Length of stay: 1 day
Visited: November 2021
Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is the longest known underground cave system in the world and contains more than 640 km (or 400 miles) of explored passageways. It was designated a national park in 1941 to better preserve and protect the cave system and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mammoth Cave National Park features a variety of tours to learn about the history of the cave and explore the natural beauty underground.
After spending the last two days in Nashville, we continued our drive back north towards Ontario. Along the way we stopped at Mammoth Cave. While the park was on a reduced operating schedule for the late fall, since we were visiting over the American Thanksgiving long weekend, there were more options available than usual.
We signed up in advance for the Grand Avenue Tour, which is the longest walking tour that the park offered at the time we were visiting. The tour is four hours in duration, covers 6.4km (or 4 miles) in distance and contains 1,313 stairs. It also includes the entire Frozen Niagara Tour route and all of the Domes and Dripstones Tour, with the exception of the steps down to an alternative cave entrance.
After checking in at the Visitor Centre in advance of our tour, we waited outside by Shelter B where a bus would bring us to the entrance of the cave. But before climbing aboard, our guide gave us a brief overview of the tour and what to expect in terms of the terrain. We then hopped on the green bus and were shuttled to the entrance, which was rather unassuming.
The cave tour involved walking through tubular passageways deep within the limestone and included passing by and through slot canyons, tall canyons and tunnels. Along the way our guide made multiple stops to provide more history and geology of Mammoth Cave, including how and when some of the passageways were discovered and about the various cave formations.
The cave was initially discovered over 4,000 years ago by Native Americans who explored 10 or more miles of passageways. The cave was then rediscovered in the late 1790s and since then there’s been guided tours of various passageways in the cave. Over the years, there’s been attempts to continue mapping out the cave system and discovering new passageways.
Ownership of the cave has also been subject of debate and prior to it being designated a national park, there were competing cave tours from different tunnels and entryways. It wasn’t until 1972 when a famous connection occurred between two cave systems that established Mammoth Cave as the longest known cave in the world.
The passageways that we walked though were wide and well-defined. There were also a lot of metal steps and railings for support. Along the way there were a few benches at some of the points of interest where our guide stopped to provide more fun facts about the cave. There were also two washrooms and water fountains. For those that overestimate their abilities, there’s even an escape exit around the 1 mile marker of the tour at the first set of washrooms. The elevator was broken when we visited, which meant that once you started the tour, you had to finish or turn around.
The temperature within the cave is around 12°C (or 54°F) year-round, which was quite comfortable with all the walking and stair climbing involved. Masks were required, but became challenging to wear with glasses, especially since they kept fogging up during the uphills.
Near the end of our tour, the path overlaps with the Frozen Niagara section, which is one of most popular tours at Mammoth Cave as it contains a lot of elaborate cave formations, including a formation that looks like a waterfall and huge open domes.
We exited through a different access point and our bus was waiting to shuttle us back to the Visitor Centre. We wrapped up just before 2p.m. While there are other cave tours and hiking trails within the park, we had other plans. We still had to get a COVID test in order to cross the border back into Canada. We’ll get the results back within 24 hours, they said. And so we drove to Ohio where we planned to spend our final night of our road trip.
L
This place is amazing. Did you ever feel claustrophobic?
The cave formations underground are pretty awesome. The passageways were quite wide and we didn’t have to squeeze through any tight spaces, so I never felt claustrophobic. Plus the path had lighting throughout. In terms of cave tours, this one was pretty tame, just really long.
These are some of the best pics I have seen of Mammoth Cave. Well done! 😊👏
You are too kind. My strategy was to stay towards the head of the group so I could take pictures without having to worry about having other people getting in my frame.
Good thinking. It could not have been an easy task to get such nice shots in caves. Are they lit or do they allow you to use flash?
The passageways had lighting throughout, which helped immensely when taking pictures. The biggest challenge was being able to take pictures while walking because I didn’t want to be that person that holds up the group.
That is quite a challenge! 😊
Many of my pictures didn’t out because of that, but a few of them did. All you need is a few good ones sometimes.
Your Mammoth Cave pictures are really wonderful. We toured Mammoth Caves in 2016. It’s fun to look through our photos, after reading your adventure. 😊
When we visited, there was a terrible bat disease spreading around the country. We had to go through a special procedure of wiping our shoes on a long ‘disinfecting mat’ before entering and leaving the cave, so as not to spread the disease. Did they still have this procedure in place? I haven’t heard any more about the bat disease, if it’s ended… Did they mention it on your tour?
Thanks for your lovely comment. I’m glad this brought back fond memories of when you visited Mammoth Cave a few years ago. We had to walk on a disinfecting mat as well before we entered and then left the cave. Our guide mentioned white-nose syndrome, but didn’t go into much detail in terms of its impact on the cave.
