Cave Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Cave · Historical Significance

The nearest restrooms and water are located at the visitor center.

The Cave Trail is a wooden boardwalk from the Gilbert Grosvenor Visitor Center to the cave shelter that allows everyone to meander through the woods to enjoy views of the cave and see where archeologists have done some excavations in the cave.

The trail departs from the back of visitor center, goes past an area where rangers do demonstrations, and transitions to a wooden boardwalk. The trail meanders through the woods where you can enjoy the colors, possibly see some animals along the trail in the morning or evening, and ultimately end up at Russell Cave.

About half way to the cave, the Nature Trail breaks off to the right where it goes past a sinkhole before climbing up the mountainside. The trail is above the creek and floodplain, so even if the cave has been flooded, you can enjoy the views. The trail ends at the cave entrance where information signs provide information on how the cave was used by different people groups in different eras. Once you have enjoyed the views of the cave and learned about the cave, follow the trail back to the visitor center and your car.

Squirrels are the most common mammals, but you may see beavers, muskrats or deer at various times of the day. Russell Cave is site 44 on the North Alabama Birding Trail because 50% of Alabama's bird population can be seen in the park. During the summer, snakes may be seen on the boardwalk or along the trail, including black rat snakes, black king snakes, copperheads, and timber rattlesnakes.