Mammoth Cave Railroad Bike Hike

The Mammoth Cave Railroad Bike and Hike Trail follows the original roadbed of the Mammoth Cave Railroad, a narrow-gauge line that operated from 1886 until 1931 carrying tourists from the L&N mainline at Glasgow Junction (now Park City) to the cave entrance — a 9-mile journey that took about an hour by steam locomotive. The railroad was instrumental in transforming Mammoth Cave from a regional curiosity into a nationally famous tourist destination in the late 19th century. The trail's gentle grade, never exceeding the railroad's original 1.5%, makes it the most accessible long-distance trail in the park and well-suited for cyclists and families. The surface is compacted limestone gravel throughout, passing through a mixture of second-growth oak-hickory forest, cedar glades, and agricultural land in the park's buffer zone. Interpretive panels at several points along the route explain the railroad's history, including the colorful story of the competing cave entrances and the showmanship of 19th-century cave promoters. The trail connects the park visitor center to the communities of Brownsville and Park City. White-tailed deer, wild turkey, and eastern box turtles are commonly observed.