What an amazing experience, Linda. Those pictures look so stunning!
Did you feel claustrophobic inside? I can imagine feeling hot and humid.
I’ve never been to Kentucky before and now here’s a reason why. My in laws always drive by en route to Florida so I’ll flag this to them for next time.
Did you have any KFC fried chicken? 😆
Thanks for your kind words. Who knew that the underground could be so pretty!? The passageways were quite wide and we didn’t have to slither, squeeze or crawl through any tight spaces, so I never felt claustrophobic. There’s a lot of ups and downs, but most of the path is paved, so the terrain wasn’t too bad. You should definitely check out Mammoth Cave if you’re ever in the area. I’d be curious to hear about T’s experience underground.
We didn’t have KFC when in Kentucky. I think K needed a break from eating too much fried chicken when we were in Tennessee!
It looks like such an intriguing underground world down there✨
It’s pretty amazing just how beautiful it can be underground with all those interesting cave formations. It was quite the sight and I’m glad the cave had pretty decent lighting.
Amazing cave photos and inspiring photography 🌷🙏👍🏻 thank you for so clearly explained to read 👏
Thanks for your kind words. It was neat being underground and finding beauty in the dark. It was such a fun experience.
What an awesome opportunity and tour. SO glad you got to tour the caves and that you shared it with us Linda. Have a great weekend. Allan
I am fascinating with caves and exploring underground (when it’s not wet or muddy that is). It’s incredible how long some of the cave formations take to grow. It was a fun tour, which in some ways also felt like a hike with how much distance we covered. Enjoy the rest of your weekend as well. It’s feeling like summer here in Ontario.
It looks so amazing and beautiful down there, thanks for the tour! ❤️
Who knew that the underground could be so pretty!? I am obsessed with all the various cave formations and it’s incredible how long they take to form. It was a fun change of scenery.
Awesome! When we visited we did the Domes and Dripstones tour. You got to see so much more.
The Grand Avenue Tour was a great option to maximize our time underground and it was convenient that it overlapped with a couple of the other tours. Mammoth Cave offers a wild caving tour, which sounds amazing, but unfortunately it wasn’t offered when we were visiting.
Ooooh is that the all day spelunking tour? I’ve always wanted to do one of those too!
It wasn’t, but it was the next best thing when we were visiting in the off-season. If the wild caving tour was available, I would have totally signed up for it.
What a vast cave network Linda. Your photos are really good as often my underground shots don’t come out as well as I had hoped. How far is Tennessee from Ontario Linda? It must have been quite a lengthy but enjoyable road trip!
Thanks for your kind words. It helped that the passageways underground had pretty decent lighting. Nashville, Tennessee is about an 11 hour drive from where we live in Ontario. We certainly did a lot of driving over our ten day road trip. In retrospect I’m glad we went back in November as the price of gas would have made the trip twice as expensive if we were to go now.
That was a long journey but definitely worthwhile Linda ! Petrol prices have soared everywhere which isn’t good but we still need to get around don’t we!
For sure. It was definitely worth the drive. Unfortunately it seems like high fuel prices are here to stay. We have a couple of road trips planned for this summer, but thankfully not as far as the one we went on in the fall to the United States.
How fascinating! Such an interesting place to visit. Great photos of the caves too…the ones of the stairs really show how far down you are going.
Being underground was an interesting change of scenery. It was neat to see all the beautiful cave formations. We sure got our steps in that day as we covered a lot of ground and stairs!
You have my respect for seeing a cave with a mask on! I absolutely love caves and I’m glad this one was a comfortalbe temperature for you
I’d say wearing the mask was easily the hardest part of the tour! I’m glad I had an extra one as I ended up changing it mid-way through because it got way too damp and disgusting. Temperature wise the cave was pretty comfortable, but we ended up working up quite a sweat with having to climb up all those stairs.
Wow it’s so interesting – Frozen Niagara in particular is so striking.
The cave formations in the Frozen Niagara section were very impressive. It was a great way to end the tour. They were clearly saving the best for last.
Mammoth Cave looks amazing! Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos and travel information!
Thanks for your lovely comment. I’m glad we signed up for the longest cave tour that was offered. It’s pretty incredible to see what it looks and feels like underground. I would never want to be stuck here in the dark though!
Awesome!!! I love a good cave. That’s a LONG time to be underground. Good for you for going for the longest tour. I love that this place is preserved. After visiting some massive caves in Slovenia, if this one is the biggest, I cannot really fathom its size. Again, what an amazing trip you had.
It was nice to shake things up and spend time underground while still getting our steps in. The cave tour was pretty tame. There were a lot of stairs, but the path was smooth and we didn’t have to crawl or squeeze through any tight spaces. Mammoth Cave also offers a wild caving tour in the summer, which sounds like it would be an awesome way to explore more of the cave and navigate through some rugged terrain.
