Awesome things to see here, you'll need a few days. The Rangers/tour guides I've met are all great, and the tours show you a lot. As an aside--I find it funny that they put a pair of restrooms down there, partway through one of the tours. I was not expecting that! (Not all tours have that, though, so be prepared.) read more

Who doesn't love a national park cave!? It's crazy as you wander thru here and they state they have mapped out 400+ miles of pathways. I thought it was closer to freeway but you soon realize it's a bit of a trek. Plenty of parking. You can purchase the tour tickets on site or online. Facilities are nice but a good majority(if not all of them?) of the interactive museum features were 'not functioning' so just wander and read all the details and stories posted along the walls. It's crazy that the place was a tourist attraction way back in the day. You'd have to plan for being on the roads for probably days to get here. Tour was cool. Very pretty. Out ranger was super personable and seemed to love his job so that's nice. Glad we decided to drop by and check it out on our way back from Chattanooga. read more

Mammoth Cave National Park - Our guide telling us about the days where you could scribe your name on the walls of caves. Nice fella! - Parks Near Me - Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

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Huge cave, very impressive. The "historic tour" is a fun and easy way to face your claustrophobia and other spelunking-related fears. read more

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What an amazing experience. The Domes and Dripstones tour was 2 hours long and explained how the caves were formed, along with history of the area and the geology around it. Dave was funny and informative and took time to answer all questions. It ends with an area full of stalactites and stalagmites. The other cool part, is that they allow you to take pictures! read more

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Longest cave system in the world [Mammoth Cave KY] There are over 400 miles of explored caverns and passages offering both guided as well as self-guided tours. They range from 30 minutes to five hours. We grabbed a map at the Visitors Center with names of the different tours listed on the back of the page. Touring the cave is the main attraction so take your pick from 15 different tours. It was a bit overwhelming trying to choose from such a long list. The tours are seasonal and not necessarily offered year-round. Since we were on a tight schedule we chose to do the Discovery Self-Guided Tour. This is a 30-min tour with a total stairs of 160 steps and is offered during the busy summer months for visitors who just want a quick visit to Mammoth Cave. It advisable to dress in layers. While it was a sunny 79° at the park, inside the caves is a constant 54°F year-round. Brrr! Bats dwell inside of the cave but a disease called White-Nose Syndrome has drastically reduced their numbers. At the end of the tour, we had to walk across medicated mats to help avoid the spread of this disease (this disease does not affect humans). Review #3918 read more

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For many, the mighty Bluegrass State conjures ribbons of pastureland speckled with herds of grazing thoroughbreds and savoring a proper mint julep with Derby hats (optional). However, Kentucky is also home to such an incredible collection of caves thanks to its particular karst topography--rich in porous limestone. Located about a 30-minute drive from Bowling Green, Mammoth Cave boasts over 412 miles of mapped caverns to date, making it the world's longest known cave system, and the park estimates another 600 miles may still be waiting to be discovered. My partner, his family, and I were lucky enough to descend into the earth via the Historic Entrance and discover the rare beauty and mystery of the cave for a self-guided tour with rangers stationed at key points. The reservation was easily made by connecting with the website. All tours begin and end at the new Visitor Center. Oh yes, and be sure to pack a jacket if one plans to tour underground! The cave maintains the average yearly temperature of the area, so it stays around 55°. This natural wonder is a World Heritage Site and should be on everyone's list of must-have experiences among Kentucky's most popular attractions, which we could recommend this place. read more

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These caves are so interesting. The tours are vey detailed and the comes are so interesting and cool to explore. The building has a great information museum section. The gift shop has so cool stuff and it is big. Make sure you make a reservation very early. The tours are not hard if you are in shape it is not a good idea if you were very out of shape or crazy tall. The tour we did was 2 hours and 2 miles. It is most an easy walk in open space but there is a lot of section you have to bend down in low sections. There is one section that is very tight. There were people they were pregnant and little kids that did if fine though. I would recommend. read more

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Really enjoyed this park. Being in off season, there were limited tours, so i opted for the historic as it fit my schedule best. The park ranger was perfect for this tour and was funny and helpful with questions, etc. This was a pretty doable tour for most folks. read more

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I had never been to Mammoth Caves after driving past on previous road trips so we made plans specifically around a trip to Mammoth Caves. We were not disappointed. First of all, admittedly I am more at peace in a big city but found the scenery in the national park amazing. I spent more time on national park grounds this trip than all previous park trips and I would do it again. The plan was to visit the park on 2 seperate days. The first day, we arrived in the afternoon for our Domes and Dripstones tour. After the initial climb down 300 steps, the caves opened up to well groomed trails. Our specific guide was warm and welcoming and kept the large group of ~100 people engaged throughout. The next day, we spent a lot of time in and around the park. Hiking, picnicking, and enjoying nature paved the way for our second tour, Violet City. This 3 hour, lantern led tour has visitors hiking in this section of the cave without electricity. This tour transports you back to a time of early cave visitors when torches were used to navigate through it. Highlights of this tour were the 2 water falls that were cleverly lit with only flashlights providing visitors a truly awe inspiring experience. This is a very rigorous tour so be prepared. The tour namesake is only seen for the last few seconds of the tour so a rename could be considered. The visitor center and surrounding complex are well kept with both cave exhibits, restaurants, restrooms and gift shops for all your trip swag. read more

