Every summer I remember riding through Kentucky on the way to my grandparents home in Mississippi and begging to stop at Mammoth Cave. I thought it would be be mysterious and exciting to visit a cave. We never had time to stop. Flash forward 35 years and it’s time to plan an activity for spring break. We didn’t have time to go too far away and it didn’t take long for Mammoth Cave to pop into my head. Just under 4 hours from our home, it would be just right…a day down and a day back. Plus our seven year old son thought it sounded very cool. We checked out a video from our library on Mammoth Cave. After watching it and consulting the park’s site, we decided to take the Frozen Niagra tour. Considered an introductory tour, the Frozen Niagra is one of the most “decorated” areas of the cave. We boarded a bus which took us to the Frozen Niagra entrance which was created in 1924. This entrance isn’t too glamorous. You actually go through a steel door and then through a revolving door. I found that an amusing way to enter a cave. You will have to stoop over at times. I was impressed at how clean the cave was. We did see a couple of tiny bats roosting, a few spider nests and some cave crickets. Our guide did tell us that rats also are found in the cave; however, we did not see any. Thank goodness! She said they generally don’t see them because they do not like the lights. At one point our guide told us she would be turning out the lights. Everyone was fairly quiet and it is darkest I’ve ever experienced. You can go down 98 steps to see the Drapery Room. There our guide offered to take pictures. The Frozen Niagra was the perfect tour for first timers and those with small children. Also, it truly is one of the most “decorated” areas of Mammoth Cave featuring stalactites, stalagmites and many other formations one our guide called “popcorn.” She told us the formations were names based on what they look like. The 1.25 hour tour covers a quarter mile round trip. You can also view the Frozen Niagra area on the New Entrance and Grand Avenue Tours. I recommend purchasing your tickets online as many of the tours were sold out when we arrived. Please note that you can’t carry any bags in the cave including purses and diaper bags. Strollers are not allowed either. For a complete list of items not allowed. Click here.
Historic Entrance
Our guide recommended that we see the historic entrance to the cave to get a feel for what it was like for the earliest explorers of Mammoth Cave. To get there, you must walk down a somewhat steep hill. You can take a self-guided Discovery Tour from here and visit the Rotunda, one of the largest rooms of Mammoth Cave.
Just For Kids
If you have children and a little extra time, be sure to ask about the Junior Ranger program at the Visitor Center Information Desk. Kids receive a Junior Ranger booklet, attend ranger-led activities and choose activities in the booklet to earn “bat points.” Upon completion, they receive their Junior Ranger badge and certificate at the Information Desk. Their names were also announced over the loud speaker and everyone would cheer for them. There is also a kids-only tour called the Trog. Young cavers hike through the forest to the historic entrance and then get to where a hard hat with a headlamp while crawling and belly sliding through rarely visited passages.
Other Tours
Mammoth Cave National Park offers many different tours for many different levels of interest and ability. Starting at 30 minutes and going all the way up to 6.5 hours. The Wild Cave Tour and the Introduction to caving is for serious spelunkers at heart. You can explore the cave like those first flame-lit tours on the Violet City Lantern Tour. For a complete list of tours click here.
Above Ground Activities
There’s lots to do on top. Enjoy hiking on miles and miles of trails. Over 30 miles of the Green and Nolin Rivers wind through the park and offer a wealth of recreational opportunities including fishing and canoeing. Mammoth Cave National Park offers three developed camp grounds.
Lodging
If you’d like to stay in Mammoth Cave National Park, the Mammoth Cave Hotel offers lodging in the Heritage Trail Rooms, the Sunset Terrace Rooms, the Hotel Cottages and the Woodland Cabins.
Food
The Mammoth Cave Hotel operates three restaurants seasonaly including The Crystal Lake Coffee Shop, Travertine Restaurant and TrogloBITES. You can also enjoy a picnic at one of the many picnic areas. There are many dining options outside the park. Note: the counties around Mammoth Cave National Park are “dry” – alcoholic beverages are not available for sale except in Cave City and Elizabethtown, where you may be able to purchase a drink with your meal at certain restaurants. The closest “wet” area is Bowling Green.
Before You Go
Before exploring Mammoth Cave, brush up on your history. Over 10,000 years ago Paleo-Indians hunted animals in the Green River valley near Mammoth Cave. From 4,000 to 2,000 years ago, Late Archaic and Early Woodland Indians explored and mined minerals from Mammoth and other caves. Artifacts left by these earliest explorers including cane reed torches are well preserved. European settlers arrive in the area in the late 1790s. Like the native people before them, they found many uses for Mammoth Cave. The cave served as a saltpeter mine, a key ingredient for gun powder and instrumental to the War of 1812. By the war’s end Mammoth Cave was becoming well known. People started to visit by 1816.
Visit Mammoth Cave’s official site by clicking here.
