped at every point to take pictures, had our lunch in the trip, rested time to time and even met people and chatted. Even then we were able to complete OUR TOUR IN 3 HOURS.

We stayed in the bunkhouse in Dismal's Canyon on a 3 day weekend in July. The hiking in the canyon is stunning. I've hiked many places in Tennessee as well as out west and I was shocked that such a beautiful place exists in Alabama! The hiking trails don't take long, but exploring between the boulders can take a while if you're adventurous. The bunkhouse has no running water or bathroom and the shared bathhouse is about 200 yards away. The staff is delightful, friendly and very helpful, but also very laid back so don't be in any particular hurry. They close the gates at night and do not open them again until 7ish so if you have a middle of the night emergency or need to make an early morning coffee run remember that you cannot drive off of the grounds without making calls, waking someone up and waiting. Also, there is no hot water for a shower. We really loved this place. It wasn't very crowded at all.

The night tour might be great I will never know. We prepaid for our tour to see the dismalites.We where concern about the lightning not having any cell phone service we could not see what was coming. The man that appeared to be the owner said it was just heat lightning. while we were dealing with our weather concern my son started throwing up.So we could not do the tour. I asked the man if he would give us a voucher so we could come back. He said the owner gets mad when he does that.Our big mistake was paying in advance.

I was expecting something way more worth the money. It was only a 2 hour hike in which we hiked slow to make it last longer. We had to drive 2 hours to get there and it was not worth it. For 2 adults and one child it was $28.00. I was very disappointed in the "country store" and picnic area, It needs lots of TLC and upgrading. The bathroom did not have any paper towels to dry your hands and the women's bathroom was out of toilet paper. I would not recommend this to anyone.