This post is part of a travel series of our road trip in the midwest where we traveled to four states: Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana. We visited one state park, two national parks, and a historic farm.. To start at the beginning, go HERE. The rest of the posts in consecutive order are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE!
Our next stop on our midwest road trip was to Mammoth Cave National Park. Although there are other activities you can do in this 52,000 acre park (hiking, camping, boating, fishing, cycling, etc.) the main purpose of this park is to see their Mammoth Cave system.
Mammoth Cave is the world's longest known cave system, with more than 400 miles explored.
The entrance to the park is free, but if you want to see a cave you have to pay for a guided cave tour. There are about sixteen different tours you can choose from and they range from accessible to extremely difficult and cost anywhere from $12 to $79 per person. There is a tour for every price range and physical ability. Reservations are not required, but highly recommended as tours do sell out fast.
Mammoth Cave National Park Visitor Center
While you are waiting for your tour to begin, there is plenty to do. The Visitor's Center is just incredible. The museum alone is worth a stop at Mammoth Cave National Park.
In the Visitor Center's Museum you learn all about the Mammoth Cave system. See the yellow lines in the map below? That is the 400 miles of mapped cave. There could be more that hasn't even been discovered yet!
You can stop and watch a movie about the mammoth cave system. I loved the decor in this theater. It's like you're inside a cave. Notice the miners in the corners?
There are so many exhibits to read and enjoy!
In 1842 the Mammoth Cave system was used to cure tuberculosis patients. But in 1843 it was shut down because no one was cured by this treatment.
The cave was used in 1812 and in the Civil War, to extract nitrate to make gunpowder.
Like most National Parks, they were made with a cost. Land was taken by eminent domain to create the park.
There are two buildings at the park's main entrance. One is where you buy your tickets, get park information, and where the museum and a gift shop is located. The second building holds two restaurants and another gift shop and a bridge connects the two buildings.
Standing on the bridge, looking back at the Visitor Center's main building.
Standing on the bridge looking at "The Lodge" cafe/restaurant.
Here's the lobby of the second building. The "Green River Grill" is on the left in the photo below.
The other restaurant is the "Lantern Cafe". Sorry, I didn't eat at either restaurant so I can't give recommendations. I liked the stage coach on display!
We spotted a little lizard on the hand rail outside. I was surprised to see this little guy in Kentucky.
All cave tours are central time and that is very important to remember because where the park is located in Kentucky makes it easy to forget the time change. We were driving from West Virginia and the time zone didn't change until we were almost at the park. Many people have missed their tours because they didn't adjust for the time change.
All cave tours meet in a shelter like the one pictured below. They have video screens in the Visitor Center lobby announcing which tour meets at what shelter and what time the tourists should be there.
Some tours require an additional bus ride to get there, and others, like the Historic Tour just require a short walk down a path like this:
Here we are patiently waiting for our tour bus to arrive.
Frozen Niagara Tour
The most difficult part of going to Mammoth Cave National Park is deciding what cave tour to take. With sixteen different tours available, it can be a hard decision. I ultimately decided on two tours: Frozen Niagara and the Historic Tour. This week, I will talk about the Frozen Niagara tour, and next week I'll cover the Historic tour.
I picked the Frozen Niagara tour because it shows just the most famous section of the cave: the Frozen Niagara. This section shows the parks densest collection of stalactites (hanging from the ceiling) and stalagmites (rising from the floor).
There is a 10 minute bus ride just to get to the entrance of the Frozen Niagara cave. The hike itself is only .25 miles and has 80 steps both ascending and descending. The tour is 80-90 minutes and is rated as "easy".
No flash photography is allowed. I had mine turned off, but somehow it turned back on again by itself and went off, then I got yelled at by the park ranger. I was so embarrassed. After that, I never hit the photo button until I was sure the flash was off.
I apologize for the bad photography. Taking pictures in a cave is hard, especially when you have to move at a brisk pace with a tour group. There are so many professional photos on-line if you want to see better photos. I loved "Road Trips, Hikes, and More"'s post on the Frozen Niagara tour.
On all the cave tours in Mammoth National Park, you walk a bit, then stop a bit as the park ranger tells you about the cave. I felt all the tours walked too fast and I found that frustrating. I really wanted to walk and explore on my own pace. They tell you if you need to walk slower because of a disability to stay in the front because you will set the pace for the rest of the group, but I didn't find that to be the case. They were always walking way too fast for my comfort zone and I felt I missed a lot.
My husband and I thought the ceiling of this cave looked like a bat. Do you see it? His eye is in the center, and his nose and mouth are on the right. Creepy, eh?
Pictured below is Showerbath Spring where a cascade of water enters the cave from the ceiling.
The tour ended with the park ranger pointing out all the "Cave Crickets" above our heads. I had read about these before my trip, so I kept my hood on through the entire tour.
We did had to chuckle that the park calls them "Cave Crickets". We have these little guys in my house all the time, and we just call them "Crickets". 😂
Next week I'll finish our time at Mammoth Cave National Park with a review of the Historic Tour, a must-see if ever visiting the park and also a little hike we took before our tour began, plus a trip to nearby Bowling Green.
Have a Great Day! Amy
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