Mammoth Cave is Kentucky’s one national park, located in the south-central region of the state. This park is most famous for Goliath cave that gives the park its name: Mammoth Cave. I’ve visited the park twice now, and I wanted to share some of the important things to know before visiting Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky.
Mammoth Cave is Longest Known Cave System in the World
Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system with over 400 miles of explored passages. This is a massive system and it’s really amazing to know that this crazy labyrinth of tunnels dwells just below the ground there. Plus, you can explore some of these miles yourself! It’s also crazy to think that there’s potentially just so much more down there that hasn’t been discovered.
There Isn’t an Entrance Free to Enter the National Park…
Many of the National Parks in the US have an entrance fee that you pay upon entering the National Park. Mammoth Cave doesn’t have this. You can hike or bike the trails, walk down a set of stairs to the Historical Cave Entrance, learn in the visitor center and even get on the river without paying anything.
…But There Are Fees to Tour the Cave
To enter the cave in any capacity, you have to purchase a tour ticket. There are many different tours to choose from ranging in difficulty, time, and even subject matter. I’ve personally done the Frozen Niagara and Domes and Dripstones tours. A little more on that in a bit. Descriptions of each are available on the Mammoth Cave National Park website and rangers can offer more information at the visitor center if you have more specific questions.
The Cave Tour Fees Aren’t Covered by an Annual National Park Pass
I’m a huge advocate for the annual America the Beautiful National Park Pass if you’re a person who frequents NPS sites throughout the year. But know, that only covers entrance fees. So, even with your national park pass, you still have to pay the fees for cave tours. Note that children under 5 are free, though!
Mammoth Cave is a Dry Cave
Okay, so this is the kinda disappointing part about Mammoth Cave. Even though it has a lot of really interesting history (the next tour I do will be the History Tour) it is not a super stunning cave. It’s so interesting, but there aren’t a ton of stalactites and stalagmites throughout this cave. The highest concentration of these can be found on the Frozen Niagara Tour, which is also a relatively short tour. The Domes and Dripstones was cool, though. To be honest, our guide was not very good, which took away from our experience on this tour, but we still got to experience something new and I feel like this tour gave a really nice perspective on the vastness of the cave. I wish I had more pictures, but I was literally carrying Liam for half of the tour. Just set your expectations that you won’t be seeing a wonderland of cave formations.
Know What You Can and Can’t Bring Into Mammoth Cave
This feels especially important if you have little ones. Obviously, some things are important for leave no trace practices like only having water to drink and no food in the cave. But the thing that surprised me was no backpack carriers for kiddos. I had initially been banking on carrying Liam in my Deuter Kid Comfort, which, would’ve been a whole lot easier, but now I get it. There are sections of the caves that are really low and sections that are really tight to squeeze through. But I would’ve hated to have shown up with him in a Deuter only to have to take it off and carry it back to the car. It’s not a super long list, so check it out before your tour.
There Are Hiking Trails Here, But Most Are Back Country Trails
My first visit here was on a frigid January day, so I hadn’t really looked at trails, and when we decided on Mammoth Cave we really didn’t do a ton of research on specific trails, we just saw that there were more than 80 miles of trails here. The ones that weren’t back country were, well, just okay. Maybe okay isn’t fair, the trails were mostly forested and that was beautiful, but there was only one spot that made us say wow. It just didn’t feel like your typical national-park-level of beauty.
This Park is One You Can Visit All Year Long
Because the main attraction of this park is absolutely Mammoth Cave, this is a park that you can easily visit year-round. The cave itself hovers around 54 degrees Fahrenheit so it is just temperate all year long. You might have a hot or cold bus ride to the cave, but the tour is sure to be memorable regardless of the month you visit.
If You Visit, a Trip in the Cave is a Must – Not a Drive-Through Park
Some parks you can have a beautiful trip without stepping foot out of your car. While this isn’t what we personally recommend in any park, we know there are different styles of experiencing nature and not everyone can get out on the trails, so we like to let people know when a park is easy to enjoy via car. To be honest, if you can’t go into the cave, I don’t think I would consider this worth going out of your way for.
You Can Pre-Buy Tickets
If you know ahead of time that you’re going to be visiting Mammoth Cave National Park, I would highly recommend that getting your tickets ahead of time, just to make sure that you’re able to do this. You can buy your tickets online at Recreation.gov ahead of time. However, we went the night before to the visitor center to purchase our ticket for the next morning and it allowed us to get the tour we wanted at the time we wanted.
To Be Honest, It’s Not My Favorite National Park
Let me preface this by saying, I have zero regrets about visiting Mammoth Cave, or even returning to it, but it doesn’t rank among my favorite national parks. Irony of ironies, just after visiting this park, the Mammoth Cave National Park Facebook page made a hilariously, snarky facebook post that I actually found to be pretty spot on. Haha
Do You Love Documenting Your National Park Adventures?
I authored this National Park Journal that is perfect for planning your trip and preserving you memories. It’s got fun facts, tips, space to journal and even put stickers, stamps or drawings! This is the perfect way to document adventures in our 63 national parks and supports me personally!
I hope that this post helps you plan your trip to Mammoth Cave, gives you an honest perspective and allows you to have reasonable expectations going into your trip to Mammoth Cave National Park.
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