Caves are always so mysterious; they’re like entering inner earth. Fantastic photos; thanks for sharing them.
I know! It’s a whole different world down there! It’s pretty amazing just how long some of these cave formations take to grow.
Great pictures! Love the frozen Niagara section. I would have thought the longest cave would be in Vietnam.
Thanks! The cave had pretty decent lighting, which made it easier to take pictures. The real obstacle was timing and trying not to get random people from the tour in my shots. The Frozen Niagara section was beautiful. They were saving the best for last on the tour. So apparently Mammoth Cave is the longest cave, but the largest cave is in Vietnam.
Nice post. My wife and son visited the caves after I few home one year.
Thanks for your lovely comment. It’s amazing how there is so much beauty underground. It’s like a whole different world down there.
My brother in law works at Carlsbad Caverns so I had the opportunity to do some private exploring with him.
What a neat place to work. That must have been such a cool experience to have your own private guide. Carlsbad Caverns is high on my list of caves to visit.
I’m so glad you saw Mammoth cave!! Its such a neat place
Right!? Who would have thought that it could be so beautiful underground with all those interesting cave formations. Thankfully it wasn’t very muddy or wet. The path was paved for most of the way and relatively smooth. We also didn’t have to squeeze through any tight spaces.
My parents are from nearby Bowling Green, KY. They went to Mammoth Cave for their honeymoon back in 1964!! Evidently there used to be a big swanky hotel there!! We had a family gathering there in 2000 and had a great time! So glad you enjoyed it!
Oh wow. What an adventurous place to visit for a honeymoon. I wonder why they got rid of the fancy hotel.
I’m gonna ask my folks…..
I’m intrigued. I tried searching around on the internet, but it kept taking me to sites for hotels close to Mammoth Cave. Not helpful!
So cool! This is definitely on my list now 😀
I’m such a fan of cave tours. It’s a whole different world underground. I would highly recommend a visit to Mammoth Cave whenever you’re in the area.
Same here, and I seriously appreciate the recommendation 😀
Anytime 🙂
Linda, your photographs are amazing. It’s not likely I will ever get to visit there myself so I greatly appreciate you taking me on this virtual tour. Thank you!!!
Thanks for your lovely comment. There was lighting in the cave, which made it much easier to take pictures. It was neat to see all the different cave formations. It was a bit of a lengthy tour, but it helped that we took breaks along the way.
It must have been an amazing experience! Thank you for sharing it.
That it was. It’s a whole different world down underground.
I would never have known that the longest underground cave system is in Kentucky. Some dramatic views here, which remind me a little of Paradise Cave in Vietnam. Appreciated the history and great photographs, especially of the Frozen Niagara section.
I didn’t know that either. Mammoth Cave is the longest cave in the world, but it’s not the largest. It was an interesting tour and a great way to learn more about the geology and formations found underground. The Frozen Niagara section was very impressive. They were saving the best for last on the tour.
Amazing. I’ve heard of Mammoth Cave NP but had no idea what it really was. Interesting and beautiful. I hate for you to go back home since I’ve been enjoying your trip so much. 🙂
It’s pretty amazing how beautiful it can be underground with all those interesting cave formations. It was a great tour that in some ways felt like a hike given how much distance we covered. It’s always tough to return home when you’re having a great time on vacation.
Cave walks like that are so fascinating, we’ve done several (including one which I think Americans call spelunking) and they’ve all been great. However I also suffer the fogged-up glasses thing with a mask and it’s incredibly irritating!
I am fascinated with caves and I like that there’s a wide range of options, with more adventurous elements like spelunking. This cave tour was pretty easy going as the path was smooth, there were just a lot of walking and steps to climb. The foggy glasses was a real pain. I have never been so happy to take off my mask after the tour.
Yes, in all the weeks out here in Egypt & Tunisia we only had to wear a mask on aeroplanes, everywhere else there’s no such rule. It’s going to be a pain when we have to wear one again!
No kidding. We flew out west to Vancouver over Easter and got a glimpse into what life was like without having to wear masks everywhere. It was kind of nice and felt “normal” again. In Ontario we still have to wear masks when riding transit and in certain high risk settings like a long-term care home, but a lot of people are still wearing them in grocery stores or other places.
It’s an amazing place, and your photographs are amazing! I was there years ago and took the archaeology/First NAtions tour which was very interesting. We videotaped much of it and then my video camera was stolen so I have no proof of ever being there. Time to go back for another visit 🙂 Thanks for taking me back!
Thanks! I am fascinated with caves and usually look up whether there are any cave tours nearby whenever we travel. That sounds like a pretty neat tour that you took, but that’s awful that your video camera was stolen. And yes, I guess this means you’ll just need to go back someday!
