Cave Trail South is located east of 1650th Street (a paved county road). It is accessed via the South Loop Trail and the Cave Trail Connector.
The Cave trail system, consisting of a south loop and a north loop, explores the land surrounding John Brown’s Cave. The land was once home to farmsteads, and you can still see the remnants of that in the stone walls, the rubble of buildings foundations, and old fencelines.
The terrain is mostly flat, with a bit of elevation change as the trail approaches Elm Creek, with exposed rocks and small bluffs. The trail winds through the terrain, following the lay of the land and the old fencelines.
The centerpiece of the trail is John Brown’s Cave, a real honest-to-goodness cave, with an entrance you can walk into and explore for a short distance. The entrance is surrounded by a grotto-style rocky area, skirted by the trail.
The southern and western portions of the trail follow along the edge of a large hay meadow grassland, offering beautiful prairie views.
The entrance to the Cave Trail, off of 1650th Street, is a narrow out-and-back track, alongside a barbed-wire fence. The land to the north is private property (please stay out). After a short distance, the trail splits, either east or south. It’s one big loop, and can be ridden in either direction.
Surface: Natural
Length: About 2.1 miles
Difficulty: There are some challenging rocky areas along this trail, as well as some man-made features to add challenge and interest.