Parking
Start at the Mammoth Cave Picnic Area, the listed access for this short trail.
Overview
About Dixon Cave Overlook Trail
Why go
- A quick side trip to a real cave entrance and viewing platform.
Heads up
- The return is short but stepped and uphill; the cave is viewed from outside.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Mammoth Cave map
Full mapElevation669–797 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
4 active Mammoth Cave alerts
- ClosureAccessible Tour unavailableThe Accessible Tour is currently unavailable because mechanical issues have taken the cave elevator out of service. - Check back for updates or call the visitor center at (270) 758-2180.Official details
- ClosureGreen River Ferry temporarily out of serviceThe Green River Ferry has temporarily suspended operations because low water levels make service unsafe. - Ferry service will resume once water levels rise and conditions are safe.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Mammoth Cave Tour Guide
Your drive to Dixon Cave Overlook Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Mammoth Cave National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Mammoth Cave Picnic Area and Dixon Cave0:00 / 0:31
“The side road to Mammoth Cave Picnic Area is ahead, leading to the park's largest picnic ground. It's a good place to eat a meal you've brought, with tables in the woods and a pavilion for a covered break.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Mammoth Cave Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Visitor Center and Historic Entrance
- The Lodge and Heritage Trail
- Mammoth Cave Campground and Caver's Camp Store
- Green River Ferry and Echo River Springs
- 52 audio storiesacross Mammoth Cave’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor White-tailed Deer, Tricolored Bat, Cave Salamander, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 47 trails, 42 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Dixon Cave Overlook Trail
A quick cave-side walkDixon Cave Overlook Trail is a 0.
Dixon Cave Overlook Trail is a 0.14-mile out-and-back from the Mammoth Cave Picnic Area to a platform above the cave entrance. The route is about 0.07 mile each way; allow around 15 minutes for the walk and a look. This is a quick side trip, not a hike that fills an afternoon, and it stops outside the cave.
Look into Dixon CaveThe path descends through the woods to a dark opening under layered limestone, then climbs back…
The path descends through the woods to a dark opening under layered limestone, then climbs back the same way. There are steps on the return, so save a little energy for the way up. From the platform, frame the shadowed cave mouth with some of the pale ledge and surrounding trees; that contrast is the view.
Dixon Cave was once connected with Mammoth Cave. A sinkhole collapse is believed to have separated the passages about a million years ago.
Access and dogsStart from the Picnic Area and follow the short connector to the viewing platform.
Start from the Picnic Area and follow the short connector to the viewing platform. Dogs are allowed on surface trails on a leash no longer than six feet, but pets cannot enter caves.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Mammoth Cave
227 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
21 sightingsTricolored BatMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
75 sightingsCave SalamanderMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
149 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
13 sightingsBarred OwlMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
40 sightingsSnapping TurtleMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Mammoth Cave. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
