Rickwood Caverns State Park (Blog Hike #893)

Trails: Fossil Mountain, Moss Rock Connector, Picnic, and Karst Trails
Hike Location: Rickwood Caverns State Park 
Geographic Location: north of Warrior, AL (33.87390, -86.86129)
Length: 1.8 miles
Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: March 2022
Overview: A loop hike on the rocky karst roof of Rickwood Caverns.
Park Information: https://www.alapark.com/parks/rickwood-caverns-state-park
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=903490
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: North of Birmingham, take I-65 to exit 289.  Exit and go west 0.7 miles to Rickwood Caverns Road; turn left on Rickwood Caverns Rd.  The park entrance is 2.4 miles ahead on the left.  Turn left to enter the park, and park in any of the large parking lots near the park office and gift shop.

The hike: Established only in 1974, Rickwood Caverns State Park protects 380 acres above its namesake caverns.  Before it was a state park, the caverns were operated as a commercial cave from 1954 until 1974.  The park offers guided tours of the caverns, which are known for their soft limestone walls that contain fossils and for their spring-fed pools.  The caverns are named for Eddie Rickles and Sonny Arwood, a duo that brought public attention to the caves in the early 1950's.

            In addition to the cave, the park today offers a cozy 18-site campground that features 13 developed sites and 5 primitive tent-camping sites.  For day-use visitors, the park also offers a playground, numerous picnic shelters, and 4 short nature trails.  This hike uses parts of all 4 nature trails including the park's two newest trails, thus sampling all of this park's hiking options.

Main trailhead

            The hike starts at the park's main trailhead, which is also the start of the Fossil Mountain Trail.  This trailhead is located across the park road from the park office and gift shop.  A bright yellow sign warning of caves marks the spot, and this trail is marked with yellow paint blazes.  After only a few hundred feet, the Fossil Mountain Trail splits to form its loop.  This hike turns left to begin a clockwise journey around the loop.

Climbing on rocky trail

            The area's rocky terrain quickly becomes apparent with chunks of the limestone bedrock jutting up everywhere around you.  The persistent rockiness makes the footing in some areas more tricky than would normally be the case, but the relatively low relief compensates for the rockiness.  A few deep holes that could be cave entrances appear beside the trail, so you have to be careful where you step if you stray from the trail.  

Possible cave entrance

            After climbing slightly and then descending, the trail makes a sweeping right turn to head for this hill's summit on a persistent but moderate grade.  Jack-in-the-pulpit and purple violets brightened my path when I came here in mid-March.  At 0.5 miles, the trail reaches its highest point atop some slabby rock that stands about 180 vertical feet above the trailhead.  Next you begin a rather steep descent.  In contrast to the previous rocky section of trail, the steepness and rockiness combine to make this descent slow going.

Near the mountain summit

            At 0.8 miles, you reach a trail intersection where a decision must be made.  The Fossil Mountain Trail continues straight and closes its loop in another 0.2 miles.  To see more of this park's trail system, turn left to begin the Moss Rock Connector, which is this park's newest trail.

Start of Moss Rock Connector

            Marked with red paint blazes, the Moss Rock Connector continues the rocky descent.  This trail is not yet worn in due to its newness, so you need to keep an eye out for blazes to stay on the trail.  The trail starts to flatten out as you pass a sinkhole on the right.  Sinkholes such as this one are above-ground evidence of the cave system that lies below this mountain.

Picnic Loop Trail

            1 mile into the hike, you reach the Moss Rock Connector's lower end at an intersection with the Picnic Loop Trail, which goes left and right.  The option going right forms the shortest route back to the parking area, but this hike turns left to take the longer route.  The Picnic Loop Trail is this park's oldest trail, and it forms a flat and rather uneventful loop around the upper end of this park's hollow.

Hiking the Karst Trail

            At 1.4 miles, you reach another trail split.  The Picnic Loop Trail stays right and continues its uneventful journey back to the parking area.  For a more interesting route, angle left to begin the Karst Trail, which is another of the park's newer trails.  The Karst Trail follows a rolling course that passes several of the sinkholes and small cave openings that characterize the karst topography.  After passing a small cemetery that contains the grave of Alexander Burns Sr., a Revolutionary War veteran, you come out at a small picnic area.  Walk downhill to return to the parking area and complete the hike.

Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail, Chickasaw Village Site to Old Town Site Overlook (Blog Hike #892)

Trail: Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail
Hike Location: Natchez Trace Parkway, Chickasaw Village Site and Old Town Site Overlook
Geographic Location: Tupelo, MS (34.27877, -88.74196)
Length: 4.9 miles
Difficulty: 4/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: March 2022
Overview: An out-and-back on the best-developed section of the historic Natchez Trace.
Trail Information: https://www.nps.gov/natt/index.htm
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=903399

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: The Chickasaw Village Site is located at mile marker 261.8 on the Natchez Trace Parkway.  This mile marker is located on the west side of Tupelo 0.8 miles south of SR 178.

