Dry Prong Trail in the backcountry of Mammoth Cave National Park

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If you plan to hike in the backcountry of Mammoth Cave National Park, do not rely on the map that comes with the free park brochure. Purchase the weatherproof map by National Geographic that is available in the Visitor Center book store (it is also available from various online retailers). This map has more detail, and it is going to last much longer than the paper map. I hiked most trails in the backcountry using the National Geographic map, and it’s nearly as good as new.

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Length:  2.2 miles (one way)
Time:  1.5 hours
Difficulty:  Easy with a few moderate hills, but very overgrown
Suitable for Horses:  Not for man or beast

The Dry Prong Trail in the backcountry of Mammoth Cave National Park is a 2.2-mile trail that is open to both hikers and horseback riders (no bikes). If your destination is the Homestead Campsite, this is the trail you must eventually take. It is located in the middle of the backcountry, so you must hike other trails to get to it. The quickest way is to take the Buffalo Creek Trail from the Maple Springs Trailhead, a 1.1-mile hike. From there, the Dry Prong Trail heads north for .7 mile before curving west and eventually connecting back to the Buffalo Creek Trail 1.5 mile later.

Dry Prong Trail map (click to enlarge)

The routes of all trails in the backcountry of Mammoth Cave are marked with blue blazes, which are paint splotches or colored markers on trees that you follow like Hansel and Gretel breadcrumbs. In addition, mileage markers are attached to the trees so that you can keep track of your progress. They are supposed to be every quarter mile, though many are missing. Markers on the Dry Prong Trail have DP on them.

Blazes and milage markers along the Dry Prong Trail in the backcountry of Mammoth Cave National Park

After hiking 1.1 mile on the Buffalo Creek Trail, you will come to a four-way intersection. The only directional sign is one identifying the Turnhole Bend Trail, so without a map you might not know how to proceed. Just keep in mind that the Buffalo Creek and Turnhole Bend trails are old dirt roads, whereas the Dry Prong Trail is a traditional hiking trail. Just look for the narrow foot path and follow it (to the right).

From the Buffalo Creek Trail intersection until the turnoff for the Homestead Campsite, a .8-mile stretch, the Dry Prong Trail is not flat, but most of the hills are negligible, and the steepest are only moderate in difficulty to climb. There is a 150-foot long segment with an average grade of 12% (15% is where strenuous hiking starts), and a couple hills with a 10% grade, but that’s as difficult as things get.

Of more concern is the fact that many sections of the trail are narrow and overgrown, particularly on the first half mile. This escalates the chances of picking up a tick, so be sure to check yourself often. There are also briers along the trail, so this hike is best done in long pants regardless of the temperature outside.

Typical overgrown terrain along the Dry Prong Trail in Mammoth Cave National Park

If ticks don’t bother you, maybe spiders will. There were so many spider webs, some with spiders in them, that I was almost cocooned.

One of many spiders spinning webs across the Dry Prong Trail in the backcountry of Mammoth Cave National Park

The Dry Prong Trail is also rough in places where it becomes a gully, but at least there are very few rocks and roots to trip over. I will say that the segment up to the Homestead Campsite trail is not nearly as bad as the worst trails in the Mammoth Cave backcountry.

Gully-like terrain is common on the Dry Prong Trail in the backcountry of Mammoth Cave National Park

Rough terrain on the Dry Prong Trail south of the Homestead Campsite in the backcountry of Mammoth Cave National Park

For those on horseback, my suggestion is to avoid this trail. The overgrowth isn’t limited to unruly knee-high brush. There are areas of small trees that make a canopy over the trail that even I on foot had to duck under. Up high on a horse, you will get whacked in the face with all these branches. Horses do come through here, though. The gullies were created by years of horse traffic, and there are plenty of mudholes made by horse hooves churning up the dirt in perpetual wet areas.

