Cedar Sink Trail in Mammoth Cave National Park

Length:  1.6 mile round trip
Time:  1 hour
Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous

The Cedar Sink Trail in Mammoth Cave National Park is located on Cedar Sink Road off of Brownsville Highway / KY 70. If using Google Maps for directions, search CEDAR SINK TRAIL MAMMOTH CAVE. From the Visitor Center it is a 15-minute drive. The trail has its own roadside parking area.

The Cedar Sink Trail is a lollypop-shaped loop trail, meaning you must hike out on the stick portion of the trail before coming to the loop at the end. It leads down into a massive sinkhole, supposedly the largest in Kentucky. There are multiple staircases for getting in and out of the sinkhole (over 300 steps), so if climbing stairs is a problem for you, do not hike this trail. The National Park Service states that it is one mile long, but that only factors in the hike out and around the loop and not the hike back. Overall, it is a 1.6-mile round trip that takes roughly an hour when you factor in time to see the attractions along the trail.

The stick portion of the Cedar Sink Trail is a wide, gravel trail that could double as a golf cart path. It is a half mile long and covers hilly terrain. It starts off downhill right from the start, but the bottom is only 100 yards away, and the average grade of the hill is 10% (strenuous hiking is considered to start at 15%). There is only one other hill of note (uphill), and it is even milder. Any other hills are so negligible that you might as well consider the trail flat.

Hilly terrain at the start of the Cedar Sink Trail in Mammoth Cave National Park

The trail’s surface is generally very smooth, though there are some ruts here and there that were caused by rainwater rushing down the hills over the years and washing away the topsoil. Erosion-control steps have been installed in some places to prevent things from getting worse.

Erosion control steps on the Cedar Sink Trail in Mammoth Cave National Park

The loop starts at the bottom of a very steep hill (20% average grade) that is tackled via a staircase of wooden steps built into the earth. This is just one of four staircases on the hike, and you’ll have to climb back up this one on the return trip to the parking lot.

Steps leading down to the loop portion of the Cedar Sink Trail in Mammoth Cave National Park

Being a loop, you can go around either way. I did the hike in the clockwise direction by staying left at the fork, and in truth, this is the best way to go because just beyond the fork is a massive steel staircase that leads down into the sinkhole 70 feet below. This way you can see the sinkhole and exhibits and then simply climb back out of the hole and return the way you came without hiking the rest of the loop. I don’t recommend doing this, but it is an option that shortens the hike.

Start of the loop portion of the Cedar Sink Trail in Mammoth Cave National Park

Metal staircase on the Cedar Sink Trail leads down into the largest sinkhole in Kentucky, Mammoth Cave National Park

There are 125 steps to the bottom, and once there, you are in the Cedar Sink and surrounded by cliffs on all sides. There are numerous trails within the sinkhole, which confused the hell out of me. To keep things simple, there is an observation deck at the bottom of the stairs and one off to the left of the stairs. These are the main two places to visit. The first observation deck has a view of a short segment of the Hawkins-Logsdon River, an underground river that surfaces briefly here then disappears back underground. It eventually empties into the Green River at Turnhole Bend. It was dry when I did the hike, but I could see the riverbed.

Observation deck overlooking the exposed segment of the Hawkins-Logsdon River in the Cedar Sink, Mammoth Cave National Park

View of the exposed segment of the Hawkins-Logsdon River in the Cedar Sink, Mammoth Cave National Park

There is a footbridge to the left of the first observation deck, and while this is eventually where you continue the hike, for now walk over to the other observation deck to check out what looks to me like another sinkhole (or maybe it is the Cedar Sink). There is a wayside exhibit at the first observation deck that explains the view but nothing at the second deck. My guess is that this is where the Hawkins-Logsdon River goes back underground.

Large sinkhole inside the Cedar Sink, Mammoth Cave National Park

There is a trail to the right of the second observation deck, but it was severely overgrown and had lots of trees down across it when I visited. It may well loop around to where you eventually need to go, but the best way to get out of the sinkhole and continue around the loop is to return to the first observation deck and cross the footbridge to its left. This leads to two more staircases, the first being another set of wooden steps built into the ground and the second another metal staircase.

Wood steps leading out of the Cedar Sink, Mammoth Cave National Park

Metal staircase leading out of the Cedar Sink, Mammoth Cave National Park

I don’t recall the construction of the metal staircase I took down into the sinkhole, but the one leading out has steps resembling a grate. My buddy had his dog with him, and these steps were difficult for the dog to walk up. In fact, he had to carry his dog.

Typical metal step on the staircase leading out of the Cedar Sink, Mammoth Cave National Park

Midway up the metal staircase is a walkway to an observation deck at a cave shelter that was once occupied on a seasonal basis by prehistoric people.

Path to a cave shelter at the Cedar Sink in Mammoth Cave National Park

Cave shelter at the Cedar Sink in Mammoth Cave National Park

When done at the cave shelter, continue up the staircase to complete the loop portion of the Cedar Sink Trail. There is a fork almost immediately, and there is no directional signage pointing which way to go. This fork is also not on any trail map. The path to the right is wide and inviting, while the path to the left is not well maintained, yet a wooden curb of some sort follows it, highly suggesting this is the way to go. After all, why would the National Park Service waste money on a curb if it wasn’t outlining the trail??? The government doesn’t waste money. Does it? Anyway, since I was hiking in the clockwise direction, logic dictates that the trail continues to the right, which is the correct way to go.

Fork at the far end of the Cedar Sink Trail loop prior to the trail entering the sinkhole, Mammoth Cave National Park

The steep climbs don’t end at the top of the sinkhole. At the southern end of the loop is a large hill that the trail goes up and over. The uphill portion (at least uphill in the direction I was hiking) runs for 325 yards and has an average grade of 18%, while the hike down, which is equal in length, has an average grade of only 12%. At the top of the hill is an observation deck, but the view is now obscured by tall trees and other vegetation.

Hilly terrain on the southern and southwestern ends of the Cedar Sink Trail loop, Mammoth Cave National Park

Observation deck at the top of the hill on the southwestern end of the Cedar Sink Trail loop, Mammoth Cave National Park

The bottom of the hill comes out near to where the loop starts, and then of course you must take the wooden stairs back up the steep hill that you came down earlier. From there, just head back to the parking lot on the stick portion of the Cedar Sink Trail.

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