Echo River Spring Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Fall Colors · Fishing · Geological Significance · River/Creek · Wildlife

The nearest restrooms are located in the parking lot close to the picnic area.

The Echo River Spring Trail can be accessed by driving to the end of Green River Ferry Road and parking in the lot before you get to the Ferry. In the parking lot there is an observation deck where you can watch the ferry if it is running. At the end of the parking lot by the river, the trail passes a kayak/canoe launch and crosses a bridge over a creek fed by Echo River Spring and begins to enter the woods on a paved, concrete path.

The trail runs along the Green River for a short distance before breaking to the right and comes to the junction with the Two Springs Trail, which is unpaved. The concrete trail continues to meander through the trees where you may see deer, woodpeckers, and other birds in the forest around you. Just beyond a third of a mile, the path passes the Sinkhole Trail on the left that climbs up into the park. Continuing straight ahead, the concrete path transforms into a wooden deck above the forest floor. Information signs describe how the water from the springs run into Mammoth Cave where animals like the Kentucky Cave Shrimp, Northern cavefish, and Mammoth Cave crayfish call home.

The trail alternates between wooden decking and concrete as it passes Echo River Spring where there is signage about how scientists and divers trace the rivers and springs that run through the area. The trail continues straight and passes a picnic area before emerging back at the parking lot.

Deer, turkeys, woodpeckers, and other birds can be seen throughout the forest around you.