Bike Your Park at Mammoth Cave and Abe Lincoln Birthplace

August 31, 2016

Update: Due to low pre-registration, we are modifying the BikeYourParkKY route. We will offer one route: a 51-mile loop ride, cutting off the portion from Munfordville north to Hodgenville. The route will have SAG support at Salem Baptist Church in Cave City and Kentucky Down Under in Horse Cave. See www.strava.com/routes/6589102. We are offering this as a free event, but will require registration through Active.com.

You'll find many options across the country on Adventure Cycling's Bike Your Park Day website. Register your own ride for a chance to win a Salsa Marrakesh touring bike, or find a ride like this ride between two national parks: Friends of Mammoth Cave will host the first-ever, Park-to-Park ride from Mammoth Cave to Abraham Lincoln Birthplace.

The sinkhole plain near Mammoth Cave is great country for cycling, with rural routes, smooth pavement and low traffic volumes. Drivers know how to share the road with farm equipment, Amish buggies, and cyclists. The area is host to several cycling events throughout the year and features the Mammoth Cave Loop on the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail (USBR76).

The route is 53 miles one-way, and 111 miles round trip. If the round trip ride is too long, consider working out a shuttle with a friend for the one-way route, or tag-team so you each ride one leg.

Mammoth Cave National Park is the world’s largest cave system, with over 400 miles of mapped passageways. This bike route takes you through the gently rolling sinkhole plain that creates the cave system.

The Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park features a log cabin inside a granite and marble memorial. Dedicated in 1911, it was the first Lincoln memorial, and the design inspiration for the Lincoln memorial in Washington D. C.

The ride begins at 8 a.m. at Historic Diamond Caverns near Mammoth Cave. SAG stops are at country churches, favorite restaurants, local attractions, and Abe Lincoln Birthplace. Scenery includes working farms and small towns. Expect some climbing throughout the route while you enjoy the rolling terrain of karst country. 

Mammoth-on at Mammoth Cave National Park

Stay over until Sunday morning and try a completely different event, The Second Annual Mammoth-on, America’s only cave, hike, and bike triathlon, on Sunday, September 25. The Mammoth-on begins in front of the Mammoth Cave Hotel with a ranger-led hike in Mammoth Cave. Upon leaving the cave, participants will hike two miles on their own through the woods. Next, participants ride their own bikes along the gravel Mammoth Cave Railroad Hike and Bike Trail, about 20 miles round trip to Park City and back. If you only have a road bike, the paved Mammoth Cave Parkway will also take you there.

Friends of Mammoth Cave will provide water stations along the way. Registration information is available on the Mammoth-on Facebook page. 

For each event, the registration fee is $25 for individuals or $30 for families. Each registration includes one t-shirt. By volunteering for one event, you can participate for free in the other event! Want to make a weekend of it? Find out more about lodging information.

Nat’s Outdoor Sports in Bowling Green, KY is the proud sponsor of the Mammoth-on through a Patagonia Environmental Grant. 

The Friends of Mammoth Cave is a private, non-profit organization working in cooperation with the National Park Service to fund projects that protect and preserve natural and cultural resources and help visitors enjoy the park.

For more information, visit www.friendsofmammothcave.org or contact event organizer Helen Siewers at 270-758-2152 or friends.mammoth.cave@gmail.com.

Blog by Helen Siewers with Friends of Mammoth Cave.

Photos 1 & 2 courtesy of NPS | Photo 3 by Bryan Lemon | Photo 4 by Clinton Lewis | Photo 5 by Eddie Bruner.

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