Mammoth Cave National Park

Really enjoyed visiting Mammoth Cave. The park ranger was very knowledgeable and witty. Be advised that the tours do sell out, so plan accordingly. I would recommend visiting here if in the area.

This place was a great place and so glad we did the 2 hour tour. We booked in advance and glad we did. The tours fill up quickly. The tour itself does have some physical demands on you — like able to go up and down a LOT of stairs, must be OK with some tight spots (i.e. some areas feel smaller than a plane seat), and OK with sometimes dark/​low light areas — all part of «caving» experience. It was definitely worth the time to get there and everything else involved. The park sends you to the cave entrance as 1 large group (~100 people) via their NP Busses. This makes it convenient so you park in 1 spot and go from there.
Overall, if you haven’t done this — you should. Probably don’t need to do it more than once in 10 years unless you are really into caves.

What a fun way to spend the day! Definitely worth the drive from Nashville. The cave is huge and the section we saw (domes and dripstones) had some very pretty parts (though a lot of it isn’t what you would think of as ‘pretty’ as compared to other caverns/​caves). I would love to go back and do one of the more adventurous tours. Would recommend!

A really good time. Wide variety of activities from hiking to camping to touring the caves.
We did the domed and dripstones tour. So cool. Tour guides were very knowledgable, cave was fun to navigate through – around 2 hours from time the bus left and returned to the visitor center.
We hiked a lot and we saw a ton of deer, turkey, and even a coyote (although the coyote was when we were driving). A deer darted out 20 feet in front of us on the trail, such a cool moment.
So much to talk about and review, if you like outdoorsy stuff (or underground), visit for a day or two and enjoy! We did and can’t wait to go back when we have more than 30 hours.

I never heard about cave spelunking until I did it with friends over NYE. It was roughly a little over a 7 hour drive from Chicago. We all had a great time touring the massive underground cave system in Kentucky! Who knew that there are hundreds of miles of cavernous pathway right underneath our feet!!!
We had a tour guide with us the whole time (which made me feel safe) and you are given gear (a jumpsuit and hard hat with headlight) to help you navigate the path. I immediately felt like a coal miner with all the gear. It’s not pretty looking but as you go though the tour, you’ll begin to understand that the gear is strictly for function and not fashion.
The tour is not for the claustrophobic, faint of heart and those that are scared of the dark!!! There is a lot of climbing and crawling through narrow spaces and the hard hats are definitely necessary as one can easily hit their heads on the rocks. So don’t be stupid. Listen to your tour guide, don’t be a hero and wear ALL your gear at ALL times. You’ll be rewarded by the great views along the way.

This is something that everyone should experience at least once in their life — and we are so lucky to have it just a short road trip away.
DYK: Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system in the world? With over 420 miles of tunnels, and caves explored?
DKY: That Mammoth Cave is currently discovering more and more miles of caves each summer when they close parts of the cave to the public and send in researchers to go deeper and deeper into the darkness?
This was one of the most exhilarating experiences I have ever had even over parasailing, cliff jumping etc. I don’t know, I guess it was the thrill of climbing 528 steps (not an exaggeration) underground and experiencing complete darkness with no sound of the outside world — complete silence.
I am terrified of small spaces and I guess that added to the journey with 100 people behind me I kind of had no choice but to go down and face my fears. We went on the Dripstone tour and it was definitely our speed. We got to see the Frozen Niagara and around 1 – 2 miles of the cave. They have more advanced tours like the «crawl tour» where you literally crawl through tiny holes and tunnels Andy Dufresne style — no thanks. But if you are into that people say it is an incredible experience.
Pro tips:
+ They don’t let you book a tour online the day of even if there are 100 spots left! If you are planning a trip book online at LEAST a day in advance, we learned the hard way.
+ Wear comfortable shoes! No, not your comfortable booties. Gym shoes or hiking shoes. There are some really slippery spots, not to mention you are climbing down grated steps with holes. Come prepared!
+ Everyone is saying to ‘bring a jacket because it’s cold’ — DON’T! You are basically hiking and busting your butt through these caves. It might only be 55 – 60 degrees but you will be sweating and not wanting to carry jackets.
Overall an experience I will never forget for such a small price tag. Highly recommend!

