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Lost River Cave

4.4 (265 reviews)
Closed 9:30 am - 5:30 pm
Updated 2 months ago

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Great spot for birding along the trails
Annette M.

Trails are easy to navigate and somewhat circular but are mostly crushed gravel so hard on the feet if you aren't wearing good shoes. Birds were in abundance although part of the trail has some road noise. You can pay for a guided tour but we did not do it. The butterfly house opens May through October. I enjoyed the walk.

Robert M.

Had a great time on this tour. Interesting historical information and a beautiful cave. Well worth the time when you are in Bowling Green Kentucky.

Cave inside
Cristine Z.

The cave tour was great. I made a reservation early and was led down to where we met our guide. Only recommendation is to bring a jacket or hoodie because it gets pretty chilly in the cave.

Lost Cave
Tina P.

Great tour guide. Interesting caves with a LONG history. They also have a butterfly area and great hiking trails.

Dawn K.

We really enjoyed our visit, our guide was so sweet. The scenery was amazing. They were setting up for a wedding so bonus for us it was gorgeous.

Cassie C.

Fun place to come and see a unique Kentucky Cave! When I was looking up caves to go visit while in the state I thought this one sounded different since you get to go in a boat and see a river inside a cave. The tour was very fun and it was so cool to see and hear about the history of it. It had a lot less walking than I thought and there was no walking inside the cave it was all in the boat. It was a cool experience and now I'm ready to go see more caves next time I'm visiting in the area! Thanks to our tour guide Olivia for a great tour :)

Aswathi C.

Blue hole which is the water body in the start of the cave, is being dyed green today by some leprechauns. Believe it or not, there are parts of the city of Bowling Green under this 7 mile cave. The boat ride is slow but informative. Saw a lone tiny tiny bat inside the river cave. You get to see the tiny stalactites.

Dara W.

This was a cool adventure. The grounds themselves were gorgeous and inviting. We went on the tour which was fun and informative. We started at the meeting point and walked down to the cave area hearing all about the river and history of the cave. Then we got on a boat and traveled into the cave. At one point we all had to duck down low to prevent our heads from hitting the rocks. It was gorgeous in there. We even saw some crawfish in the water. They were prepping for a wedding when we were there, which looked like it was going to be a great time. There was also an area for Halloween festivities on site too. It also had a cute gift shop area. Definitely check it out.

We had a great time at Lost River Cave and definitely give it 5 stars! The price was very reasonable -- just $24.99 for an adult ticket -- and well worth it for the experience. The tour starts with a 15-20 minute walk to the cave entrance, guided by someone who shared interesting local history and fun facts along the way. Then we boarded a boat and went into the cave itself, which was such a cool and unique experience! The guide continued sharing stories and history during the ride, making it both fun and educational. After the cave tour, we explored the trails, visited the butterfly garden, and saw three of the natural blue holes on the property -- all beautiful and peaceful spots. We ended our visit at the gift shop, which had a great selection and surprisingly reasonable prices. This was such a fun and different stop -- perfect for all ages. Highly recommend if you're in the Bowling Green area! Thankfully, we had purchased our tickets in advance. There was a man at the counter asking for same day, walk-up tickets and they were out, so I do highly recommend purchasing your tickets before arriving and arriving at least 30 minutes before so that you can check in and walk down to the area for the tour to begin.

This gorgeous mural is painted on a shed right outside the gift shop!
Cheryl C.

Our tour guide Olivia was amazing and very educated on the history of the cave, not to mention quite knowledgeable on how caves are formed and the wildlife therein. She threw in just the right amount of snark and we loved it!! She has a terrific sense of humor. The cave itself was simply beautiful. My husband has a tv show called History Highway and did a Jesse James Lost River Cave episode (S1 Ep 6) two years ago, so he already knew some about the cave, but learned a lot more! Saw the Venmo tip board...it made me feel so guilty that I didn't have enough to tip her bc if I did, I would've. Spent most of my money eating out for our anniversary!! We absolutely ADORED the gift shop! Sorry Olivia, we'll be back hopefully next year because I'd def wanna revisit the gift shop since they have so many unique gifts. There's tons to do in BGKY, so go here if you wanna get away from the hustle & bustle!

