Other Resources

Mammoth Cave National Park

Kentucky's Mammoth Cave National Park encompasses portions of the Mammoth Cave-Flint Ridge Cave System which is the longest cave system in the world with over 400 miles of passageways.

Kentucky

2016

About The Park

The word mammoth in Mammoth Cave National Park has nothing to do with the extinct elephant-like creature and all to do with the size of some of the cave’s passageways. Over 400 miles (643km) of passageways have been mapped and new ones continue to be found. The cave-forming action that formed these caves has been going on for over 100 million years and represent nearly every type of cave formation known.

Mammoth Cave is the richest habitat for cave wildlife in the world. Over 130 different species make the cave home. These include eyeless fish, cave spiders, cave salamanders, albino cave shrimp, white crayfish and rare beetles.

These types of creatures are called troglobites and have developed adaptations for surviving in darkness. These include decreased or loss of eyesight, absence of pigmentation, decreased energy consumption, slow metabolism and better food usage efficiency due to the scarcity of it and the difficulty of hunting in total darkness.

Above the caves are 53,000 acres of forest bisected by the Green River. In the northwest corner of the park a tributary of the Green River, the Nolin River, enters the park and connects with the Green River. Both of these rivers are navigable and available for canoeing, kayaking and paddling. The park has 84 miles of trails for hiking, horseback riding and biking through lush forests.

Legend has it that the cave was discovered by European settlers around 1797. Starting around 1838 it became a tourist attraction and various owners profited by giving tours to interested visitors. It eventually became an international sensation and was visited by many famous, and not so famous, people some of whom burned their names and dates onto the cave ceiling that can be seen to this day.

One of Mammoth Cave’s most accomplished explorers was Stephen Bishop who was an enslaved African American and served as one of Mammoth Cave’s first tour guides. Only seventeen when he was brought to the cave, he was intelligent, charismatic and an adventurous young man. He created the first map of the cave and greatly expanded the understanding of it. It was he who found and named many of the formations and also led visitors on tours. He gained his freedom in 1856 but sadly died the next year at age 37. The cause of his death is unknown. He is buried in the “Old Guide’s Cemetery” which is located on the top of a ridge south of the cave entrance.

Of the 400 miles of cave passageways about 10 miles are available for tours. The year-round temperature in the cave is 54° so it certainly can be a welcome respite from the heat of the Kentucky summer that lies above. No flash photography is allowed in the cave which makes taking pictures somewhat more challenging.

On one of the cave tours the guide told an interesting story regarding tour operators conducting tours, in the 1800’s, of caves under land owned by other people. He said the legal battle was fought all the way up to the Supreme Court which established that, if you own the land on the surface, you own everything below it all the way down to the center of the earth. He pointed to a line marked on the cave wall as the old dividing line for land owned by two surface property owners as a result of that decision. I’ve tried hard to confirm this story without any success. The Park Service’s own document, which is no longer available, on A Short Legal History of Mammoth Cave made no mention of it.

My own feeling about Mammoth Cave National Park is that, while it is certainly worthy of being a national park and worth a visit, it is one of my least favorite national parks. The caves were dark and slippery and the formations, at least on the three tours that I took, were few and far between. Compared to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Wind Cave National Park and even Lehman Cave at Great Basin National Park, Mammoth Cave fell short in terms of the amount of the formations the overall beauty of the cave.

The Caves

The main reason for visiting Mammoth Cave National Park is for the caves. It is truly an extensive system spanning a large area and more caves are discovered regularly. The map in the visitor’s center showing the extent of what is currently known shows a system of many levels that extends beyond the boundaries of the park.

Cave Tours

There are a number of different tours of varying lengths available from the National Park Service.

The tours are reasonably priced and, if you have a national parks pass or senior pass, they are half-priced. We made reservations for three of them.

Domes and Dripstones and the Great Onyx

The Domes and Dripstones and the Great Onyx tours had the most impressive stalactite and stalagmite formations.

Gothic Avenue

The Gothic Avenue tour was darker and drearier. It had more the feeling of a dark, dank cave with little in the way of impressive formations to see. Here is where you can see the names of past visitors on the cave ceilings.

These tours were roughly about two hours each. There are tours that take up to about five hours. Most of the popular tours are in foot-lighted areas. There are two tours that require you to carry a paraffin lamp. They also have some ‘wild tours’ that can involve muddy crawls and dusty tunnels.

Wildlife

Mammals include coyote, raccoons, red fox, bobcats, muskrat, flying squirrels, skunks, ground hogs, mink, weasels, rabbits and, of course, a variety of bat species.

There are about 20 species of snakes in the park.

Among the birds are herons, Canada geese, swans and bald eagles.

Lodging

Lodge at Mammoth Cave

The Lodge at Mammoth Cave is located in the park and is the place you want to stay. It’s a motel style structure with modern rooms that have the typical amenities, that one expects these days, at a very reasonable price. It is set on the edge of the forest with easy access to some hiking trails.

Hiking

The park is divided into the front country, which is the area south of the Green River and is where the visitor center and lodge are, and the back country which is the area north of the Green River. Of the park’s 84 miles of trails 65 miles are in the back country. I only hiked the trails in the lodge area which are all on the short side.

River Styx Spring Trail and Heritage Trail

The River Styx Spring Trail was a easy nice walk down to the Green River. When combined with the Heritage Trail it makes for a nice loop hike.

Other Points of Interest

There’s a quaint little ferry, the Green River Ferry, which is about a 2-mile drive from the visitor center area. The Green River bisects the park and the ferry, which holds about 4 cars and has a paddle wheel on each side, is the way across it. The river isn’t much more than 100 feet wide so the crossing is short.

Within 20 to 30 miles you can find the following attractions:

Dinosaur World, Kentucky Down Under Adventure Zoo, Kentucky Action Park and the Mammoth Cave Wildlife Museum.

Mammoth Cave National Park Photo Gallery

Other National Parks Within a Day’s Drive

Great Smoky Mountains National Park America’s most visited National Park lies in Tennessee and North Carolina is 286 miles to the northwest and about a 5 hour drive.

Gateway Arch National Park This monumental arch is 333 miles to the northwest and about a 5.5 hour drive.

New River Gorge National Park Where you can see a steep gorge and a graceful steel arch bridge that rises 876 feet above the river. It is about 380 miles to the east and about a six hour drive.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park Located outside of Cleveland, Ohio is 427 miles away. Cleveland has the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame which I would recommend if you plan to visit Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
*N*P*Z**Z**Z**Z**

Picture of a stalagtite in Mammoth Cave National Park

Sitemap

Picture of a Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep

Updated 02/11/23 7:04 PM

National Parks Zone

Home