Your Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky Vacation
Our national parks are an important and valuable American treasure!
It's a hot summer day in South Central Kentucky, but as our family approaches the entrance to Mammoth Cave the cool air envelopes us. Even before we descend the entrance stairs to the historic areas of the cave, we begin to relax and enjoy the change in temperature.
Visiting MammothCave is an adventure that families from all over the Midwest can easily enjoy. Mammoth Cave National Park is located about 90 miles from both Louisville, Kentucky and Nashville, Tennessee. Mammoth Cave is believed to be one of the longest known caves in the world, with over 367 miles of cave passageways. Mammoth Cave National Park, established in 1941, is a World Heritage Site.
During the summer, Park Rangers lead cave tours that are available from about 8:45 in the morning until around 4:45 in the afternoon. Tours range from the easy Mammoth Passage Tour and Frozen Niagra Tour, which each last a little over an hour, to the strenuous Grand Avenue Tour which lasts over 4 hours and requires you to ascend or descent 670 stairs. There are a number of tours which take two to three hours and are considered moderate in difficulty. Tour prices range from as little as $5.00 a person ($3.50 for children) to as much as $48.00 a person for the Wild Cave Tour. The Wild Cave Tour is a very strenuous tour that takes 6 1/2 hours and is available only to thin, adventurous people!
For a fun, casual cave experience, there is a self-guided tour in which you can visit the Rotunda, one of the largest rooms in the cave, and see some of the artifacts left behind by early American Indians, as well as the remains of a 19th Century saltpeter mining operation. During the self-guided tour, there are Park Rangers stationed in the main rooms, and they are wonderful about answering your questions. During our tour, one of the Rangers used his flashlight to point out a few bats when my grandson asked about them. He also answered our grandchildren's questions about the Indians who visited the cave, and the miners who extracted saltpeter for use in the manufacture of gunpowder during the War of 1812. The mining operation remains exactly as they left it, nearly 200 years ago.
If you are new to visiting our National Park System, be sure to ask about the Junior Ranger Program when you visit the information desk in the Visitor's Center. This free program is available to all the children in your group. The Ranger will provide your child with a booklet that contains a different activitiy on each page. The activities range from short questions to answer, pictures to draw, word searches, simple crossword puzzles, etc. When your child has completed some of the pages (requirements vary, depending on the child's age), they can show their booklet to the Information Desk Ranger and receive a plastic Junior Ranger Pin as their reward. This is a wonderful way to keep your children busy while they are waiting for the tour, and the activities are all very educational, as well!
Mammoth Cave is an excellent way to break up a cross-country trip, or a wonderful place to visit by itself. The National Park and the surrounding community also provide other attractions, such as a dinosaur park, miniature golf, and camping, to keep your family busy during their stay! There are also a number of motels and restaurants in the area.
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photo courtesy of photoxpress.com
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Comments
Mammoth Cave sounds like a nice place to visit. Also, not reallt that far from Georgia. Going to look into it more, thanks
Love this article. I've known about the National Park but never the details which you outlined so well. Isn't it great that the Rangers are so hands-on? The Junior Ranger Pin is a really cute idea. Thanks!
Wonderfully detailed trip to another great National Park, Mammouth. My uncle used to live in Ky. and I liked it a lot when I was there. Of course I loved my Uncle Earl very much.
I have been to Mammoth Cave many times and it is a truly magnificent place. Kentucky is full of many great historic caves, but Mammoth is the granddaddy of them all!!
There are three campgrounds at Mammoth Cave National Park. Headquarters Campground (located near the Visitor’s Center), Houchin’s Ferry Campground, and Maple Springs Campground. If you come during the off- season (December, January, or February), only the Houchin’s Ferry campground will be open. The other two are open only from March through November.
http://www.nomadictraveler.net/mammoth-caves.html
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