A Guide to Visiting Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky

Mammoth Cave National Park

With more than 400 miles of vast chambers and rock tunnels, Mammoth Cave National Park is home to the world’s longest known cave system. We visited one historic cave in New York a few months ago and really enjoyed it. For this trip, we decided to meet up with some family and explore Mammoth Cave about 45 minutes outside of Bowling Green, Kentucky.

We planned on arriving early, and I’m glad we did. We needed time to park, find our way around, and use the restroom. Even if there are a few minutes to kill before the tour, there is a small museum and gift shop that are fun to visit.

Please Note: When we visited Face Masks were required at Mammoth Cave National Park – outside, inside the Visitor’s Center, on the buses, in the pavilions, and inside the caves. As of April 2022, masks WERE NO LONGER required. Please check here for current updates.

Other National Park Activities

If you are not a fan of caves, there is plenty to do above ground. The Park is a nature lovers’ dream offering hiking, horseback riding, ziplining, and rock climbing. There is also canoeing and kayaking on the Green and Nolin rivers.

While at the Visitor’s Center, you can get a map of all of the park trails. The main trails in this area are the Turnhole Bend Nature Trail, Cedar Sink Trail, Sand Cave Trail, Sloan’s Crossing Pond Walk, and the Mammoth Cave Railroad Bike and Hike Trail. These trails are beautiful. You can walk/hike these trails before/after your cave tour – or instead of exploring caves if you like.

Here are the links to learn more about all of the activities at Mammoth Cave National Park:

• Hiking Trails
• Horseback Riding
• Biking Trails
• Canoeing, Kayaking, and Boating
• Fishing
• Mammoth Cave Ferry (status updates)
• Campgrounds – Mammoth Cave Campground Maple Springs Group Campground Houchin Campground
•  Weather and Climate at Mammoth Cave National Park

For our trip, we did explore a few trails, but for the most part, we wanted to explore a few caves…

The Lay of the Land…

After you exit the Visitor Center, you can head left for the bus and tour pavilions or head straight to cross the bridge. This bridge will take you over the downward walking trail that takes you to the Historic Cave Tour and the Mammoth Passage Tour. At the end of the bridge, you will see some sitting/eating areas and the entrances to a building that houses more restrooms, The Spelunkers Cafe & Ice Cream Parlor, and The Green River Grill.

Cave Tours

There are many cave options available at Mammoth Cave. It is important to purchase your cave tour tickets ahead of time. When we bought our tickets, many of the tours were already sold out. We did manage to find 2 tours that we were interested in. We booked one in the morning and one in the afternoon, leaving us time for lunch and exploring the area in between tour times.

You can print out your tickets to bring to the cave. Or you can pull up your ticket on your phone. The problem that we encountered on our visit was that cell service was shotty – like really bad. So… I recommend taking a photo of your ticket and saving the photo to your phone to show before you get on the bus to head to the cave.

Pick the right cave tour(s) for you:

Historic Cave Tour – This tour is 2 miles and lasts 2 hours. There are 540 steps with several inclines (in addition to ascending and descending into the cave). I am old and out-of-shape but I did this tour and lived to tell you about it. It’s a great tour if you’re adventurous and love history.

Domes & Dripstones Tour – This tour is only 3/4 mile, but lasts 2 hours. There are several steep inclines that some may find difficult. There are 500 steps, but 280 of those are the ones on the descent into the cave if that helps you decide on taking the tour. Again, I’m old/40s and chubby and flabby and I survived this tour (and the historic tour all on the same day).

Frozen Niagara Tour – This is a short and easy tour. It only consists of 12 steps. You can take about 100 more steps but you don’t have to -it’s an optional part of the tour. This is probably the most popular and famous spot on all the tours at Mammoth Cave. It lasts about 1 hour and 15 minutes and you travel about 1/4 mile.

Mammoth Passage Tour – This tour is about 3/4 mile and lasts about an hour and 15 minutes. It’s basically 1/2 of the Historic Tour. The inclines are easy and the cave is HUGE – think Wide Open Spaces! And, the walkways are broad as well. There are about 130 steps, mostly to enter and leave, but it is an easy tour.

Gothic Avenue Tour– This tour is one mile and lasts 2 hours. There are 160 stairs and is considered to be a moderate trail.

