Biking Kentucky's Mammoth Cave Railroad Bike and Hike Trail

Mammoth Cave National Park now has a bike trail!  

In 1859, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad opened its mainline between these two cities, and the line was only 8.7 miles from the Mammoth Cave tourist attraction which first began cave tours in 1816. (Yes, cave tours have been offered for over 200 years, surpassed in our country only by Niagara Falls as the nation's oldest tourist attraction!) After the Civil War, as many as 50,000 tourists rode the train and then switched to stagecoaches to travel to the cave, and in 1886, the rail line to the caves became operational. In 1904, the first automobile drove to the cave, hinting at the future, and in 1931 the train made its final run.

The trail is NOT a rail-trail. It follows the approximate route of the  former railroad, but it is not uniformly flat like most converted rail trails. This trail has three very steep uphill climbs that need to be walked by most riders. The development of state and park roads replaced sections of the old rail line, necessitating re-routes up high hills.

The trail runs about 9 miles to the town of Park City, formerly called Glasgow Junction. It begins near the park campground, not far from the Mammoth Cave Hotel. The trail is mostly crushed gravel with a few boardwalk sections, and I found it in good condition. A mountain bike or hybrid bike works best.

Photos can not depict the steepness of the grade, but your body will know! Don't be afraid to walk all or part of the uphill -- we call that cross training!

I was here in March so only the evergreens had color. When the entire forest blooms, I'm sure it is magnificent!

Sloan's Crossing Pond is called "A wet place in a dry land" and was caused by a sinkhole that filled with water and now provides a bit of an oasis. There is a .4 mile boardwalk encircling the pond, with benches at several points.

There are four cemeteries along the trail. Below is a photo of the Locust Grove Cemetery which is on the trail and adjacent to the park entrance road. Another cemetery, the Furlong Cemetery, is on a spur trail at the top of the westernmost steep grade. The Shackleford and Zion Cemeteries are more at either end of the trail. There are scores of cemeteries in the park where over 1800 people lie in rest. A database of the cemeteries is here.

Building A Trail in Tennessee's Natchez Trace State Park with American Hiking Society

Natchez Trace State Park is located on an alternate route of the old Natchez Trace, a path created by animal migrations and an Indian travel and trade route, later used by returning boatmen that had floated goods to markets in Natchez and New Orleans from the Nashville area.

President Franklin Roosevelt purchased 48,000 acres of farm land that had been despoiled by overuse  and had become badly eroded into gullies by the 1930s. The Civilian Conservation Corps reclaimed the land and planted countless trees, and the Works Progress Administration constructed many of the existing buildings and facilities. The park is now a hilly, forested beauty with four lakes, the largest of which is 690 acres.

We were assigned to work on the The Red Leaves/Cub Lake Trail in an area where it runs along a creek. Beavers had built a dam and created a wetlands that flooded the trail. The park tried to solve the problem with portable boardwalk-like structures seen below, but the best solution was to re-route the trail to higher ground on the adjacent hillside.

The hillside had been clearcut years ago and was in the process of naturally re-growing with a mix of trees.  Ranger Greg determined the best route for the new trail segment to follow, flagged it, and a crew of local trail volunteers removed trees to create this rough new trail corridor.

Then our American Hiking Society crew of 12 arrived and dug the new trail tread following Ranger Greg's instructions. He demonstrated how to remove the top layer of organic material (residue from disintegrated leaves, branches, roots, etc.) until we reached the mineral material composed of soil and clay, and how to make the tread slightly at an angle to facilitate water to drain off the trail.  Our work surpassed the expectations of the rangers and we pretty much completed the entire trail, including installing drain tile in four particularly wet areas shown a few photos below.

When it was time for a break or lunch, we had our choice of many lovely spots to relax and eat...

Here's a photo of a nearly finished section of trail...

Several days, groups of hikers passed by us as we worked, and all complimented us on the new trail's progress and thanked us for our efforts.

At the beginning of the new trail, we encountered a very unusual situation. Apparently a spring in the hillside was continuously leaching water onto what was to be the new trail, turning it into a messy and impassable quagmire. Every effort they had made in the prior weeks had failed to solve the drainage problem. So after thought and consultations, a plan was devised to capture the flowing water in a drainage pipe and send it under the trail tread in two long lengths of buried drainage pipe.

Eighteen inch deep trenches were dug and water permeable geotextile fabric was placed in the trenches...

...and then the pipe was placed in the fabric and gravel added all around it. The water would pass through the fabric and into the slotted piping, but soil would be unable to penetrate the fabric and thus couldn't clog the tubing.  Here's the gravel being added...

Below you can see the long piping buried on the right with the two downhill segments running from it to the left. These next two photos show different angles of the work site...

A layer of the fabric was then placed on the actual trail corridor and several inches of additional gravel was placed over the fabric to serve as the trail tread. (Mike decided to take a rest break on our newly finished trail segment.)

We had gravel, drain pipe, fabric, and rocks left over, so we also installed drain tile on three smaller sections of trail that were also constantly wet...

Mike, Robert, Joe, and Chuck then built a rest bench using large rocks that were not needed for the trail construction, and here they are trying it out. It provides a lovely view of the creek and the bridge.

Our work was ably supervised by Rangers Greg and Jeff who were with us all week and working right alongside us at all times...

...and here is the entire stalwart crew of volunteers...

Left to right, front row: Bonnie, Betty, Tina (our crew chief), Jylann, Brittany, and Robyn

Back row: Ranger Jeff, Tom, Ed, Mike, Chuck, Joe, Robert, and Ranger Greg

Additional photos are available for viewing and downloading here.