DO THE WILD CAVE TOUR!!!
My husband and I took a 2 month road trip across the country and this was the best part! I had never heard of this cave until a friend told us about it in the middle of our trip, so we took a detour to check it out and I’m so glad we did! One of the most fun, memorable experiences of my life! The Wild Cave Tour is amazing. It’s not for everyone for sure, only those with an adventurous spirit as you’re army crawling through tiny little tunnels and straddling across deep canyons and shimmying around tiny bends in the cave. But if you’re into that sort of thing, this is one of the most fun and exciting experience you’ll ever have!
I will never forget our tour guide as she’s explaining about the next tunnel we’re about to go through called Kathleen’s and she bends down to get something from under the rock she was sitting on and then disappears under the rock. That was the entrance to the tunnel we were about to go through. Everyone in the tour looked at each other like «no way», and after a minute started to follow her. Once you’re in these tunnels there’s no way out and no going back. Not for those who are claustrophobic, but such an incredible experience. I would come back to this area just to do this tour again.

It probably goes without saying, but a cave tour through Mammoth Cave is an absolute must for anyone in the area! In preparation for my recent visit, I decided to go all out and booked the longest tour: The Grand Avenue Tour.
The Grand Avenue Tour was exceptional! Over the course of four hours, you meander through four miles of cave and get to explore a myriad of different terrain. Ranger Kevin was an excellent guide full of insights and puns!
The first section was relatively flat and wide which served as a great introduction to the cave. The second section, Boone Ave, was much narrower but very tall. The rock formations of Boone Avenue were easily the most enchanting part of the whole journey! The third section was much more hilly. There were some incredibly steep switch backs both up and down hills. Lastly, the fourth section gave us the opportunity to see the gorgeous Frozen Niagara and other stalactite/​stalagmite formations not found in the other three sections.
A couple of practical tips for anyone considering the Grand Avenue Tour:
–The park is on Central Time! Not a huge deal, but if you are planning to come from Indiana or Louisville (Eastern Time), it’s good to keep in mind so you don’t freak out when you arrive an hour early!!!
–The Grand Avenue Tour is rated strenuous which concerned me because I have a tendency to be claustrophobic. However, I was pleasantly surprised that no part of the trip triggered any panic! When the lanes are narrow, the ceiling is high and when the ceiling is low, it’s usually just one rock and there is a lot of space around. That being said, the ground can get a bit slippery and the hills can get quite steep. Definitely bring hiking shoes! We are not the most athletic people, but we are young and walk around our city a lot so we had no problems, but I would definitely not recommend it to anyone who has trouble walking up and down steep slopes or mastering lots of steps.
–There are two bathroom breaks. The first one is an hour in and the second one is about half way through.
Given how deep you go into cave, I would definitely recommend the Grand Avenue Tour to anyone looking to go all out for an overview of the natural formations within the system. If I were to return, I would definitely want to augment this trip with a more historically relevant part of the cave since that seemed to be the aspect most missing from the Grand Avenue Tour. I was really excited by the prospect of booking the Violet City lantern tour; however, it wasn’t included in the Fall 2015 menu. Fingers crossed-​next time!!!

HOLY HISTORY, I love this place! Turns out, I don’t think I’ve ever visited a real live National Park, but I can say I was super impressed with everything that is happening at Mammoth Cave. The park is accessible right off of I-​65, which is convenient for day trips. There’s a «hotel» on the grounds as well as a large campground, so you can stay on site if you’re so inclined. There’s a few hotels on the Dixie Highway nearby so there’s a few options if you need them.
The park itself is free to enter and there’s a lot of square footage to tackle if you’re looking to hike, swim, boat, etc. If you continue all the way to the end of the entrance drive, you’ll get to the actual cave and its parking lot. There’s a nice, well-​kept welcome center that’s full of things to read, a gift shop, and some light food if you need it. The park offers a pretty big variety of tours of the cave and grounds, so check out the website before you go so you know what to buy tickets for when you arrive.
We did the Historical Tour and we were really impressed. Our tour guide was clearly a veteran giver-​of-​cave-​tours and he definitely knew his stuff. The tour itself was about two hours and required *some* crouching/​bending/​twisting to get through smaller passages in the cave, so it’s not recommended for everyone but we had a blast. Our favorite part was when the guide turned out the lights in the cave to give us an idea of not only what it is like to have no light whatsoever, but also what it would have been like for any early explorer of the cave if his light happened to go out while he was deep in the cave. It was super eerie but really fun and he provided a lot of historical context for who first discovered the cave, used it, and what it was used for in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.
The tours are moderately priced (around $ 15-​$ 20) but worth it to keep a gem like this operating. In the summer, a lot of the tours sell out quickly so be sure to get there early to buy your tickets. We couldn’t sleep the night before so we ended up getting to the park basically right when it opened so we were able to do the 9:00 a.m. tour on a whim, which still had tickets available. When we surfaced a few hours later, we saw that every Historical Tour was sold out for the day, so arrive early. The cave itself is a comfortable 54 degrees year round, so bring a cardigan or long-​sleeved shirt if you think you’ll get uncomfortable. I am out of shape so I thought the tour itself (a lot of walking and steps) was enough to keep me sweaty so I felt comfortable the entire time in a tshirt and shorts.
Worth a visit and I hope to go back soon.

