Parking
Park alongside The Lodge at Mammoth Cave; accessible spaces are within about 100 yards of the trailhead behind the Lodge.
Overview
About Heritage Trail
Why go
- An easy, accessible walk links a historic cemetery and valley overlook.
- Benches and railings provide places to pause along the route.
Heads up
- Published descriptions disagree on the trail’s length and loop convention.
Heritage Trail is an accessible walk from behind The Lodge, pairing a small historic cemetery with a Green River Valley overlook. The complete mapped line is a lollipop loop of about 0.7 mile, counting the shared Lodge approach on the way back. Park descriptions give 0.5 to 0.6 mile and disagree about loop versus out-and-back wording, so treat the mapped total as approximate. The cemetery spur is not drawn in that line or included in its distance. Allow 30 to 60 minutes, especially if you stop at both the cemetery and Sunset Point.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the walk for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Mammoth Cave map
Full mapElevation696–807 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
4 active Mammoth Cave alerts
- ClosureSelect trails closed for rehabilitationMentions this trailThe Old Guides Trail, Heritage Trail, Sunset Point Trail, and areas of the Sinkhole Trail are currently closed because of a trail rehabilitation project.Official details
- 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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Mammoth Cave Tour Guide
Your drive to Heritage 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
The Lodge and Heritage Trail0:00 / 0:33
“You're coming up on The Lodge at Mammoth Cave, across the footbridge from the visitor center. You can stop here without staying overnight.”
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
- Mammoth Cave Picnic Area and Dixon Cave
- 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 Heritage Trail
What the walk is likeThe route uses a raised walkway and cement paths, with low-grade ramps, railings, benches and…
The route uses a raised walkway and cement paths, with low-grade ramps, railings, benches and interpretive panels. It starts behind the Lodge, heads out to the wooded overlook area, then returns by the same approach. The overall grade is easy, and the park describes the trail as accessible for visitors with a range of mobility needs.
Old Guide’s CemeteryA side path leads to Old Guide’s Cemetery.
A side path leads to Old Guide’s Cemetery. Stephen Bishop, one of Mammoth Cave’s best-known guides, is buried here. He guided visitors for almost 20 years, first while enslaved and later as a free man. Three people who died during an 1842 tuberculosis-treatment experiment in the cave are also buried in the cemetery. It’s a small place, but it gives the walk a direct connection to the people who built Mammoth Cave’s reputation.
Sunset PointSunset Point opens onto wooded ridges above the Green River Valley, with benches and…
Sunset Point opens onto wooded ridges above the Green River Valley, with benches and interpretive panels along the way. Spring foliage and autumn color stand out here. For a photo, frame the layers of ridges over the valley and leave a little foreground foliage at the edges to give the view depth.
Start, parking and petsThe trail begins behind The Lodge at Mammoth Cave.
The trail begins behind The Lodge at Mammoth Cave. Accessible parking is alongside the Lodge, within about 100 yards of the trail. The Lodge’s seasonal dining and its gift and ice-cream shops are nearby, but they are separate from the walk. Dogs are allowed on a leash no longer than six feet; clean up after them.
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.
