Dismals Canyon is an extra special place and is a must even if you are remotely close to the area. I am gonna be extremely lazy and copy a little text from dismalscanyon.com...
Dismals Canyon - located in Northwest Alabama - is an 85 acre Natural Conservatory privately owned and operated. It is NOT a State Park or National Park.
Through the heart of the canyon flows "Dismals Branch", a winding stream that enters the canyon with a roar through "Rainbow Falls".
A 1.5 mile hiking trail on the canyon floor follows the stream through sky reaching boulders, past thundering waterfalls, into a secret world of mossy-green and pearl gray filled with ferns and giant trees.
At night the place gets really cool! This is what separates this place..
Colloquially known as Dismalites, they are the larvae stage of a unique, native, and endemic species of insect (North American Orfelia fultoni) that emits a bright blue-green light to attract food, in the form of other flying insects.
It requires a select habitat to survive: humidity to prevent it from drying out; hanging surfaces to allow it to build sticky webs to trap the food; an adequate food supply of insects; a still atmosphere to prevent lines from tangling; and darkness to allow it to show a light.
Dismals Canyon provides the perfect habitat for these unique insects to survive.
When looking up at the moss covered canyon walls it's hard to tell where the Dismalites stop and the stars begin.
How to get there...
Dismals Canyon, is located in northwest Alabama
- about 30 miles west of Sipsey Wilderness
- 12 miles south of Russellville, Alabama
- off US-43 / AL-17 between Russellville and Hamilton
- on Hwy. 8
You may see Dismals Canyon labeled as "Dismals Wonder Gardens" on some maps and road atlases. That's the old name from many years ago, but it's the same place.
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