Mammoth Cave National Park, USA

Mammoth Cave is the world's longest cave system, with more than 365 miles explored. Cave tours have been offered since 1816, which makes Mammoth Cave one of the oldest tour attractions in North America. While cave tours are the park’s big attraction, there is plenty more to do and explore while visiting this beautiful wilderness area, such as hiking, camping, horseback riding, fishing and kayaking.

Mammoth Cave National Park became a World Heritage Site in 1981 and an International Biosphere Reserve in 1990. Mammoth Cave National Park was established to preserve the cave system, including Mammoth Cave, the scenic river valleys of the Green and Nolin rivers, and hilly karst terrain typical of south central Kentucky. Beneath the sandstone-capped ridges of Mammoth Cave National Park lies the most extensive cave system on earth, with over 400 miles of passageway mapped and surveyed. And yet after 5,000 years of intermittent exploration, the full extent of this water-formed labyrinth remains a mystery.

Mammoth Cave National Park is the #1 tourist attraction in the state of Kentucky and has over 400 plus mapped miles of known passageways making it the longest cave system in the world. Even though Mammoth Cave is the Park's most renowned feature, the Park also includes over 52,000 acres of beautiful hills, bluffs and forests and is home to an enormous diversity of plants and animals and a rich cultural heritage tracing back over 4,000 years. Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave in the world.

Mammoth Cave National Park offers a wide variety of above-ground recreational activities with over 70 miles of trails, over 30 miles of rivers, camping, horseback riding and biking. Enjoy hiking or horseback riding in the rugged hills and exploring the deep valleys or seek solitude by a waterfall. Mammoth Cave is also one of few National Parks with over 30 miles of scenic, meandering rivers running through it, offering one of the few operating rural ferries in the nation, and year-round canoeing, boating and fishing opportunities.

Ranger-led activities are offered year-round and are a fun way to gain first-hand knowledge about the wildlife and flora of the region. The National Park activities include nature walks, campfire programs, slide show presentations and, of course, cave tours.

Main Attractions

Water Adventure 

Nearly 30 miles of the Green and Nolin rivers offer canoeing and kayaking - the perfect way to explore the dramatic landscape of the park. Boats may be rented outside the park at local outfitters who will gear you up for an hour, 3-hour, or even an overnight excursion. While traveling down the rivers, you will get a very different view of Mammoth Cave National Park. The land is full of dramatic bluffs, sinkholes, and stunning forests.

Wild Cave Tour 

This tour has participants on the hands and knees, crawling through tight spaces, scaling rocks, and sweating up a storm. But let me reiterate: it is awesome. The tour lasts about 6 to 6.5 hours, and includes a tasty lunch, which you eat inside the cave via The Snowball Room. Expect to see the following: 1. A whole lot of rock. 2. Stalagmites and stalactites. 3. Some of the largest underground rooms you can imagine. 4. Smiles.

Backcountry 

While the park offers three developed campgrounds, get away from all the visitors and enjoy the solitude of the backcountry. There are 12 peaceful and scenic backcountry campsites to choose from, which all offer something different to see. This park is much more than a cave, so get out there and see the rugged hills and woodlands of Kentucky. To get to most, you will take a "ferry", though I use this word with caution. Rather than a bridge, the park has a mini-ferry, large enough to fit one car at a time. You drive up, you sit in your car, and you begin to move to the other side of the river. It's a 20-second ride but brings you to another side of the park, something many visitors never check out.

Violet City Lantern Tour 

You will be surprised to see an underground hospital that was used for Tuberculosis patients, and to learn about mummies discovered along the trails. The tour covers 3 miles in 3 hours, so it is a slow pace with time to sit and discuss stories and illusions expressed and check out landmarks like the Star Chamber, Broadway Avenue, Elizabeth's Dome, and more. Though there are a few hills and stairs to climb, this isn't a very strenuous tour. But keep in mind that children under the age of 6 are not allowed and neither is flash photography.

Frozen Niagara 

Unlike most of the cave, this section is decorative and intricate. If you haven't guessed it, the landmark got its name for its strong resemblance to a frozen waterfall. You can explore this area by tour (Wild Cave explores it too) which takes visitors over the top of the save to the Frozen Niagara Entrance. The entrance was created in 1924 and takes visitors down into a fairyland of formations. You will descend into the Drapery Room, about 50 feet, and takes you only 1/4 of a mile in an hour. It's a slow tour, perfect for those looking for an introduction to the cave or for those with little ones.