Rickwood Caverns Fossil Trail

Rickwood Caverns State Park offers both underground and surface explorations of Alabama’s karst geology. While the cavern tour reveals spectacular formations below ground, the Fossil Mountain Trail explores the fossil-rich limestone above. The trail passes exposed rock faces where marine fossils from an ancient sea are visible, including brachiopods, crinoids, and other creatures that lived 300 million years ago. Interpretive signs explain the area’s geological history and the processes that created both the fossils and the cavern below. The forested trail provides pleasant hiking through diverse habitats, with the unique underground geology adding educational interest. Combining the surface trail with a cavern tour provides a full understanding of this remarkable landscape.