I would highly recommend a visit to this National Park. No entrance fee or permits required to visit the park. All the rangers are friendly and extremely helpful. Took a group of 4 middle school aged Girl Scouts on two tours. Both the adults and girls had an awesome time on the Introduction to Caving Tour. I would highly recommend that your if your group has the physical ability and right shoes. It’s a great opportunity to build teamwork and communication skills as well as see parts of the cave you don’t get to see on the normal walking tour.
My group also went on the dripstones tour and found it to be interesting but after going on the caving tour it just wasn’t quite as exciting to them.
We hiked the Sal Hollow Trail together. It was a decent trail but the real highlight of the park is the caves. If your group is really into hiking, it’s worth it to spend time at the Maple Springs trailhead but otherwise I’d skip it.

We had nice 2 hrs historic tour. Beautiful sighs. It’s not tour guide fault but can young kids not be included in tour? The one in ours kept crying. It was difficult to hear the tour guide. Wear good, comfy shoes and bring a jacket. And go to bathroom before tour.

Now, let me start off by saying most national parks are 5 star destinations. They are special places. That’s how they came to be national parks. And Mammoth Cave is no exception to that rule.
I definitely recommend getting your tickets for the tours ahead of time, as they do sell out. I was lucky enough to get to do the Grand Avenue tour and the Violet City Lantern tour, both of which were amazing. They were also very long, so if you do these wear comfortable hiking shoes. If you aren’t up for one of these 3 – 4 hour tours pick something shorter that includes the Drapery Room and Frozen Niagara. That part is particularly spectacular.
The Grand Avenue tour is really well planned, it starts in a part of he cave that doesn’t have any stalactites or stalagmites, but does go through some major gypsum formations early on. You also get to see the Snowball Room, and it culminates with the Drapery Room. The lighting of the cave that has been installed is spectacular. It gives it an almost magical atmosphere, with just enough light in just the right places to highlight some really special features.
The lantern tour is very different, since you are traveling exclusively by lantern light, so you don’t have the same views of the cave. I still thought it was a really interesting, and unique experience.
The tour guides were really great on each tour, and I felt like I learned a lot! Mammoth Cave is definitely worth a visit!

Absolutely wonderful place to visit. Ordered tickets ahead of time online about three weeks out. Glad I did as they were sold out when we got there. The guides (took two different tours) were fun yet were super examples of what you would expect a Park Ranger to be like. Highly recommend a lantern tour for a whole different experience. Check one off of the bucket list! Would go again.

This is the longest cave not only in America but the World. Why? With more than 400 miles of cave passageways, Mammoth Cave ranks as the longest cave in the world. It was established as a National Park in 1914. You can tour only a few miles of it. There are different tours but I took the historical tour which is only two miles long.
Now there are at least 11 different cave tours you can take. I chose the Historical Tour which is the most popular. It’s about 2 hours long and is 2 miles long. The historical tour is a guided tour by two Park Rangers. You must stay with them at all times. So you can’t just leave.
One feature on this tour is Fatman’s Misery. Here you have to turn sideways as some points along this passage to get through it.
One good thing about this area is that they are in the Central Time zone. So I gained one hour in the morning.
Accommodations: You will notice some cabins across the street from the visitors center. You can call Mammoth Cave Hotel fir reservations at one of these cabins. They are not cheap though.

