DeSoto Falls and Icebox Cave (DeKalb County, Alabama)

The weather in the southeast has been very erratic for the past few weeks. We have been suffering through 90+ degree days with 80-90% humidity, which makes for a miserable time outside. Add to that surprise and harsh thunderstorms popping up unexpectedly, and it's not a recipe conducive to getting much hiking in. I've especially been resisting the urge to travel for any hikes. Today though, I decided to risk it and make a drive just over the state line to visit DeSoto Falls State Park in Alabama. I have tried to do this trip a couple of times recently only to be thwarted by the rain. Today looks to be clear though until the late afternoon, and so, I'm going to give it a go.

It takes a couple of hours to reach my destination and when I do, I'm a little confused by the way the park is laid out. Initially, I pull into a picnic area at the pool above the falls. I have to pay $5 to park here, but hopefully it will be worth it . . . it was not worth it. This area is for family kayaking. The creek that feeds the falls is dammed to form a large pond and a number of families are here paddling out on that flat water. Just below the dam is a small double waterfall, each dropping about 20 feet into another more shallow pool. From there the water heads over the main waterfall, but unfortunately, the angle from here is not very good. I do follow a small trail along the side of the cliff (with a safety fence) to get to a look out point, but even from here, the view of the main fall is quite lacking.

Returning to the car and looking at a couple of maps on my phone, I decide to hike a nearby trail called the DeSoto Falls Bottom and Icebox Cave Trail. Hopefully, this will take me towards the bottom of the canyon formed by the falls and offer a better view. The cave may be interesting as well.

It's only about a five minute drive from the picnic area and once there, I quickly find a parking spot, though the lot is pretty full. The trail meanders through a number of large rock outcroppings, which are probably great for bouldering, as it approaches the waterway, which is known as the West Fork of the Little River. I do encounter a number of other people out hiking on this sticky summer day, but everyone is quite nice. The final push to the pool below the waterfall is an exercise in balance, as the trail traverses over a large number of half-buried stones. It would be very easy to roll an ankle here, but I'm careful and manage it without incident.

When I get to the opening that offers the best view of the waterfall, I'm a little disappointed that the pool leads up to a large boulder, which is taller than I care to climb today. I manage stand on a piece of fallen log to get a couple of shots. There are quite a few people here swimming in the cool waters of the pool and a couple over closer to the waterfall, which is roughly a 300 feet across the pool from me.

The waterfall itself is quite majestic, plummeting 104 feet over the tall cliff. which has been carved into a canyon by the rushing water. This natural configuration seems to be quite common in this part of the world. I've encountered numerous other waterfalls that look very much the same, including Lula Lake Falls, Foster Falls, and the waterfalls at nearby Cloudland Canyon. I'm guessing the geology lends itself to this kind of erosion.

After only a few minutes taking it all in, I turn around and head back towards the car. The sky is clouding up and I'd rather not be caught out here in the rain. A few drops of rain to fall on me, but nothing significant and even though I want to get back to the car, I decide to take an alternative path to see Icebox Cave. This connecting trail takes me up the hillside and to the bottom of the continuation of the cliffs. After a short distance, I encounter the cave.

This cave is more of a very deep overhang. The entrance is roughly fifty feet wide and twelve feet tall, more than enough to allow me to walk into it. The ceiling of the cave is covered with soot, indicating the use of campfires here. I would imagine this cave was used by indigenous peoples as a shelter, as offers a fairly large room, which is nicely sheltered from the weather. Though the ceiling tapers down towards what appears to be the back of the cave, it's probably sixty or seventy feet deep. It even appears to go deeper, but exploring further would require some belly crawling, which I'm unwilling to do today.

The trip back to the car is uneventful, though the rains continue to threaten. The total distance of this little hike was only about 1.3 miles, but some very interesting things to see along the way. I had originally planned to do a couple of other hikes in this area, but given the weather situation, I think I'm just going to head home.