Weaver Cave Preserve

About Weaver Cave Preserve

Boasting vast caverns, intricate, winding tunnels, and a creek, Lady Cave and Weaver Cave collectively form the Weaver Cave Complex. Lady Cave in particular is well-known for its beautiful stalagmites and stalactites. Local residents have long used the cave for a variety of purposes. Though it is unknown how the area's Native Americans might have utilized the caves, their presence in what is now Calhoun County is well evidenced by the mounds they constructed in the area. During the civil war, the cave complex was used to mine saltpeter, or potassium nitrate, a component of gun powder. Beginning around the turn of the century, locals used the caves for more recreational activities, holding dances, picnics, parties, picture shows, Sunday school classes, and community meetings in and around the caves. The cave and local community are named for David F. Weaver who donated the tract of land for the settlement's first rail depot, Weaver Station.

The Weaver Cave Complex and the surrounding woodlands are home to at least 5 bat species throughout the year. These include 3 bats of conservation concern, the gray bat, Indiana bat, and tricolored bat, as well as the more common eastern red bat and big brown bat. Depending on the time of year, these bats use the area for different purposes. During the spring and summer, Weaver Cave serves as an important maternity roost for thousands of endangered gray bats, which emerge en masse each evening to feed on insects. In winter, endangered Indiana bats and tricolored bats hibernate in the cooler chambers of Weaver Cave.

Since acquiring the property, the Georgia-Alabama Land Trust, has worked to install access control measures to protect the sensitive bats that live within the cave. The Land Trust has also received a grant to install signage, a bridge, and the beginnings of a trail system within the Property. We are working hard to raise funds to build the remainder of the trail and to install a small parking area to enhance public accessibility. The public is invited to visit the Weaver Cave Preserve on Open Gate Days when access is permitted.

A big thank you to Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Coosa Valley RC&D that have made the infrastructure at the cave possible!

Bluff Trail (white blazes): This currently is the only developed hiking trail on the property. This moderate trail is ~0.3 mile in length and climbs up the limestone bluff and travels along the south-facing slope above the main entrance to Weaver Cave. This trail traverses through mesic and dry oak mixed pine forest and crosses a beautiful drain that feeds into Cave Creek. This loop trail has one end of the east side of Cave Creek and another end on the west side of Cave Creek. Access to the parking lot can be obtained from either side using the bridge over Cave Creek. Look for white oak, Chinquapin oak, shagbark hickory, and longleaf pine as you walk this trail.