Mammoth Cave was my first National Park (gasp!) which is why I specifically wanted to come here — it’s the closest one to Indianapolis at about a 3 hour drive, and totally worth it. I went on the historical tour and it was really interesting and fun! I’ve been in a few caves and caverns before, but never the kind of trip where I went from massive, echoing chambers to small passageways that require squeezing and crouching. Most anyone who can climb a series of steps can take this tour, but it felt more exciting and a little challenging and surprising. I really enjoyed that.
There are also a bunch of hiking trails at the park above ground, and I had planned to join the wildflower tour, but when I got there at the time advertised on the website, they said the tour had already gone. I was disappointed and confused by this. There also is only one restaurant with gross-​looking food to me, and I tried going in the coffee shop for a snack but it wasn’t open even half an hour after it was supposed to. I probably would’ve stayed longer if I could’ve gotten something decent to eat. Hence the four stars instead of five
The gift shop is also great. I decided that since this was my first National Park, I would get a Passport to the National Parks book so I can get a stamp at each park as I go, and it gives you information about all the different 58 parks as well as monuments and things.
There are so many different tours you can go on, so I would go back if I found myself in the area again.
TIP: It is very chilly in the cavern, even in the middle of summer, so make sure to take a jacket and long pants — a few people in shorts and t-​shirts were shivering cold.

What a great day we had! We started with the historic tour that gave us a lot of facts. There were a ton of people on this tour and I was kinda disappointed.
There were a couple places were the out of shape might have trouble. There was seven stories of stairs to get up at the end. Two people in our group had a lot of trouble with them due to their heart condition.
Next we went on the domes and drip stones tour. That was very different from our first tour. Lots of tight squeezes and lots more to look at. We really lucked out on this tour bc there were only about ten people on the tour. We were able to ask more questions. We actually learned more on this tour bc it was less crowded. We saw some amazing formations! There are still a lot of stairs but not seven stories.
Each time you walk out of the cave they have you step on a mixture soap. It helps the bats. That way if we wear our shoes in another cave we won’t spread germs to other caves.
Last thing, if you are going on two tours pack a lunch. There is only one place to eat and we didn’t have time to do the whole sit down thing In between tours.

My wife and I wanted a fun day trip from Nashville, so we randomly decided to check out Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. It’s just under a two-​hour drive from home, which was perfect.
I reserved tickets online in advance just to be safe. We planned on the Domes and Dripstones tour in the morning ($ 15.00), with the Historic Tour in the afternoon ($ 14.00). Let’s go caving!
Domes and Dripstones is about a 0.75-mile trek over the course of two hours. It certainly feels farther when you’re down there though. Our guide was fantastic. To call this place impressive is a complete understatement. The formations are all amazing. Definitely do the optional Drapery Room portion, it’s worth the extra hundred steps. At one point they turned off the lights to show how extremely dark it was. I couldn’t see my hand even an inch in front of my eyes! I’d recommend a hoodie or a hat to combat the frequent dripping.
The Historic Tour, also two hours but closer to a two-​mile distance, goes through some of the more massive parts of the cave system. It was really cool to see the old mining equipment. The appropriately-​named Fat Man’s Misery is really a squeeze. I’m proud to say that I didn’t have to turn sideways to get through! I did bang my head once, but I survived. This is probably the one time my wife’s shortness ever came in handy. I had to bend down about half the time. If you’re wanting a lot of pretty stalactites, this is not the tour for you.
We probably did the tours in reverse order, but I planned it that way so that the tour times would give us a nice break for a picnic lunch (or enough time to drive to lunch and back in case of rain). They have some pretty nice picnic areas nearby. The adjoining hotel also has a few food options, including the Troglobites Room. Ah yes, I love a good fossil pun.
We will definitely be back!

Seriously, this was a cool day! I’ve had the cave on my bucket list and I’d gladly go back. We had a pair of great guides on both of our tours.
Please note: You cannot go in any of the caves unless you take a tour so sign up accordingly. Our choices were limited in the winter months but we did the Historical Entrance and the Domes and Dripstones tour. That was a great combination of wide open spaces and narrow spots with stalactites and stalagmites. We did some geocaching in the area as well.
Pack a lunch! There’s only one place to eat there and we didn’t have enough time to get that done between the tours.

