Dixon Cave, Green River Bluffs, and River Styx Spring Loop

August 30, 2024

After two nights of terrible sleep, I finally got a full night of uninterrupted sleep. I woke up refreshed Friday morning so I decided to take Ash for a hike at Mammoth Cave National Park.

Looking at AllTrails, it’s reported that the closest worthwhile trail to the AirBnB was the Dixon Cave, Green River Bluffs, and River Styx Spring Loop.

After showering and getting dressed, I gathered Ash up and we made the quick, 15 minute drive to the Mammoth Cave visitor center where our trailhead awaited.

AllTrails has the trail listed as a moderate 1.6 mile loop trail with 311 feet of elevation gain.

Immediately upon entering the trail, we faced a pretty significant decline down toward the cave’s natural entrance. Our prescribed trail took us right past that natural entrance, though I didn’t recognize it at that time.

The paved walkway leading to the entrance quickly gave way to a dirt and gravel trail with plenty of obstacles of roots and rocks. Immediately, Ash stopped, ears perked as he stared into the forest to our left. I followed his gaze and saw, no more than 15 feet from us, a small deer watching us silently through the leaves. Ash watched for a moment, then, of course, jumped, making the deer bound off up the trail before it stopped and turned to keep an eye on us. As we continued on, it finally got skittish enough and bounded off deeper into the forest.

The trail traveled up from this point and, about half a mile into the hike, we found ourselves at Dixon Cave.

Dixon Cave used to be part of the larger Mammoth Cave. Some time ago, though, a sinkhole collapsed and cut Dixon Cave off from the main cave creating the natural entrance we had just unknowingly passed.

Before human intervention led to its decline, Mammoth Cave was host to a wealthy population of bats. The number of bats roosting in the caves has dwindled since the park was opened to visitors, but human access to Dixon Cave is now limited, allowing the bat population to recover.

There is a wooden stairway leading to a platform overlooking the cave entrance. On these landings are a couple of information signs speaking to the information I just gave.

The path at this point levels out and in fact starts to dip a little as we head toward Green River. Soon, the trail began running parallel to the river then we encountered the spur that typically leads to the River Styx Spring. Unfortunately this spur was closed for construction, but right across the trail is another short spur that leads toward the river. Ash and I found ourselves on that deep, narrow, single track spur trail that emerged overlooking the river and the hills rising on the other side. We were buried deep in shadows but the sun was lighting the trees across the way and it was at this point that I recognized that many of these trees are well on their way to showing their fall colors. The air above the mountain seemed to glow the yellow glow from the light reflecting off the golden leaves. I marveled for a bit, took some pictures and we made our way back up the deep rut to the main trail where we encountered the first other person we’d seen that morning.

We made a wrong turn, started heading up a VERY steep path, determined we were going to wrong way, backtracked and continued on the correct course toward the trailhead.

By now, we had been viciously attacked by a bunch of horseflies. Combined with the sticky, humid heat, it was frustrating for both me and Ash.

From this point, the trail was an incline the entire way. There were NO declines and seldom a level spot to be seen. Ash and I stopped to rest several times. During one of these pauses, we were passed by a lone hiker in similar physical condition as I, headed down the path we’d just been on.

As we approached the zenith of the hill, the air got noticeably cooler. It felt like I’d walked into an air conditioned room and it seemed to get colder as we went on. I realized only then that we were approaching the main cave’s entrance. We deviated from the path and headed to the top of the stairs that lead down into the cavern. The section was not blocked or guarded or anything, causing me to wonder, what’s to stop the general public from just taking it upon themselves to head down into the cave without paying for the tour?

I’m an honest guy though so I turned around, headed back to the trail and climbed the last of the hill to the visitor center, to the parking lot, into the truck and back to the AirBnB to start work.

Conclusion

The trail was a tad on the hard side of moderate, especially in the heat and humidity we hiked in. When I got back, Brandy commented on how sweaty I looked; my shirt was wet in the sweat zones and I sure was feeling it.

That said, it was still a super fun hike, just challenging enough to make it exciting, super beautiful, and it served as a perfect scouting trip for our upcoming visit to the park.

I took a handful of pictures that are available on my Photo Diary.

Up next, we have a trip to Nashville planned on Saturday for something completely unexpected, and will be making a stop for some authentic Nashville barbecue while there. Brandy also wants to go to a nearby outlet mall to shop for things we don’t have room for.

Sunday we will be taking a trip to Bowling Green to take a ride on the Lost River Cave boat ride.

Then Monday, being Labor Day, we will head to the National Park (on a holiday, of course) for the self-guided tour of the cave (if available.)

What a fun-packed weekend we have planned for our first weekend here, and there is definitely more to come, so, as always, stay tuned!

-Phil