Mammoth Cave National Park

Summer of 2022 we started a vacation heading East for Kentucky. Over to West Virginia, then ending our Journey in Virginia. The world largest known cave, also known as Mammoth Cave National Park, was the first stop on that list for us. The cave has 400 miles of explored cave, with an estimated 600 miles still to be discovered. The cave is home to 3 endangered species including the Kentucky cave shrimp, Indiana bat, and Gray bat.

I am not going to lie, I felt a little underwhelmed before heading out on this trip. Normally we go to beautiful mountain ranges or calming white sand beaches. The idea of going to see some cave in the middle of Kentucky felt like a waste of good vacation days. Even though I thought this would be one of the most boring vacations of my life. I agreed to go to “save money” instead of heading out West to the cooler climate of the higher elevations.

One nice thing was that Kentucky is a border state to us in Illinois. This meant we would be able to get the most “bang for our Buck” on gas and time. Even though I absolutely love driving our Fleetwood Discovery 40x! It was nice to only have a short drive and be able to set up at our site and start enjoying our vacation. If you would like to read our post on the campground we chose to stay at while visiting Mammoth Cave National Park please click here.

Frozen Niagara Cave Tour

Trying to figure out what cave tour to choose from feels somewhat like trying to pick the winning lottery numbers. It’s a little overwhelming, kind of exciting, but best bet is to just follow your gut and hope for a winner. There are so many choices you can make! What makes the big choice even harder is that they all offer a unique view of this cave that you cannot get from another tour.

To help narrow down all the choices the NPS website has a lot of good information about what to expect on the tour. We looked for a tour with minimal steps and no longer than 3-mile walk. That is about the max our kids can handle before having a melt down a few miles underground. With that criteria in mind, we landed on the Frozen Niagara tour. This tour is only an hour and 15 minutes long. There are only 12 steps that are required in order to complete the tour. The tour leaves from the visitor center and has a short bus ride to and from the cave entrance.  It was a perfect choice for our family with small children.

The Frozen Niagara Tour gives you the best view of stalagmites and stalactites that you can get in the Mammoth Cave National Park. That is because this is one of the few areas of the cave that is a “wet” portion. Majority of the cave is considered a dry cave. That is what has allowed the cave to exist for such a long period of time.  Listening to the tour guide discuss the history of the cave was fascinating to me. Learning how the cave has lasted through the years. Learning how it played such an important role in history is worth the tour cost by itself.

Sloane’s Crossing Pond Walk

There is not a lot to do at Mammoth Cave National Park that is above ground. If you have the time and the means, spend as much time as possible inside the cave. That is where all the glory is. If you are like us and would like to take a nice quiet hike with little to no other people, then keep reading.

Sloane’s Crossing Pond Walk is a short .4-mile loop around a marshy pond. It was created by a sink hole above Mammoth Cave. The trail is mainly a boardwalk with nice pond overlooks. This trail was perfect for us to stretch our legs on our way to the visitor center. If you are traveling with kids or have a hard time with long uneven trails. I would highly suggest this trail for you. It was perfect for the kids! By the end of it they where not even ready to get back into the Jeep.

On the trail we spotted some large frogs, butterflies, and dragonflies. It was really neat watching the tadpoles come up and eat from the surface of the water. Many lily pads covered the water allowing for a beautiful eco system flourish.  We did not encounter anybody else while on the loop. It is a very peaceful trail allowing for a lot of beauty without a large amount of effort.

Echo River Spring Trail

Looking for a shaded nature walk? I would suggest the Echo River Spring Trail at Mammoth Cave National Park. This trail is a easy walk with minimal elevation. It is wheelchair accessible and will only take you about 45 minutes to complete. This 1-mile loop will take you to where the underground Echo River raises out of Mammoth Cave and emerges onto the surface. The spring has beautiful color and runs down to the Green River.

The Green River is most defiantly named properly. It was amazing to me the green color of this beautiful river.  Watching the ferry cross over the river and seeing kayakers load and unload into the river was the highlight of this hike. The kids enjoyed the large vines hanging from the tree. They imagined swinging from tree to tree like Tarzan hollering into the wilderness for all to hear.

Along the river and the trail there are plenty of areas to stop and take in the views. They even have plenty of benches along the trail so you can take as many breaks as needed. Or if you are my kids you MUST take a break at every single bench we come across for all of eternity. Honestly though I really don’t mind. Many of the times I am also ready for a break and to take a second to listen to the wilderness instead of my loud out of breath breathing.

Dixon Cave Trail

The Dixon Cave Trail is an easy hike that is only a 1.7-mile loop. It has a slight elevation gain of approximately 300 ft. This loop begins at the visitor’s center. It takes you past the historic entrance to Mammoth Cave and will eventually get you to Dixon Cave. Even though you cannot enter Dixon Cave de to them trying to avoid the spread of white noise syndrome.

The Dixon Cave Trail is partially paved and well maintained. The portion that takes you to the Dixon Cave entrance is gravel. There is a lot of shade on this trail! The closer you get to the cave the cooler air you start to feel. The highlight of this trail for me was the kids hollering down into the trial for the bats to come out and say hi. There is a lot of signs around the trail, sharing information on the bats that call this cave home. Both Killian and Jameson really enjoyed hearing about the different species and looking at all the pictures. Killian was convinced that vampires also live in the cave….so beware.

Mammoth Cave National Park overview

Looking back on our trip to Mammoth Cave National Park I am filled with memories of joy and curiosity in my kids’ eyes. For them going down miles into the earth, watch prehistoric creepy cave crickets and fish without any eyes was a trip of wonder. They had so many questions. They where eager and excited with every drip of water falling on their tiny heads. It was an experience that I feel could not have happened in the same magnitude anywhere else but Mammoth Cave National Park.

I think a lot deserves to be said about the tour guide we had on our tour. The tour can only be as good as the guide makes it! We defiantly had a fun, energetic, happy guide to show us around the cave. His knowledge of the park and cave was clear as he gave us all the history of what we were experiencing. What truly shows his knowledge is when a group of 5-year-old kids are firing off questions. He politely was able to answer all of them without missing a beat. That is not easy to do no matter who you are!

If you are in the area and have a few days to spare. There is no doubt Mammoth Cave National Park is a must stop and see. Make sure to spend as much time as possible underground! That is the only place you will truly find the soul of the park. Even though there are some nice trails above ground. Nothing compares to what lies beneath the surface. If I could do it all again I would book a morning tour and an evening tour every day. That would have made the most out of our time!