Two Springs Trail in Mammoth Cave National Park

Length: .6 mile (one way)
Time:  30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy with one short-but-very-steep hill

The Two Springs Trail is one of the many short trails on the south side of the Green River near the Mammoth Cave National Park Visitor Center. It was formerly named the Echo River Spring Trail, but the name was changed when a wheelchair-accessible trail that looped around the actual Echo River Spring was constructed and named the Echo River Spring Trail. The correct nomenclature appears on the map in the free park brochure, but the much better National Geographic trail map sold at the Visitor Center still uses the old name.

Two Springs Trail map (click to enlarge)

The Two Springs Trail is a .6-mile trail (one way), though to get to it you must first hike on other trails. Access to its northern trailhead from the Visitor Center—where most people are likely to start a hike—is either via the River Styx Spring Trail (.7-mile walk) or a connector trail from Sunset Point on the Heritage Trail (.6-mile walk). It is also possible to reach it by hiking the 1.5-mile Green River Bluffs Trail from the Mammoth Cave Picnic Area.

Start of the connector trail at Sunset Point that leads down to the Two Springs Trail in Mammoth Cave National Park

The southern trailhead is near the Green River Ferry parking lot. Take the Echo River Spring Trail clockwise for a quarter mile to reach the trailhead.

Southern trailhead for the Two Springs Trail on the northwest side of the Echo River Spring Trail in Mammoth Cave National Park

I began my hike on the Two Springs Trail by using the Sunset Point connector. The Two Springs Trail is far down below, and the connector is a very steep trail that makes its way to the bottom via switchbacks. It’s probably just a few hundred feet from top to bottom, but you end up walking nearly a quarter mile due to the switchbacks.

Sunset Point connector trail to the Two Springs Trail, Mammoth Cave National Park

On the return trip to the Visitor Center, when I came to the end of the Two Springs Trail at the Echo River Spring Trail, I turned around and hiked back the way I came until reaching the River Valley Trail. I took that to the Sinkhole Trail and the Sinkhole Trail to the Visitor Center. This way I did not have to walk back up the steep connector. On top of that, there is no reason whatsoever to hike out-and-back on any of the trails near the Visitor Center, so be sure to make a loop out of your hikes so that you don’t have to see the same things twice.

The Sunset Point connector does not come out at the very beginning of the Two Springs Trail. For those who just have to hike the entire thing, when you reach the Two Springs Trail, take a right and hike a tenth of a mile to the northern trailhead at the intersection with the River Styx Spring Trail. If you couldn’t care less about starting at the beginning, the majority of the trail is to the left. For review purposes, I hiked back to the start and will describe the hike from there.

Intersection of the Sunset Point connector trail and the Two Springs Trail, Mammoth Cave National Park

The official start of the Two Springs Trail is at the River Styx Spring (the actual spring). There is a short boardwalk that leads out to an observation platform with a view of the spring, but unfortunately when I visited a tree had fallen and crushed the boardwalk. However, just a stone’s throw up the Two Springs Trail is an unofficial side trail cut by previous hikers down to the spring, bypassing the observation deck. It’s a moderately steep trail if you desire to get a closer look at the spring.

Social trail branching off the Two Springs Trail down to River Styx Spring, Mammoth Cave National Park

River Styx Spring in Mammoth Cave National Park

The hike on the Two Springs Trails starts off with a 300-yard climb up a very steep hill. The average grade is 18% (for reference, 15% is considered the start of strenuous hiking). While the trail has its share of hills, there are no others this steep. In fact, half of the remaining trail is an easy hike along level terrain.

Steep hill at the northern end of the Two Springs Trail, Mammoth Cave National Park

At the top of the hill, the Two Springs Trail becomes a boardwalk that follows a ridge above River Styx Spring. From here back to the intersection with the Sunset Point connector, a .1-mile walk, the trail covers level ground.

Boardwalk section of the Two Springs Trail near the River Styx Spring, Mammoth Cave National Park

View from the Two Springs Trail down towards the River Styx Spring, Mammoth Cave National Park

At the Sunset Point connector intersection, the Two Springs Trail heads down a moderate hill for the next quarter mile. It is as wide as a golf cart path and has a smooth surface largely free of rocks and roots, so it is pleasurable to hike.

Typical terrain at the middle section of the Two Springs Trail in Mammoth Cave National Park

At .4 mile from the start, the Two Springs Trail dead ends at a T-intersection with the River Valley Trail. Take a right to head in the direction of Echo River Spring. There are no directional or trail identification signs at the intersection, so without having a map in hand, I would not have known which way to go.

Intersection of the Two Springs Trail and the River Valley Trail, Mammoth Cave National Park

The Two Springs Trail gets a little narrower at this point, though it is still plenty wide enough so that you can avoid brushing up against vegetation where ticks like to hide. After a 100-yard descent down a very mild hill, the trail comes to level ground, and for the next tenth of mile to its end at the Echo River Spring Trail, the terrain is as flat as a pancake.

Level terrain at the southern end of the Two Springs Trail in Mammoth Cave National Park

The Echo River Spring Trail is a paved, wheelchair accessible trail that loops around Echo River Spring and Accessory Spring. If you don’t mind a little extra exercise, I suggest walking the .7-mile loop in the counterclockwise direction (take a right) and picking up the Sinkhole Trail on the eastern side and hiking that back to the Visitor Center. The distance is about the same as simply hiking back the way you came, plus you can check off a few more Mammoth Cave National Park trails from your list of things to do.

Intersection of the Two Springs and Echo River Spring trails in Mammoth Cave National Park

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