Cleaveland Avenue Tour – This moderate hike is 2 miles and lasts 2 hours. The descent is 200 steps and there is an elevator to exit the cave. If the elevator is not in service, you will backtrack through the cave and exit up the original 200 steps.

Grand Avenue Tour – This is the longest and most difficult tour that is offered at Mammoth Cave National Park. The tour lasts 4 hours, has over 1300 steps, and has steep inclines (as well as the ascent and descent). I recommend this cave for someone with a lot of stamina or someone very athletic.

Read more about the cave tours and make reservations HERE

What to Wear

Because of the temperature underground, might want to bring a hoodie, sweatshirt, or light jacket during your cave tour. Cave temperatures can vary widely near entrances. The deep cave temperature is 54ºF (12ºC) while surface temperatures in the summer can exceed 90ºF (32ºC). We did so much walking, I honestly never got cold and didn’t need an extra layer of clothes. But, it is cool down there and we stopped several times to listen to the tour guide and it was very chilly.

We visited Mammoth Cave National Park at the end of summer and it was hot, hot, HOT. But, as soon as we hit the entrance of the caves, a wonderful cool breeze hit us. And, we were nice and cool for the rest of the tour. Some of these tours go on for miles and you climb stairs and inclines. You will probably work up a sweat. My family dressed in layers. They wore hoodies over t-shirts and wrapped the hoodie around their waist if they got cold.

I definitely recommend wearing comfortable close-toed shoes – shoes that you would wear hiking.

Domes & Dripstones Tour

Our first tour of the day was the Domes & Dripstones tour. This is the most popular cave tour at Mammoth Cave National Park. It is considered moderately difficult and lasts about 2 hours. The Domes & Dolomites tour INCLUDES the Frozen Niagara tour. I just feel like you should know that in case you are planning on doing more than one tour.

Our group had purchased our tickets ahead of time, but you can buy tickets at the Visitors Center. We checked our group in at the Visitor’s Center and spent a little time at the museum and gift shops. Then, we headed out to our designated shelter, Shelter B, where buses were waiting for us. (There are 2 shelters for tours, so make sure you make your way to the correct one.)

This tour begins in a sinkhole. Then it passes through huge domes and ends in the dripstone section known as Frozen Niagara.

We made our way down into the cave. It was nice to have steps, but we had to watch our heads:

Don’t look down:

Another tight squeeze…Watch your head…

Learning About the Cave

We were able to explore the caves at our own pace. There was one tour guide leading our group and one that stayed at the back. They both made sure that no one was left behind.

At one point, we all met up at a large opening in the cave and sat down. The tour guide gave us some facts about the cave and the cave workers. He also turned out all the lights so that we could sit in complete darkness and silence.

During our stop, we learned that a group of private citizens formed Mammoth Cave National Park Association to protect the park in 1926- almost 100 years ago. Mammoth Cave National Park was officially dedicated as a national park in 1941, became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and became an International Biosphere Reserve in 1990.

Animal Species That Live in the Caves

Now, don’t freak out…yes, there are animals that live in the caves, but I didn’t see any on our visit. It could have been that it was just so dark. Some did see the occasional spider, but all of the animals in the cave are harmless.

There are about 200 animal species that live in the caves, and three of them are endangered. Some animals are full-time inhabitants of the caves, some species leave the cave for meals, and some animals use the cave for shelter/protection/hibernation on occasion.

• Troglobites – they spend their entire lives in caves and cannot survive outside the cave – includes Kentucky cave shrimp, the eyeless cave fish, cave crickets, and the cave fly.
• Trogloxenes – they rely on caves for shelter or to hibernate but leave regularly for food – include pack rats, bats, and cave crickets.
• Troglophiles – they can live their whole lives in caves but can live outside of a cave, as long as it is in a cavelike environment/conditions – cave crayfish, the sculpin, the spring fish, salamanders, and spiders.

Wash Yo’ Feet

After we returned to the Visitors Center, our first order of business was to clean the bottom of our shoes. We all had to walk through a soapy sort of conveyor belt – like a “car wash” but for shoes. The reason for this was to destroy the fungus from the cave that stuck to our shoes. It had been discovered that the fungus from the cave was killing the above-ground bat population. Don’t worry – the fungus is harmless to humans and other animals.