The Mammoth cave was closed due to the government shutdown, so we were looking for options and found the Lost River Cave boat tour. We were in a RV, and happy that they had ample parking for us. The tour operator did a great job, and the boat tour was fantastic. I was glad the Lost River Cave was open, and happy we went there.

Lost River
MaryAnn B.

Fun trip in an underground large military issue John boat. Amazing rock formations. Tour guides informed and fine boat drivers in tight spaces. A "don't miss" in Bowling Green Ky.

Entrance, clean and beautiful
Erfan Z.

This place rocks! ;D If you're interested in learning about cave formations, take the Lost River Cave tour. Booking was easy, and the tour guide was enthusiastic and loved her job! The clean and beautiful Lost River area is curated and taken care of by funds from the Friends of the Lost River. According to the tour guide, at one point the place was used as a trash dump, and 50 tons of trash has to be removed over a decade, with 1000s of volunteer hours. It's truly beautiful what natural formation exists in Kentucky, and we should honor our beautiful Earth by keeping it clean. Shoutout to Kentuckians, my experience was all positive. Check out their store too for rocks and other cool novelties.

I zoomed all the way in to capture "cave kitty."

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2 months ago

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9 days ago

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5 months ago

Great cave tour Olivia was hot and great tour lots of interesting facts.Not a very long walk.

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10 months ago

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1 month ago

excellent! wonderful! from the "blue hole" to the boat to the head-ducking to the beautiful cave all was great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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7 months ago

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1 year ago

Fun adventure with friendly staff. Pretty scenery and trails. Gift shop interesting. Worth going.

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10 months ago

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10 months ago

It's well worth the trip! The cave was awesome! We went on a Monday and the crowds we low!

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3 years ago

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11 months ago

Olivia was a great guide and this is a wonderful experience! You should see the old underground "night club" from the 30's!

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Ask the Community - Lost River Cave

A few questions.... is this a stroller friendly trail? is there a age limit on the boat tour?

Yes. It's paved to the boats. Don't believe there is an age limit.

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Review Highlights - Lost River Cave

There are many activities to do even beyond the cave boat tour which is outstanding!

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Apache Bbq Boats

Apache Bbq Boats

(2 reviews)

If you're looking for a fun and unique experience in the Nashville area, this is certainly it. I…read morebooked this for my birthday and my friends and I had an absolute blast grilling and hanging out on the water. Zied, the host, is super accommodating and packed a delicious cooler of food to grill which also included waters and sparkling sodas. The food was delicious and the chicken, steak and shrimps were marinated to perfection. He was a quick call away when we needed anything be it more waters, ice or charcoal for the grill. He even gave us a speaker which was awesome because I forgot mine. This was such a fun addition to my birthday weekend and my out of town friends cannot stop talking about how much fun we had, so much so that I know I'll be booking this again at some point, even if it's just for myself. There are plenty of things to do in this town but this is definitely something I would consider to be a must do if you come to Nashville. It's a quick drive from the downtown area and a fun way to build lasting memories. Not only is the boat itself so much fun but the customer service is top tier, making it unforgettable and worth every penny. Some things to note, the boat has plenty of space but because of its shape, I would suggest leaving bags in the car you might not need. Apple Maps took us to a funny spot but to find the right dock, you enter on the campsite side. If you don't see the orange boats you're probably on the other side. We also opted for the hookah option which was a fun addition! Our host gave us several options for flavors which was kind.

I don't leave reviews ever but I'll be doing a disservice to the community if I didn't for this…read moreexperience!!! We were a party of 6, including a kid and a senior. We all had a blast! Honestly this is a great family summer activity regardless of age, fitness level, or boating skill level. They set it all up including food, soda, a cooler, life jackets, plates, utensils. You just show up, ready for lots of fun on the river. Some of us jumped into the river and swam while others enjoyed staying on the floating boat, eating fresh-off-the-grill chicken, steak, veggies, and shrimp. The food was so good that my father-in-law (very picky eater) said it was the best chicken/steak. There's something special and calming about cooking on the boat while being on the beautiful river. After almost a week, we are still talking about how fun that was. This will for sure be our go-to activity when we have visitors out of town. Thank you taking such a good care of us. We will be back soon :))))

Lost River Cave - boattours - Updated May 2026

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