Bunkum Cave Loop Trail
Additional link:
Stop #65 on Top Secret Tennessee Trailway
Located at Cordell Hull Birthplace State Historic Area located in Byrdstown, TN. It is across the street from the Visitors Center and has separate free parking available. This trail is AWESOME and FREE !!!
Saturday, February 1, 2014
My husband and I decided to go hiking when we woke up this morning. I knew he enjoyed caves and we both enjoy seeing new places so I found this located about 2 hrs East of Nashville. So we were OFF...
Filled up the tank in Nashville (needed gas anyway)..grabbed a 10 lb bag of $1 ice from McDonald's for cooler and grabbed a few bottles of water we keep in the van anyway..and we are off..
Directions:
Take I-40 East from Nashville to Exit 287. Turn Left onto Rt 111 North heading towards Kentucky border. Once you enter the town of Livingston, TN, still following the Rt 111 North signs make a Left at the signal light. Stay on this route for about 10 miles, you will see the brown signs for the Cordell Hull Birthplace..make a Left onto Rt 325 beside the gas station. Go another 1 mile or so, Cordell Hull Birthplace and Visitors Center is located on the Right but the Bunkum Cave Trailhead parking lot is on the Left. You can park at either lot. The other lot has picnic tables and some grill with a bathroom in the Visitors Center.
This has a few tables but NO GRILLS..
After visiting the Birthplace Cabin and Museum across the street, which is very nice and FREE also..we pulled across the street to the parking area for the Cave Trail.
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| Sign for the parking lot |
REMEMBER when HIKING:
"Take only Pictures, Leave only Footprints, and Kill only Time"
We locked the vehicle, grabbed my small cooler bag with water and flashlight and cell phone and off we went.
There is an information board with park rules and hiking information about the distance of the trail. The entire loop to the cave and back is 2 1/2 miles. We started at 9 am and finished at 10:36..Not bad for two 50 something grandparents trying to stay fit and fab...checking off our bucket list...lol !!!
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| Info about the park and history |
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| Information about the trail distances |
So we started our hike into the woods. The ground was covered with leaves but still easily marked. The trail was easy to follow and very moderate..NO stairs or up and down hills at this point of the trail. You also cross a little bridge and walk along the waters bank. We are heading to the observation deck to overlook the cave...to get to this point there is a little uphill climbing but nothing major. If you have any limitations you will want to turn around from this point and follow the trail back to the parking lot. There is some great views of the cave entrance from here and if the
creek was flowing, a nice waterfall in the right season..
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| start of the hiking trailhead at parking lot |
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| My husband Tony leading the way |
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| Frozen water ( look at the top of pic) the water starts from under the ground |
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| Creek bed is DRY and what water is there is frozen over |
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| Observation deck to the Right, Rest of the trail to the left, it gets very tiring from this point, if you have issues climbing and steps...turn around here and double back to parking lot. |
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| View of the overhang across from Cave entrance |
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| Cave Entrance |
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| Waterway below the cave..water is coming out of the cave to create this Creek |
Tony and I decided to finish the hike and check out the cave below us, so UP we climbed..along the trail there are park benches furnished to sit if needed. At the top of the mountain you are directly above the cave. The trail branches here..To the Right you start the descent to the cave entrance, to the Left is the rest of the hiking trail back to the parking lot.
We went RIGHT...down to the Cave we go !!!
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| Path to the right leading to the cave |
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| Tons of Warning Signs along the way |
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| Starting to go down hill to the cave opening |
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| Going down to the cave entrance |
At this point there are steps leading you down to the Cave entrance. This is the only wooden banisters to assist you down your trip. There is about 50 steep stairs to get to the entrance. The entrance to the cave opening you are allowed to enjoy and explore but it is illegal to enter into the cave itself without a special permit from the Park.
The cave entrance was used for many things throughout history but one of the noted facts was Cordell Hull's father operated a Moonshine still from this point to support his family financially.
The cave is over 100 feet wide in its opening the second largest cave opening in the state of Tennessee. A body of water flows out of the cave, it is very clear..not sure whether its a creek or a river by Tennessee standards but to me I would consider it a CREEK..(I am from WV)
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| Stairs leading down |
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| My husband Tony still leading the way.. |
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| Tony at the cave entrance |
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| Legal warnings and advisories |
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| CAVE ENTRANCE |
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| CAVE ENTRANCE |
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| CAVE ENTRANCE |
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| Inside looking out..above you can see the observation deck to the right. |
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| CAVE ENTRANCE |
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| Inside looking out to the overhang across the water, observation deck in the upper right of the picture |
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| Area right below the observation deck |
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| CAVE ENTRANCE |
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| Tony inside the CAVE ENTRANCE |
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| Tony at the Cave Entrance behind him right near the tree is where the steps are located |
Tony and I started back up and this is where it gets really hard if you have a bad ticker...going down is always easy. Once you are back up to the top above the cave, there is a bench located at the split of the trails I mentioned earlier leading back to the parking lot. We rested here about 5 minute and then started out the trail looping back to the parking lot.
This section is leaf covered but the trail was easy to follow. Again benches are located throughout the trail for your use. It is up and down in areas, not too bad..if you have health issues the only bad part is the climbing of the hill from the observation deck, the descent to the cave opening and back up again.
The entire loop is 2.5 miles long and it took us about 1hr 36 minutes. Not to bad for having all that climbing to do. I am 50 and my hubby is 52, I had a gastric by pass and skin removal surgery so I am constantly hiking to loose weight and enjoy Nature. Tony had a triple by pass 7 yrs ago, he is exercising to for health and weight issues. We made it on this trail without any issues..
Hope you enjoy my blog and find it helpful
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