It was discovered (first in 2006) that the fungus had threatened at least 9 bat species and already killed millions of bats across the Northeast and in the Midwest. This fungus is known as white-nose syndrome because it makes bats’ muzzles look like dandelions about to go to seed.

Historic Cave Tour

After lunch and exploring the area, we headed toward our 2nd cave tour of the day.  We didn’t need a bus to take us on this tour. There was a paved walkway that led us from the welcome center to the cave entrance. This walkway sloped downward and was easy, but let me tell ya, after the 2-hour cave hike, this hill walking back up was a BEAST!

The Historic Tour was very different from our morning cave tour. After the narrow and tight passages in the Domes and Dripstones tour, this huge cave was a nice surprise. The entryway is HUGE, the caves were HUGE, and the walkways were … WIDE. There are, however, a few tight squeezes scattered throughout the cave.

With that being said…toward the end of the cave tour, we encountered Fat Man’s Misery. And, let me tell you, it could also be called a chubby claustrophobic girl’s nightmare. The rock walkway is very narrow – about two feet wide. The ceilings got very low at times. There were times that I was hunched over and walking sideways just to get through. There was a line of people ahead of me and a line of people behind me. I did have a mini anxiety attack, but I talked myself through it. If you’re thinking about this tour, but want to skip Fat Man’s Misery, you might want to try the Mammoth Passage Tour instead. It only takes you part of the way into the cave, avoiding the Misery.

Learning About the Cave

We saw how cave workers lived and survived in the caves. They were paid well, which attracted many. It was interesting (and kind of sad) to learn that the cave workers were only paid enough to get through a day or two – just enough to survive. They were never given enough to pay for their way home because if they left, they would never come back. This guaranteed that the men would continue working and wouldn’t leave.

Don’t Forget to Stretch…

Now, I will let you know that at the end of this tour, we were very tired. But, we still had to climb what felt like a million narrow stairs on some scaffolding in order to get out of the cave. We were fine, but this tour wore us out! But, it was our 2nd tour of the day. If you’re athletic and/or energetic – you’ll be fine. If you’re older and/or semi-lazy – you’ll live, but you’ll be sore the next day.

Fat Man’s Misery

Below is my view of Fat Man’s Misery – it was tight!

This cave tour circles back around and you end up exiting at the same spot that you entered. You’ll pass the small waterfall and climb the staircase on the right to exit the cave.

Once we got to the top of the staircase and were out of the cave, we went back through the shoe “car wash” to get the deadly bat fungus off of our shoes.

Mammoth Passage Tour

This tour is basically 1/2 of the Historic Cave Tour (the first half). We first climbed down into a huge hole in the ground. The cold crisp air was a nice surprise on that hot summer day.

The Cave was massive. It’s unbelievable that there’s a hole that big underground. It was amazing. On our first tour stop, we saw artifacts left behind by historic and prehistoric people. We learned how people worked and lived in the past as the caves were worked on.

If you don’t know which tour to pick – I would start with this one. It’s not a cramped cave nor does it give you a claustrophobic feeling. With the big rooms, minimum steps, and wide walkways, it’s a perfect “starter” cave and a great cave for families with little kids.

Frozen Niagara Tour

If you are looking for the best cave tour for families with small children (or those who can’t handle a lot of stairs), the Frozen Niagara Tour is also a good choice. This tour lasts about an hour and 15 minutes and is relatively easy. And, since it is very well-lit, it is also good for children and those with claustrophobic issues.

Wild Cave Tour

This tour is not for the faint of heart (or couch potato like me). This tour lasts 6 hours – 6 HOURS and covers 5 miles of cave. The caves are dirty, damp, and a little bit spooky. This is for hardcore adventure lovers – true caving and spelunking enthusiasts.

Mammoth Cave National Park Info

Mammoth Cave National Park is open 24 hours a day. However, the Visitor’s Center closes at 4:30 p.m. in the winter and 6:00 p.m. in the summer. If you are planning on camping during your trip, know that camping is only possible either in designated campgrounds or backcountry campsites with a valid reservation or permit.

Mammoth Cave National Park // 1 Visitor Center Parkway – Mammoth Cave, KY 42259-0007 // 270-758-2180

Have you been to Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky? What activities and/or tours did you try? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!

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