The hike: For my introduction to the Natchez Trace, see my hike at Mount Locust Inn near Natchez.  For my final hike on the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail for spring 2022, I chose to hike the well-developed and well-maintained section of trail on the west side of Tupelo.  Unlike some other parts of the Trace, modern intrusions are everywhere on this hike.  Nevertheless, the high trail maintenance makes the hiking here more pleasant than on some other portions of the historic Trace, and I had a nice hike here.

Northbound trailhead at Chickasaw Village Site

            From the Chickasaw Village Site, head north on the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail, which heads back toward the Parkway.  A brown metal mileage sign says it is 2 miles to Old Town Overlook and 4 miles to Tupelo Visitor Center, but those mileages are a little low based on my calculations.  A shelter with interpretive signs at the Chickasaw Village Site tells about the Chickasaw people and their way of life.  The trail enters the young woods dominated by red cedar trees at a carsonite post and descends slightly to cross a wetland on a wooden boardwalk.

Wetland boardwalk

            At the north/east end of the boardwalk, the trail curves left to begin paralleling the Parkway, which sits only feet to the right.  Due to this hike's location on the west side of Tupelo, traffic noise is everywhere on this hike.  After passing through a sunny field, you cross a creek that featured some turtles sunning on logs on my visit.  Next the trail heads back into the woods and crosses an active railroad track at a developed crossing.  Of course, you should check for trains before crossing.

Crossing SR 178

            At 0.9 miles, you return to the shoulder of the Parkway and cross SR 178 using the Parkway's bridge.  The shoulder on the bridge is somewhat narrow and Parkway traffic moves fast, but crossing SR 178 this way is better than trying to dodge cars on the 4-lane state highway.  After crossing a Parkway entrance/exit ramp via a marked crosswalk, the trail enters a narrow strip of pine and sweetgum woods with the Parkway close on the right and residential Clayton Road close on the left.  Thus, this hike's urban feel becomes even more apparent here.

Hiking in the narrow woods corridor

            1.7 miles into the hike, you cross residential Lakeshire Drive before continuing north in the narrow woods corridor.  At 2.2 miles, the trail joins the east shoulder of Old Town Road and crosses I-22 on the road's bridge.  Fortunately, this road bridge is not as heavily traveled as the Parkway bridge you used as a highway crossing earlier.

Pond at Old Town Overlook

            The trail does not cross Old Town Road but curves right to reenter the forest on the road's east side.  After dipping through a steep ravine, you come out at the pondside picnic area adjacent to the Old Town Overlook.  The Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail continues north, but the scenic picnic area is a good place to turn around after enjoying a snack and rest.  To add a little variety to your return route, just before getting back to the Chickasaw Village Site, a short interpretive loop trail exits right.  The interpretive loop describes some of the common trees in the area, and it comes out behind the Chickasaw Village Site interpretive shelter.

Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail, Rocky Springs Section and Townsite (Blog Hike #891)

Trails: Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail, Townsite Trail, Rocky Springs Trail
Hike Location: Natchez Trace Parkway, Rocky Springs Campground
Geographic Location: northeast of Port Gibson, MS (32.08749, -90.80393)
Length: 2.9 miles
Difficulty: 4/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: March 2022
Overview: An out-and-back on the historic Natchez Trace followed by a short loop near Rocky Springs Townsite.
Trail Information: https://www.nps.gov/natt/index.htm
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=903309

Photo Highlight:

Trace Hike Video: 

Townsite Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: Rocky Springs Campground is located at mile marker 54.8 on the Natchez Trace Parkway.  This mile marker sits 12 miles south of SR 27 or 18 miles north of SR 18.  Park in the parking lot for the Historic Trace, which is located just after starting the loop road for the Rocky Springs Townsite.

The hike: For my introduction to the Natchez Trace, see the previous hike.  For present-day travelers heading northbound on the Trace, the first major recreation area reached is the Rocky Springs Campground, which sits near the historic Rocky Springs Townsite.  This hike explores the recreation area and townsite, and it consists of two parts.  The first part is an out-and-back on the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail, which follows the spur of the historic Trace that led to the townsite.  The second part explores the townsite itself.  Thus, on this hike you approach the Rocky Springs Townsite the same way travelers would have 200 years ago.

Historic Trace trailhead

            From the Historic Trace trailhead, head northeast into the woods on the Rocky Springs Historic Trace Spur.  An interpretive sign and a brown metal mileage sign mark this trailhead.  Quickly you see where the phrase "sunken Trace" comes from: hundreds of years of footsteps have worn a channel in Mississippi's soft loess soil.  As a result, steep dirt walls now tower between 2 and 20 feet above the trail.  Water collecting in the channel can make the trail muddy, but some gravel gets you over the muddiest areas.

The sunken Trace

            The trail slowly descends along the sunken Trace, which actually stays near the top of a gentle finger ridge.  A couple of trees that had fallen across the channel needed to be negotiated, but overall the trail maintenance was quite good on my visit.  At 0.5 miles, ignore a side trail that exits left and remain in the channel, soon descending some wooden waterbars.

