Hiking To This Aboveground Cave In Alabama Is Surreal

Located in Bridgeport, Alabama, the Russell Cave Trail will lead you to a cave that’s as amazing as its history. Russell Cave is an archeological site that contains the most thorough records of prehistoric culture in the Southeast. This historic cave was inhabited for more than 10,000 years. Prehistoric Indians used its main entrance as shelter. Today, Russell Cave shows us how early Native Americans lived from 10,000 B.C. to 1650 A.D.

Russell Cave Trail combines hiking, history and cave exploration. It’s a 2-mile loop and takes approximately 1.5-2 hours to complete. It’s also open year-round. Russell Cave Trail begins at the back of the visitor center at Russell Cave National Monument. The trail includes a 2-foot-wide asphalt path that heads up the side of Montague Mountain. Parts of this hiking trail are quite strenuous. However, there are several benches along the way for you to stop and rest. Russell Cave Trail then heads downhill. When it reaches the bottom of the mountain, it becomes a wooden boardwalk that leads directly into Russell Cave.