Canopy of small trees and other plants are common on Mammoth Cave National Park’s Dry Prong Trail

At .7 mile into the hike is an unmarked intersection with what appears to be a trail that heads to the right. I assumed this was the turnoff for the Homestead Campsite, but the trail was completely overgrown. I don’t know where it once went, but it doesn’t go anywhere anymore. The only sensible option is to take a left, which is the correct way to go.

Another tenth of a mile ahead is the intersection with the trail to the Homestead Campsite (a sign identifies the turn). If this is your destination, check out the Homestead Backcountry Campsite review here on National Park Planner for information and photos.

Trail to the Homestead Campsite in the backcountry of Mammoth Cave National Park

For the first tenth of a mile past the campsite intersection, the Dry Prong Trail is wide, flat, and well maintained. But this all comes to an end at a bridge over a small creek. The bridge is covered with grass. I’ve hiked over a thousand miles of trails, and I’ve never seen an overgrown bridge.

Overgrown bridge on the Dry Prong Trail just west of the Homestead Campsite turnoff in Mammoth Cave National Park

Just as I suspected, the Dry Prong Trail is CERTIFIED ROTTEN beyond the bridge. It’s not a difficult trail to hike cardiovascular-wise, it’s just overgrown and as full of spiders as ever. I’m not saying you need a machete, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have one. If somebody would come out and clear it, the trail would make for a nice hike. By the time you read this, maybe work has been done. I suggest asking a Ranger about the trail’s condition. One of them may know of a recent trail clean-up.

Typical overgrown terrain on the Dry Prong Trail west of the Homestead Campsite trail, Mammoth Cave National Park

A half mile from the campsite is the steepest hill on the hike. It runs for about a tenth of a mile and has an average grade of only 8%, which is nothing. However, there is a 150-foot section with a 15% grade, and there are a bunch of loose rocks on the surface that make it quite treacherous. Such rocks are typical on steep hills due to rain water rushing down them over the years and washing away the topsoil.

Loose rocks on a hilly section of the Dry Prong Trail a half mile west of the Homestead Campsite, Mammoth Cave National Park

The hill actually heads down into a ravine, and at the bottom is another creek (it was dry when I did the hike, but it is not the Dry Prong). Once across, it’s a tenth of mile hike out of the ravine up a hill similar in difficulty, including another 150-foot segment with a 15% grade.

Once at the top of the hill, the Dry Prong Trail is relatively level until it ends a little over a half mile farther ahead. It widens at the top and is actually a decent trail for a while.

Wide section of the Dry Prong Trail, Mammoth Cave National Park

However, there is a huge mudhole just a few minutes past the 1.75 mile mark on the hike. I was able to get around the worst of it, and previous hikers had laid tree limbs over it—a testament to the fact that the area must be perpetually wet—but there was no way to avoid it all. There were multiple mudholes after it, one right after another. People had made paths around the mud, but even the paths were full of mudholes, just not as bad as the ones they were meant to go around.

Large mudhole 1.75 mile from the southeastern trailhead of the Dry Prong Trail, Mammoth Cave National Park

The last half mile isn’t exactly paradise, but it is certainly better than what came before. The trail is often a gully, and there are some overgrown patches, but it is clear more often than not. The last quarter mile (2 miles into the hike) is a little worse but still manageable.

Gully-like terrain on the last half mile of the Dry Prong Trail before its western intersection with the Buffalo Creek Trail, Mammoth Cave National Park

Overgrown terrain on the last half mile of the Dry Prong Trail before its western intersection with the Buffalo Creek Trail, Mammoth Cave National Park

The Dry Prong Trail ends at a T-intersection with the Buffalo Creek Trail. A left leads north towards the Collie Ridge Trail while a right heads south to the intersection with the Sal Hollow Trail.

Intersection with the Buffalo Creek Trail on the western end of the Dry Prong Trail in the backcountry of Mammoth Cave National Park

The Dry Prong Trail is a mess, and I can’t recommend it to anyone unless it is cleared. The only good thing I can say about it is that I didn’t get any ticks on me. And if there weren’t any ticks on this trail, there must not be any in the state of Kentucky.

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