I love cave walks – the history is always fascinating! This one reminds me very much of the cave visit we have done last year here in South Africa (Cango Caves) … thanks for showing us around, it was a great walk!
Me too! Who knew that the underground could be so beautiful!? I’ll have to add Cango Caves to the list for when we visit South Africa. Our travel bucket list just keeps growing.
Oh yes, definitely add this to your list if you love caves … they say the Cango Caves are about 20 million years old – definitely worth a visit!
That’s incredible! I just looked up some images of Cango Caves and all I can say is WOW.
I am glad to see you had a chance to visit Mammoth Cave National Park as it is such a fascinating place to explore. Many people tend to think of caves as dark, creepy places full of bats, but they are actually really interesting! Thanks for sharing and have a lovely day 🙂 Aiva xx
I know. It’s pretty incredible how beautiful it can look underground. While the cave tour we went on was lengthy, the path was smooth, mostly dry and wasn’t very challenging. We didn’t see any bats or bugs, and the passageways were pretty wide. It’s not like we had to crawl around in the mud or squeeze in tight spaces. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment. Take care. Linda
Beautiful pics and trip underground, Linda. Reminded me of our trips in Carlsbad Caverns NP in New Mexico. That cave system seemed huge after 3 hours of walking so I can’t imagine how huge Mammoth Cave NP is…for curiosity sakes, I’ll have to look both up to compare! Cheryl
Thanks for your lovely comment. It’s amazing how being underground can be so much fun. I haven’t been to Carlsbad Caverns yet, but it’s high up there on my list of caves to explore.
This looks amazing !! This is something Matt and I would really enjoy. We go on three mile walks for the heck of it all the time haha 🤣😆 so a four mile hike with 54 degrees and stairs sounds nice. I’m glad you had comfortable temperatures in the cave. I know you said some entrances were tubular. Were any of the entrances claustrophobia inducing ? I am very claustrophobic, situation depending haha 😆 I really enjoyed the photos and all the details you out into this piece and all your others. All has been well on my end and I appreciate you commenting and asking on my site. You’re a great friend, Linda 🙂
Aww thanks, you are too kind. The tour that we took in Mammoth Cave was lengthy, but the passageways were all wide and there was decent lighting throughout. We didn’t have to squeeze in any tight spaces. I never felt claustrophobic. Mammoth Cave offers a whole variety of tours, so there’s a lot to pick and choose from depending on what you want to see and how long you want to spend underground. It was very neat and an adventurous way for us to spend the day.
It for sure seems like a great way to spend any day ☺️ 🙂 I’m glad that there were no tight spaces. Tight spaces scare me speechless. I watched some videos of people who hiked ice caverns and got stuck in tiny spaces. It’s so terrifying. I’m glad that these are guided tours and safe. You are giving me great summer ideas 💡
It was nice to shake things up and explore underground. We’ve done a few cave tours before with more adventurous elements, which was incredible, but also incredibly terrifying. We’ve always gone with a guide though. I would hate to get stuck in a tight space too, especially in the dark!
In the dark would be terrifying. I would probably pass out. I don’t think I could handle that. It’s good that you only go with guides. That’s the way I would do it, too. The last time I went on a cave your was when I was around 8 or 6 years old. It was awesome. I think it was in Tennessee.
I sometimes get nervous on cave tours when we all turn our lights off just to “see” how dark it is. It’s good to get out of my comfort zone sometimes though, which is one of the reasons why I love travelling so much.
I know what you mean. It helps to try something that makes you nervous sometimes. I did rock climbing once and that was an experience I won’t soon forget haha. It was the wall climbing one. It’s fun but I really enjoy actual rock climbing better. It’s scarier but it’s more enjoyable, too 🙂
Rock climbing is something that I’d like to try someday. It seems terrifying, but it’s always good to push outside our boundaries sometimes. I’m not surprised that you enjoy rock climbing outdoors better than the indoor wall climbing one. It’s always nicer to be surrounded by nature.
Right ?! 🙂 It’s so true. The place that we rock climb.is canyon Vista in World’s End State Park
It sounds like the climbing is amazing just based on the name of that state park!
Yes! They’re not too high or anything but it’s just the feel of the cold stone under my hands and the giddy feeling in my stomach . It’s a rush that can’t be beat 🙂 and it’s a family memory and tradition we try to keep every year
I used to go camping with my sisters every year, but we haven’t gone in the last few years because it got too complicated with the kids and then there was the pandemic. It’s nice that you continue to carry on this family tradition.
Thank you . We don’t camp but we still visit there and spend the day 🙂 . I wish we could still camp but like your family we can’t with all of our work schedules and things. It’s so hard. But you’re right, I’m glad we could keep the tradition alive ☺️