Here's a brief video of our week's work:

 

Biking Florida's Withlacoochee State Trail

The Withlacoochee State Trail is the longest of Florida's multitude of paved rail-trails at 46 miles. We began at the northern terminus. The trailhead lot can be reached off US Highway 41, one mile south of Dunnellon, turn right onto Martinelli, drive to the end, turn left on Magenta to the lot. The 12 foot wide trail is paved, has shaded rest benches at regular intervals, and has an equestrian trail running alongside it. The mileage to each end of the trail is painted on the pavement every mile.




This segment of the trail parallels Highway 41, but even when the road is near the trail, trees block most views and mask traffic noise. Similarly, few houses back up to the trail, and trees are the most abundant objects seen. The trail is a succession of gently rising and falling hills which cumulatively make for a nice workout through the scenic terrain. Enjoy spotting the gopher tortoises that populate the sides of the trails, often scurrying into their burrow when you approach.




This lovely 1/2 mile trail takes you to Central Ridge District Park...



About mile 13 (from the south) you'll see and a path with a sign saying "river" which in about 100 feet takes you to the namesake river seen below.  It's well worth the side trip!

Inverness is a nice section of the trail since there are several lakes alongside the trail (seen below) and two very nice parking lots with facilities.

Brooksville's Good Neighbor Trail has been extended and now ends at the Withlacoochee around mile 9 and 10 near the Croom Mountain Biking venue. A sign indicates the intersection as seen here...

This trail map depicts the entire 46 mile trail. I've biked the middle section in the past and have photos and info here. I have also biked the southernmost segment as reported here. (You can enlarge this map by clicking it.)


The Florida State website has info and a trail map here.

Biking Florida's General Van Fleet Trail

The 29 mile General James Van Fleet State Trail is another of Florida's paved rails-to-trails, and it is the most rural trail in the state. General James Van Fleet was a renowned and often-decorated general during World War II and the Korean War. He died at age 100 at his ranch in Polk City, near the southern terminus of his namesake trail.

I've biked the northern and southern thirds third of the trail three times each, but never the middle section until today. The first few miles of the trail at the north end run through a unit of the Withlacoochee State Forest and the Richloam Wildlife Management Area. I saw several turkey vultures, gopher tortoises, and miles of beautiful forest and wetlands, and it was nine miles before reaching the first road crossing!

Because it’s a former railroad line, the path is straight and flat -- according to the GPS, the elevation gain over 24 miles was 14 feet! You won’t see many people, but you will see cattle ranches, lush forests, wetlands, wild flowers, birds, and butterflies.

I've seen bike repair stations at various trailheads recently, but I spotted several in cabinets at rest areas on this trail. Very accommodating! It had a pump, a wrench, and a variety of smaller tools.

Gopher tortoises are frequent sights along the trail.

The middle third of the trail runs through the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve,  322,900 acres of wetlands, flatlands, and low ridges, bounded by prominent sandy ridges where the limestone is raised a bit. Experts rank it right after the Everglades in its environmental importance to Florida. This large tract stores groundwater which replenishes the Floridian aquifer, a main source of Florida's drinking water, and also forms four major rivers — Hillsborough, Withlacoochee, Ocklawaha, and Peace Rivers. It is also home to feral pigs, armadillos, and these gators I spotted...

I actually saw eight gators without even searching hard. There's an area called "The Bridges" and most of the sightings were at the second of the three bridges...

I've biked 222 trails across the country so far, and I must say this is the only rest stop I've ever seen that had mesh netting on the windows and a screen door. As I approached, I noticed the triangle opening at the eaves wasn't screened but when I went inside, they had hung mosquito netting under the roof rafters, so the inside was completely meshed. I'm sure the bikers appreciate this stop during the summer bug season!

The southern third of the trail also runs through lovely forest but also passes numerous cattle ranches and one alpaca ranch seen here...

There is a short nature trail alongside the bike trail near the parking area in Polk City and also a washroom.

The southern end of the Van Fleet Trail trail in Polk City has a paved connector trail that takes you to the TECO Auburndale Trail which runs another six miles south. You can use the Van Fleet parking lot to reach this trail, too.

Biking Florida's Long Pine Key Trail

Everglades National Park's Long Pine Key Nature Trail is open to hikers and bikers and runs 6.1 miles from the Long Pine Key Campground to Pine Glades Lake, making a 12.2 mile round trip.  The trail is absolutely flat. You will need a mountain bike or at least a good solid hybrid bike to negotiate the terrain. The trail is 6 miles from the park entrance.

Here's a map of the trails in the area...

...and here's the map posted at the trailhead.

Most of the pine trees in this area were logged prior to the park's establishment in 1947. The trail is basically an old logging road or fire road consisting of two ruts in the limestone bedrock. The pine lands are the most diverse habitat in the park -- an open south Florida slash pine forest with an understory of saw palmetto and over 200 species of subtropical plants. This habitat is also one of the last refuges for the elusive Florida panther.

There are several open sections more like a meadow than a forest, and are technically called "freshwater marl prairie." These open areas are where the "trail" is in the worst shape, with the limestone very rutted and populated by bumpy knobs of rock. I found it best to simply bike the center of the trail, staying out of the two damaged single tracks where vehicle tires would run. I wondered if perhaps the damage was due to the area being more open to the elements during storms?

 Pine Glades Lake is at the far end of the trail and is a lovely location.

One last photo which includes my bike...