Mammoth Cave Parkway

The Mammoth Cave Parkway is a major roadway located in the Mammoth Cave National Park in west-central Kentucky. It encompasses parts of Kentucky Routes 70 and 255 within the park. It closely follows the Mammoth Cave Railroad Bike & Hike Trail.[2]

Mammoth Cave Parkway
Route information
Maintained by NPS
Length8.4 mi[1] (13.5 km)
Major junctions
North endVisitor's Center / Flint Ridge Road
 
South end US 31W at Park City
Location
CountiesEdmonson, Barren County
Highway system
National Park Service Road
Mammoth Cave Parkway

Route description

Mammoth Cave Parkway is marked by Kentucky Route 255 from U.S. Route 31W, through the I-65 exit 48 interchange. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet maintains the road from US 31W to just beyond the I-65 interchange, while the NPS maintains the rest of the road beyond the I-65 junction. The road continues northward to the junction with Kentucky Route 70 (KY 70) near the Barren-Edmonson County line within the Mammoth Cave National Park.

It turns left onto KY 70 westbound past the Sloans Crossing Pond Trail, while KY 255 gets co-joined with KY 70 eastbound for a couple of miles. A little beyond Sloan's Crossing Pond, KY 70 westbound leaves the parkway by making a left turn to head for Brownsville, while the Mammoth Cave Parkway continues north to end at the Visitor's Center beyond the intersections with East Entrance, Carmichael, Green River Ferry, and Flint Ridge Roads. The parkway ends in the Visitor's Center parking lot and an intersection with an access road to the woodland cottages.[3]

Attractions along the route
  • Diamond Caverns [4]
  • Sloan's Crossing Pond Trail
  • Doyle Valley Scenic Overlook
  • Mammoth Cave Campground and Caver's Camp Store
  • Hercules and Coach No. 2
  • Mammoth Cave National Park Visitor's Center

History

The Mammoth Cave Parkway was originally built alongside the original path of the Mammoth Cave Railroad (1886–1931), which ran from the original town of Mammoth Cave to Park City (originally Glasgow Junction). When the Mammoth Cave Parkway first opened (as a local road), portions of the road, along with Cave City Road (East Entrance Road), a small piece of Green River Ferry Road, and all of Joppa Ridge Road west of the visitor's center was part of the original alignment of KY 70 from 1929 until the 1970s. KY 70 was re-routed to its current alignment in the 1970s. The road became maintained by the National Park Service once Mammoth Cave became a national park.

In 2004, both of Mammoth Cave Parkway's junctions with KY 70 was reconstructed just before the completion of the Mammoth Cave Railroad Bike and Hike Trail.

Major intersections
CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
BarrenPark City0.0000.000 US 31W (Louisville Road/Second Street) / KY 255 – Cave City, Bowling GreenSouthern terminus; KY 255 continuation south of Park City after running concurrently with US 31W; southern end of KY 255 concurrency
0.4020.647 I-65 – Louisville, NashvilleI-65 exit 48
EdmonsonMammoth Cave2.43.9 KY 70 east (Mammoth Cave Road) / KY 255 north – Cave CityNorthern end of KY 255 concurrency; southern end of KY 70 concurrency
4.97.9 KY 70 west (Brownsville Road) – BrownsvilleNorthern end of KY 70 concurrency
Old Mammoth Cave Road (a.k.a. Cave City Road) to KY 255 to I-65 – Cave City
Carmichael Road (Authorized vehicles only)
7.912.7Green River Ferry Road / Ranger StationConnects to KY 1352 to KY 1827
8.113.0Mammoth Cave CampgroundCampground and Caver's Camp Store
8.213.2Mammoth Cave Hotel RoadMammoth Cave Hotel Entrance
8.313.4Flint Ridge RoadConnects to KY 218 to I-65 – Horse Cave
Flint Ridge Road closed during winter months
8.413.5Mammoth Cave Tours/Visitor's Center
Woodland Cottages		Northern terminus in the Visitor's Center parking lot[3]
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
  1. Microsoft; Nokia (October 15, 2014). "Mammoth Cave Parkway" (Map). Bing Maps. Microsoft. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  2. National Park Service (n.d.). Mammoth Cave National Park (PDF) (Map). c. 1:84,480. National Park Service. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  3. National Park Service (n.d.). Visitor Center Area: Mammoth Cave National Park (PDF) (Map). c. 1:21,120. National Park Service. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  4. Diamond Caverns (2015). "Discover Diamond Caverns". Diamond Caverns. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
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