[2] Disapproving of how visitors treated the cave, Howard later wrote, "I am sorry I left the entrance to the Catacombs open after I first entered it.

Lavacicles and dripstone exposed on the ceiling and walls of several branching passages can be found within 200 feet (61 m) of its entrance.

This very complicated system of irregularly branching tubes of different sizes, lengths, and trends makes Howard's name, the "Catacombs," particularly apt.

The trail leads east into and across a large collapse trench, which is a part of the line of major breakdowns coursing through the Cave Loop area.

The trail skirts an apron of collapse blocks for 80 feet (24 m) and then turns due east and enters Catacombs Cave.