Off the Beaten path - Mammoth Cave National Park.

What do you picture when you hear that name?

It’s obvious, right?

Wooly Mammoths…

It’s name actually only comes from the size of the Cave, there were n Mammoth’s involved.

Seriously. Many if not most National Parks have their central draw—the thing which brings people past their entrance sign. Sometimes it’s as simple as a theme: Dinosaurs (fossils) in Dinosaur National Monument. Petrified trees in Petrified Forest National Park. The Fossil Beds of Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. (Not every theme is fossil related.) Sometimes the draw is all-encompassing as the park: the volcanic activity which permeates all of Yellowstone with the thrill of energy, the swamps of the Everglades, the giant ditch which makes it very challenging to get across Grand Canyon National Park in one go.

Every park has more to offer than their central draw. There are always things to see Off the Beaten Path. In light of the upcoming book in the Junior Rangers Club Series, I thought I should start by focusing on the obvious: Mammoth Cave National Park.

Of course, there are the caves. The Cave and many others in the Karst region are popular. (No Nathan! Geology is topic for another day!) The longest cave in the world is still growing. It has a human history dating back thousands of years. It also has some notable formations, some interesting artifacts, fossils, and thousands upon thousands of stories. Some literally written in the walls (mostly on the ceiling.)

But that is not all Mammoth Cave has to offer. Normally, the surface of a park is the draw, but in modern times, (the past couple centuries,) people have traveled to the middle of southern Kentucky for what is beneath that surface. In doing so, they often miss what is right in front of them.

Even the drive to reach the cave is interesting. (There is a nice overlook if you approach the visitor center from the south.) Although I am personally biased. Kentucky is my favorite state to drive through. No matter the season, there is always something to see. But it’s not the drive alone. Hiking in Mammoth Cave is awesome!

On the south side of the park, you have trails which take you inside of massive sink holes, around micro-ecologies formed in the ruble of collapsed caverns, to sites of significant historical interest to the park, to surprise locations of old homesteads, to artifacts memorializing the people who once lived in the region, to overlooks of grand views.  

A waterfall in Mammoth Cave National Park

Off trail, you can find waterfalls, wildlife, and (see Nathan struggling to find another W word just to complete at 3, but he couldn’t) and fascinating remnants of the parks history both natural and manmade.  It’s a delight for all of the senses. Or sometimes torture, I hiked the trail down to one of the cave entrances one day and was nearly overcome with an acrid scent I could best describe as corrosive copper, or metal. I only learned a year later that a type of invasive centipede sometimes colonizes the walls of that cave entrance and puts out a repellant scent. Not a favorite scent, but a memorable experience none-the-less. There are great sunset views. There are places to overlook the green river. There are seeps and springs.

Go north across Green River and you will find all of these in spades, and more. The north side of the park feels older, less developed, riper for exploration. It’s also the section open to anyone who wants to trail ride horses. (A contentious interest to some of the hikers I’ve met.) I’ve seen horse riders, mountain bikers and other hikers while traveling these paths.

There are more hiking trails, more rock formations, more waterfalls, more remnants of old homesteads, and more wildlife. One of my most memorable experiences was hiking a section of trail near the Maple Sprigs Research Center near dusk. There are a few buildings at the research center which are still in use varying times of the year, and someone was using them, because as I approached the turnoff for the Research Center, I heard the eerie sound of violin music creeping through the fall foliage. Someone was playing music just loud enough that it carried along the path adding to an air of mystery as night crept in.

There are so many above ground things I could highlight. I could type about this forever. (I actually want to get back to writing book 3…) But I think overlooked above ground sights is best exemplified by two locations in Mammoth Cave National Park. Sloan’s Pond and Sand Cave Trail.

Sloan’s Pond is exactly what it sounds like. A pond. A small oasis of water in a region where most of the surface water quickly seeps below ground. It has a nice parking lot and cell service, so many people meet here on their way to other parts of the park. But it is well worth the short walk around the pond to take in a bit of the wilderness preserved by park’s boundaries. You can listen to the sounds of frogs and insects, look out for birds flying through, and shelter in the forests shade. If you’re up to appreciate a little slice of nature, it’s well worth the stop.

Sloan’s Pond

Appreciating the little things also includes the shortest of hikes. Sand Cave Trail is a whopping .1 mile boardwalk. Even with such an accessible distance it is often overlooked. Parked just at the northern (relative to I-65) eastern entrance to the park, most people pass it by because they are on their way to or away from the visitor center. Many of those who do stop are there for the (in my opinion) most picturesque Mammoth Cave Park sign. But ignoring this trail ignores a small section of the park with deep ties (get it) to the history of Mammoth Cave.

Rare Nathan Sighting. See, it’s a picturesque sign. Find it, and you will find one of the most densely packed shortest walking trials in the park.

Hiking it gives you a brief forest preview, a look down upon an eerie rocky overhang and snippets of a story central to the foundation of Mammoth Cave as a national park: The story of Floyd Collins, who was trapped in the cave at the end of the hike, and the rescue attempt which went in after him. I won’t go into detail here. (Hike the trail, research it, or wait of for the upcoming book! ß the preferred method.) The cave you see at the end isn’t even part of Mammoth Cave, nor are you allowed to enter it. (the entrance is blocked and locked for your own safety—see the story of Floyd Collins to know why,) but a very short trip off the beaten path leads you to a path of discovery.

Neither of these are the longest hikes in the park. Nor would I suggest that either of these are the best. However both stand out simply because they are there, and they are significant.

Wildlife, waterfalls, wildflowers. (I did it this time!) There are all kinds of things to see above ground. It’s not that these other aspects of Mammoth Cave National Park are unknown. I imagine many visitors who come from the area around Mammoth Cave actually come for these above ground sights and scenes. But for those passing through, or on a once in a lifetime trip, I wanted to set a simple reminder that the most popular draw of any park is only one aspect. There is always so much more to see if you take the time, keep your eyes peeled and are willing to stray a little off the beaten path.

(Ok, ironically both of my examples are actually well-kept paths this time. My point is, Mammoth Cave National Park is more than just the Cave.)

I’ll revisit this topic in the future. And I’ll be revisiting Mammoth Cave specifically for a while. Because the next book is coming along. So stay tuned for that too!