A map depicts the general route that the Bowling Green to Mammoth Cave Trail will take through Warren, Edmonson and Barren Counties on its way to Mammoth Cave National Park. (SUBMITTED)

In the not-so-distant future, it may be possible to walk or ride a bike from Bowling Green to Mammoth Cave.

That’s the goal of the Bowling Green to Mammoth Cave Trail, a large-scale project that hopes to lay a multi-use path from Bowling Green to Mammoth Cave National Park, beginning at Fountain Square Park and ending in Mammoth Cave.

Ethan Bates, regional transportation manager for the Barren River Area Development District, said the project is being tackled through a collaboration with BRADD and the Bowling Green/Warren County Metropolitan Planning Organization to provide an alternative to car-based travel to the park.

“On top of that, we think … it has a great opportunity to be an economic boost to the region,” Bates said. “We think it could be a great boost to the kind of tourism that we’re seeing.”

Maps show the trail beginning in downtown Bowling Green and trekking northeast, passing near the National Corvette Museum before entering rural areas of Warren County.

The path will go through Oakland and Smiths Grove before connecting with a pre-existing trail in Park City that enters the national park.

“I think it’s in the ballpark of 32 miles,” Bates said. “Some of that already exists, some of that is kind of being built independently of what we’re doing, but from end to end, it’s about 32 miles.”

The project is still in the planning stages, Bates said, so details like costs and trail alignments are not known yet. Even though a trail exists in Park City, Bates said much of the project will be new construction.

Bates said collaboration on the project has extended to local government and tourism officials, and spoke on the feedback BRADD has gotten.

“I think overall, from the local officials and people like that that we’ve talked to, they’re very excited,” he said. “Officials are very positive and excited and interested to see what the kind of alignments end up looking like, and how we can make it as beneficial as possible to the area.”

A final project timeline is not yet known, Bates said. The project’s website, bgmctrail.com, states that two periods for public comment will be held this year, from May to June and from September to October.

Though a final report and implementation plan are due in December, an opening date for the trail is still a ways away.

“I think we’ll start to get some of those answers as we go through this planning process,” Bates said.

A public session for the project is scheduled for Wednesday at BRADD’s office in Bowling Green at 177 Graham Avenue from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. BRADD is encouraging area residents to “share ideas, ask questions and make your voice heard.”

The project website provides maps and other resources for the public, and BRADD will have information available during Duncan Hines Days events as well. A survey is available online for those unable to make it to any public meetings.

“I hope that people are excited,” Bates said. “I know that we’re excited – we think this has a great opportunity to be a big boon for the region. We think it’s an exciting thing.”