Hiking The Cedar Sink Trail In Mammoth Cave National Park
The Cedar Sink Trail is located in Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky.
The parking lot for the trailhead (37.15553, -86.16043) can be accessed off of Cedar Sink Road off of Brownsville Road.
This almost two mile out-and-back trail has about 250 feet of elevation gain and it’s pet friendly.
It’s one of the most popular hikes in the park and perfect for the geology lovers out there.
From the parking lot you will travel through the forest on a wide dirt path, and down multiple steps for about 0.75 miles. You will then see a sign announcing the beginning of the 0.5 mile loop that leads down into and back out of the sinkhole.
We took a left at the loop and proceeded down the metal staircase which consisted of a total of 150 steps. The metal grate is small enough that if you brought your pooch along he should have no problems walking down the stairs.
At the bottom of the stairs you will reach the massive sinkhole, which is technically a karst window.
I got to say that it wasn’t very impressive during our visit. There was barely any water and it basically just looked like a dry ravine.
The hubby assumes that when the water levels are higher and the river is visible and flowing it’s a much cooler experience.
After walking around and checking out the various viewpoints and reading the informational signage you’ll begin your way back up. There are just as many stairs back up, but they are more spread out.
There are two flights of metal stairs up where the metal grate is way too large for your pooches paws and you may have to carry your pup up them, I know we did.
On your way back up you will see a boardwalk to your left taking you to the center of a cave. In my opinion, this is the best part of the hike.
The cave is pretty massive and just a great additional geological feature on the trail.
After you’ve finished checking out the cave you’ll begin the journey back through those trees and eventually arrive safely at your vehicle.
This was a nice little hike and one I would recommend while visiting the park.
Apparently, this is a great hike to see an incredible variety of seasonal wildflowers in the Spring and Summer (if botany is your thing). All those flowers means lots of pretty butterflies fluttering about as well (if lepidopterology is your thing).