Reminder: don’t lick the rocks; you could catch tuberculosis. I shit you not. (they used to treat TB patients down in the cave a century ago, before they realize this was the worst way you could possibly treat TB.)
Biggest, but not the most beautiful.
Don’t get me wrong, I highly recommend it, but don’t expect a lot of classic cave formations as this is a mostly dry, dormant cave.
It’s the longest Cave formation the world, and was discovered before we knew how to protect and preserve. Which leaves us modern-​day Folk with some interesting tours.
I highly recommend the violet city lantern tour. It’s a four hour, 3 mile tour deep into the bowels of the cave and back into history. All by the light of hand held lanterns, the way they used to explore it a century ago. Really turns it into an experience. Something you will really remember.

I only came to see the cave, but discovered a wealth of history!
We are on a mission to see as many National Parks and historic sites as we can with our children before their 16^th birthdays. That’s when traditionally you’ve almost completely lost the interest of your children to their friends and other influences. So when we found an opportunity to visit this cave as part of a larger road trip, we were quick to take advantage.
What we didn’t know prior to this visit was this is the largest cave system in the world. It still has not been fully explored, but I was ecstatic to discover its initial modern day exploration began with a slave by the name of Steven Bishop.
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AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY
Steven Bishop was a self-​educated slave that came as part of the property (which included Mammoth Cave) purchased by Franklin Gorin in the spring of 1838. Stephen was 17 years old when his master requested he «go explore my new cave», allowing him to escape normal slave duties, but in many ways more dangerous. The cave had many obstacles including the 105 foot deep «bottomless pit», which Bishop was the first to ever cross. He became so knowledgeable of the cave that he was also the first to map several miles of it. Stephen was freed seven years after the death of his owner in 1856, and he himself died three years after being freed on June 15, 1859. It should be noted that giving credit of a major discovery to a slave (or any African American for that matter) was UNHEARD OF at the time, making his life story even more remarkable. It is said that his owner thought fondly of him, once being quotes saying:
«Stephen was a self-​educated man. He had a fine genius, a great fund of wit and humor, some little knowledge of Latin and Greek, and much knowledge of geology, but his great talent was a knowledge of man.»
But Steven was only one of many slave guides to make major contributions to Mammoth Cave exploration. Others operated hotels out of their own homes for black visitors to the cave. Nick Bransford bought his freedom by selling eyeless fish to visitors. One guide, Matterson Bransford, had his children stripped from him and sold into slavery during his tenure as a guide. He never saw them again. You can read some of his story as well as other slave guides here:

THIS IS BLACK HISTORY THAT YOU WON’T SEE IN SCHOOL BOOKS.
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THE EXPERIENCE
There are many Tours to choose from, but we decided on the Historic Tour. It gave us access to some of the largest rooms in the cave system. The tour begins at the Visitor Center with a brief overview of the tour. Next you descend down man-​made stairs into the caves Historic Entrance. The Rotunda is the first large room you reach @ around 140 feet below the surface. Here we learned of a saltpetre operation where slaves mined out this mineral for the purpose of making gunpowder. Next came Giants Coffin, where we learned of ancient Indians who mined gypsum for tribal use. We also learned of a Indian who apparently was crushed by a large fallen boulder. He was discovered in 1935 still with his skin, hair and eyes intact! Perfectly preserved by the weather conditions of the cave, which is always 54 degrees year-​round.
Our lowest descent point on this tour was River Hall. It’s 310 feet below the surface and known to flood every 20 – 30 years. It last flooded in 2010. Here they show you what it’s like to be trapped in the cave with no light. We then descend up what Stephen Bishop considered his greatest cave find — The Tower. This is a huge cylinder room where a tower of stairs brings you back to the upper cave surface.
TOUR DESCRIPTION:
Duration: 2 hours
Distance: 2 miles
Total Stairs: 440, including 155 at Mammoth Dome
Difficulty: Moderate
Tour Capacity: 120
[ NOTES ]
Bats are away feeding in the summer months.
Camping, biking, boating/​canoeing, horseback riding and fishing available.
Spelunking adventures and night tours also available.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I skipped so much in this review, like fat man’s misery; a tight labyrinth of stones that you must negotiate through sideways. And the Methodist Church room, or the signatures on the cave ceilings by visitors from the 1800’s who used torches to burn their names onto the ceiling surfaces. There is also a river located 360 feet below the surface, a huge above ground field of sinkholes, a great interactive learning center and hundreds more miles of cave to explore. Hands down a wonderful experience. You could come here 20 times and never see all there is to see! I highly recommend this as a family destination. Disregard any notion this is a tourist trap. Here lies well over 300 years of history. It’s NOT just a cave, but a time portal to our past.
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