Cumberland Gap National Historical Park has over 85 miles of trails.  Skylight Cave is a popular destination along those trails.  After the Wilderness Road Trail, it is the most hiked trail in the park.  But only a small number of people hike anything except the Wilderness Road Trail.

A lot of people who come to the park want to do the Gap Cave.  But they didn’t read the website and don’t know that you have to have reservations for the tour.  Or that there is only one tour per day.  We can’t let people explore Gap Cave on their own because it is 20 miles long and people could get very lost.  Fortunately, Skylight Cave offers an alternative.

To get to Skylight Cave, you take the Lewis Hollow Trail from the picnic area near the campground.  The trail to the cave is only a mile long but it does go up.  Of course, most of the trails in the park are either up or down so that is nothing different.  Skylight Cave is one of Tom’s favorite trails in the park because it gives him a good workout going up and has a reward at the end.

The first week we were in the park, Tom hiked up to Skylight Cave.  He wanted to go to the Ridge Trail and Skylight Cave was on the way.  The hike itself is lovely, running beside a creek that only flows after a rain.  Everything is very green and cool, which is good since you work up a sweat getting to the cave.  As the trail gets steeper, a rock wall rises to the right. There are two gated and locked holes in the rock wall which might be additional entrances to the cave. When you see the bridge over the creek ahead, Skylight Cave is in the rock wall to the right.

Skylight Cave is so named because there is a secondary hole above the entrance.  As you walk in, your way is illuminated by sunlight filtered through the trees.  There is a large room inside the entrance and then the cave narrows toward the back.  People are allowed to explore as far as they want, although I don’t like to go beyond where I can see the light from the entrance.  I want to be sure I can get out!

Tom and I hiked up to Skylight Cave and the lovely cave was well worth the effort of the hike.  I have been recommending it to people who wanted to visit Gap Cave but didn’t get on a tour.  When our friends came to visit, Tom took Sandy and Amy on a hike up to the cave.  They all felt like they got some hiking in that day.

Tom hiked Lewis Hollow Trail all the way up to the Ridge Trail.  He said it wasn’t worth it beyond the cave.  The trail gets much steeper and the trees block any view.  I have read some reviews that say the view is better in the winter when the leaves are down.  The trail can also be very slippery, so many people turn back after exploring the cave.

Skylight Cave is one of those wonderful places in the park where you can see something beautiful without a lot of work.  And you usually have the trail and the cave all to yourself.