Mammoth Cave National Park – Cave City KY

RATING: ♦♦♦

Mammoth Cave is easily accessible, just off I-65 in central Kentucky. Our Thousand Trails campground (Diamond Caverns) was located on the road leading to the national park, so we explored the park a few times during our stay in the area.

You can choose a cave tour according to your needs. There are easy, moderate, and strenuous tours. We took the moderate Domes and Dripstones Tour which was a fine way to get underground and experience the caves, but I’m wondering if one of the other tours might have been more interesting. This one was basically 2 hours of walking in the dark, with a few highlighted areas, but not that much to see. In all fairness, two of the most popular tours were closed for repairs. So our choices were limited.

Maybe we’re just not cave people. You can hike the above-ground trails on your own, or pay for a guided tour where you learn about the topography and plant and animal life. I enjoyed the short Heritage Walk Tour where the ranger told stories of the early Mammoth Cave Estate and the old cemetery.