Little Sand Creek

            At 0.65 miles, you reach a major trail intersection near the bank of Little Sand Creek.  The trail going sharply right is the horse trail, and the trail going softly right leads to Rocky Springs Campground.  This hike turns left to begin heading northbound on the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail.  The narrow trail heads through creekside bottomland woods that features more grass than you might expect for forest this dense.

Hiking through creekside bottomland

            You cross a small creek before reaching the unbridged creek crossing of Little Sand Creek.  My original plan was to cross the creek and continue north to Old Port Gibson Road before looping back to the Natchez Trace Parkway.  Unfortunately, when I hiked here the day after a heavy rain, the creek was high enough to make this crossing uncomfortable.  Thus, I turned around here and retraced my steps to the Historic Trace trailhead.  Walking this direction, you hike up the Rocky Springs Historic Trace Spur the same way travelers of yesteryear would have hiked to Rocky Springs Townsite.

Entering Rocky Springs Townsite

            Upon arriving back at the trailhead to complete the first part of this hike, turn right to walk up the loop road and reach Rocky Springs Townsite.  A short lollipop loop takes you through the townsite.  Mostly only cisterns, safes, and pieces of chimneys remain, but a church dating to the 1820's also stands nearby.  Further around the loop road, a short out-and-back trail leads downhill to Rocky Springs, the small bouldery water outlet for which the town is named.  Continuing around the loop road returns you to the trailhead parking area to complete the hike.

Natchez Trace Parkway: Mount Locust Inn (Blog Hike #890)

Trail: Mount Locust Trail

Hike Location: Natchez Trace Parkway, Mount Locust Inn
Geographic Location: north of Natchez, MS (31.68572, -91.18833)
Length: 0.6 miles
Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: March 2022
Overview: A short hike around an inn on the old Natchez Trace.
Trace Information: https://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=903305
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: Mount Locust Inn is located at mile marker 15.5 on the Natchez Trace Parkway, which is located 15.5 miles north of Natchez.  Park in the parking lot in front of the small Visitor Center and restroom building.

The hike: The National Park Service maintains two long roads/parks designed for recreational driving: the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina/Virginia and the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi/Alabama/Tennessee.  Despite similarities in their design and status, the two parkways offer very different experiences.  Whereas the Blue Ridge Parkway features mountaintop views and natural scenery, the Natchez Trace Parkway features the region's history.  I have driven the majority of both Parkways, and I enjoyed my drive up the southern half of the Natchez Trace for my Spring Break 2022 hiking trip.

            Stretching for 444 miles on a southwest to northeast trajectory, the Natchez Trace is one of the oldest overland routes in the lower Mississippi River valley.  Travelers started using this route 10,000 years ago, and in the early days of European settlement this area was known as the Old Southwest.  Most of the Trace's travelers in the 1700's and 1800's were ordinary hard-working people from the Tennessee and Cumberland River valleys.  These people would float their goods down river for sale in New Orleans, sell the raft for timber, and ride horseback overland up the Trace back home.

            Numerous stands or inns along the historic Natchez Trace offered weary travelers opportunities to spend the night.  For travelers going in the usual northbound direction, one of the first inns they would reach was the Mount Locust Inn featured here.  One of the oldest structures in the area, Mount Locust Inn was begun by John Blommart in 1780, and the site housed an inn and farm until 1944.  This short hike explores the inn's building and grounds, and it gives you a good feel for the accommodations experienced by travelers on the historic Trace.

Asphalt trail to Mount Locust Inn

            Start by walking through the breezeway of the Visitor Center/restroom building and heading up the asphalt path.  After only a few hundred feet, turn right to climb some steps to the front entrance of Mount Locust Inn.  The front entrance was closed for repairs on my visit, so I had to walk the brick path around the inn and enter from the back.

Front of Mount Locust Inn

Back of Mount Locust Inn

            Mount Locust Inn demonstrates the typical accommodations afforded travelers on the historic Trace.  From the outside the building appears as a large well-appointed structure for its time and location, but the rooms are small and dirty with uncomfortable beds.  In fact, many travelers preferred to camp outside the inn as opposed to sleep in one of the crowded rooms.  Try imagining you are a traveler from yesteryear walking into this inn after a hard day of walking or horseback riding.

Mount Locust Slave Cemetery

            Exit the back of the inn and walk across the back yard to reach the Mount Locust Slave Cemetery, a somber and lightly marked clearing in the woods.  Of all the people buried here, only 10 of the names are known.  Retrace your steps back to the back porch, and then turn right to head down a gravel path that leads to the Ferguson-Chamberlain Family Cemetery.  Notice the ornate iron fence and numerous large monuments at this cemetery, a noteworthy contrast to the cemetery you passed earlier.

Ferguson-Chamberlain Family Cemetery

            Next the trail turns left and descends slightly to intersect the historic Trace.  Turn left again to begin following the historic Trace.  Walking this direction, you approach Mount Locust Inn the same way northbound travelers did 200 years ago.  Close the loop in front of the inn, and then retrace your steps to the parking lot to complete the hike.