Mammoth Cave National Park

We stopped at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky on the first full day of our trip.  Mammoth Caves are currently the largest known cave system in the world with over 350 mapped miles of cave.  Pictured at right is what is known as the natural entrance to the cave.  This was the first entrance discovered to the cave.

We stopped here to break up a day primarily devoted to driving.  This was the first attraction we stopped at and it really helped us feel like we were vacationing.  It was a very nice stop and we really enjoyed what little we saw of the park.  We walked around a short, flat nature trail while waiting to take our tour.  The trail was a nice, leisurely walk with very beautiful scenery.  We signed up for the historic tour, a 2 hour trip through a couple miles of the cave outlining some of the history of the cave.  It was a very interesting tour and not too strenuous, although there were a couple of spots that were kind of narrow and quite a few places where tall people had to duck their heads.  During the Civil War, saltpeter was mined from the cave because it was an important ingredient in gunpowder.  Due the high nitrate levels in the rocks and air, the wood items have remained well preserved from that time and you can see some of the places used for mining the saltpeter. 

The portion of the cave we saw is not a living cave meaning we did not see stalactites nor stalagmites.  There were many cool rock formation though including giants coffin pictured at left.  Much of the cave is limestone and sandstone.

There are all kinds of tours that can be taken of the cave, from easy walking tours to all day get very dirty crawling through tight spots tours.  The website (www.nps.gov/maca/home.htm) has descriptions and costs for each of the tours.  

The park is very large and includes several camping and picnic areas.  There are many trails above ground that can be hiked as well.  There are a wide variety of activities available including boat rides, ranger programs, and exhibits.  

Recommendations

• Mammoth Cave is a beautiful place for a short visit or a longer stay.  There is a lot to see and do if you have the time.
• Know your physical limits before signing up for a cave tour.  Some tours are very strenuous.  Ask a ranger if you are unsure if you should take a trail and he or she can give you good advice on the difficulty of the tour.

Did you know Mammoth cave is longer than the second, third and fourth longest caves added together.

To learn more, visit the official park service web site for Mammoth Cave.