Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Kentucky / Mammoth Cave

Raymer Hollow and Collie Ridge Loop (Mammoth Cave)

Mammoth Cave National Park backcountry, north side (Lincoln and First Creek trailheads)

Backpacker’s write-up of this loop starts with a line that sums up Mammoth Cave’s backcountry: “The cave brings the crowds, which in turn leaves the hiking trails deserted.” Its 16.5-mile loop links the Raymer Hollow, Blair Spring Hollow, Wet Prong, and Buffalo Creek trails across the park’s north side, with three designated campsites along the way: Raymer Hollow, Ferguson, and Collie Ridge.

It’s a longer, quieter companion to the short First Creek Lake overnight, in the same backcountry.

The hike

Backpacker describes the route crossing the park’s “bumpy karst terrain,” with old-growth cedar and bluffs above the river. The NPS lists the pieces: Raymer Hollow Trail is 6.2 miles, Collie Ridge 3.8, Blair Spring Hollow 1.8, Wet Prong 4.6, and Buffalo Creek 4.4.

Most trips start at the Lincoln Trailhead, where the Collie Ridge Trail begins. Kentucky Tourism, describing a Collie Ridge overnight, says hikers have to cross the Green River on the park ferry to reach the trailhead, so check ferry status first. It describes the Collie Ridge Trail passing junctions with the Blair Spring Hollow, Mill Branch, and Raymer Hollow trails, with grades that never exceed about 4 percent, through old-growth forest and with “views of several creeks and hollows.” Nearly 4 miles in, Collie Ridge meets the Wet Prong and Buffalo Creek trails, and the Collie Ridge campsite is about 0.75 mile beyond. Kentucky Tourism calls it “a perfect, centralized basecamp.”

Recreation.gov’s campsite pages give the approaches to the other two sites. Raymer Hollow is 3.6 miles from Lincoln Trailhead by the Collie Ridge and Raymer Hollow trails, or 6.0 to 6.9 miles from Maple Springs. Ferguson is 2.1 miles from the First Creek Trailhead by the Wet Prong and Blair Spring trails, or 4.1 miles from Lincoln.

That spacing lets you split the loop into two or three short days. Kentucky Tourism also suggests a 4.5-mile round trip to Collie Ridge for beginners testing their gear.

The NPS backcountry map shows other campsites (Three Springs, Second Creek, the First Creek sites, Bluffs, Sal Hollow, Homestead, Turnhole Bend, and McCoy Hollow) for longer variations, and warns not to cross the Buffalo Creek ford when water covers it. Backpacker’s separate Sal Hollow loop starts at Maple Springs and passes waterfalls, limestone crags, and a boulder field near the Sal Hollow campsite.

Tips

Camping

Camp only at the 13 designated backcountry sites, according to the NPS. Each holds up to eight people and has a fire ring and tent pad; fires go only in the rings, using dead and down wood. Stays are limited to 14 days. Bring a driver’s license and vehicle information for the permit. Pack out all trash.

Inside Intel: Kentucky Tourism recommends Collie Ridge as a central base, since it sits near the junction of the Collie Ridge, Wet Prong, and Buffalo Creek trails and can anchor day hikes in several directions.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Morning coffee at Collie Ridge:

Mammoth Cave's backcountry streams come and go, so you'll be boiling the water you carried. A stove that sips fuel helps on a three-camp loop. See the stoves testers like.

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Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.