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I've visited here a few times and I think Mammoth Cave National Park is one of my favorite national parks! We've done everything from camping, hiking, picnicking, multiple cave tours and of course browsing the gift shops. This particular trip we went on the domes & dripstones tour and the violet city tour. Both were amazing tours with the best & knowledgeable ranger tour guides. Both tours were slightly challenging at times navigating through steep hills and tight spaces in the caves. The lanterns added an element of charm but I also loved viewing the caves in all its grandeur with the lights on. It's great how the NPS can provide multiple tours and still have so much history/ information without any overlap. We all loved our cave experiences! There are also multiple hiking trails within and all very well maintained. There are some somewhat challenging hills but the trails we did would be considered achievable by any skill level. Mammoth Caves is one I'd highly recommend if you get the chance, if even just for a few hours. The experience is truly epic and one you'll never forget! read more

Mammoth Cave National Park - Parks Near Me - Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

Terrific, highly recommend the Domes and Dripstones tour! Shannon and Stewart were great rangers. Shannon facilitated the tour, very knowledgeable and friendly. Highly organized, timely. Friendly people. I did not feel rushed at all. Started with arriving the tourist center. Quick walk to the Shelter where the bus comes to pick us up. Admittedly, got there only 9 min before the tour started so was a little stressed. BUT! Easy place to navigate and we asked a worker right away where to go and it was a quick walk to the shelter. Went on a bus, arrived to the entrance of the cave. Truly an experience once down below. I did not feel like I walked 734 steps, not particularly fatiguing. It was a cool 50 degrees or so. Recommend wearing a light rain jacket for droplets read more

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Gotta start with a warning: there is zero cell service in this area. So if meeting up with friends or family schedule ahead of time of when and where to meet as you will not be able to call and there are multiple large parking lots. There is wifi in the welcome center/ticket area that you can utilize. It gets very crowded. Know your options ahead of time so you know what tickets to buy and plan accordingly. When packed tickets for tours go fast so you may need to arrive early and wait for a tour or you may want to do a self guided tour. The walk to the cave is a straight down and straight up to go back to the parking lot as well as steep steps into and out of the cave. So if that is not good for you for medical conditions you may want to sit this one out. It gets dark inside the cave but for the most part it is pretty open though you may need to watch your head at areas for taller people. It is also cooler so bring a jacket if you want. There is also food, lodging, and camping available in the area. read more

Unfortunately, the government shutdown limited our experience. We were unable to go on our scheduled cave tour and the nearby private caves, while good, are just not at the same level. That said, time spent walking in the woods is always well spent and there are many pleasant walking trails in the park. Mammoth Cave has been on my must-see list for some time; there it will remain until the next opportunity. read more

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The scale of this site is Grand Canyon-ish, in nature. It's hard to believe. It is ... well ... MAMMOTH! We only got to do the "self guided" tour, which was about an hour, but self paced. Book your tour well ahead of time. While it is in the middle of KY, without much "city" amenities (Louisville is about an hour away), the park is awesome! One very cool thing is that they have dog boarding. The facilities are minimal (a decently sized cage), it was fine for our doggy. I wanna go back. You should go! Peace! read more

Mammoth Cave National Park - Entry - Parks Near Me - Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

We were pleasantly surprised by this National Park! I have never been in a cave before, so I wasn't sure what to think going into it, but I would love to go back! There is no fee to get in the park, so the hiking trails are free, but to go into the cave you need to book and pay for a tour (~$25-$30 per tour). We went on MLK weekend and it wasn't crowded at all. The Historical Tour was awesome! Not as strenuous as I thought it'd be based on the website descriptions. The "hardest part" was my 6'4" husband having to crouch the whole time and climbing about 5-6 flights of stairs. So much cool information about how the cave helped in the war of 1812 and the past tours of the cave. The Frozen Niagara Tour was also cool, but much shorter and almost completely flat besides an optional section. This was a completely different part of the cave than the historical tour so it was great to see different parts. read more

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Construction work all around cabins, visitor center, and lodge. Loud, heavy machinery. Everything is torn up. Wish we had known. We would have waited. May 2026 read more

the grand avenue tour is over priced. It would be much better as an audio tour so you could actually see the things the guide mentioned. 60-80 people is way too many for this tour. It is nice that you fast march 4 miles but would be much better to take slower and point out more of the things rather than say 'keep an eye out'.. BS, you're too busy watching your steps and overhead. guide was knowledgeable about the history, but was impossible to ask questions along the way with people strung out for 50-75 yards. read more

We did the self guided tour, it was not crowded at all when we went and loved the fact that it was at our own pace. We spent as much time as we wanted in each of the areas. Cool in the caves, we went in March, but had a light jacket and that was plenty. Highly recommend!! read more

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Great stop on our road trip! This stop could be quick or an all day event; make what you want out of it. They offer lengthy guided tours of all kinds and a self guided tour for those making a quick stop. We opted for the self guided tour for $12 a person and really enjoyed the quick intro to these massive caves. There is a short history walk at the visitor center for the caves and two small gift shops. All of the staff were friendly and helpful. The park has lots of walking and biking trails as well and camp grounds for an all day or lengthy stay. We will return to explore the caves in a guided tour next time! read more

Mammoth Cave National Park - Cave opening - Parks Near Me - Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

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AMAZING!!! This was our first time touring Mammoth Cave & we loved it! Our tour guide/park ranger was wonderful and a pretty funny guy. We did the historic two hour tour and it flew by. The cave was massive and astonishing. We would love to visit again and do the lantern tour! read more

Mammoth Cave National Park - Parks Near Me - Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

I feel like this is more a man made wonder where the mining paths created something for you to view. May be there are other experiences that are amazing that the self discovery tour. I did this experience followed but Carlsbad Caverns and I personally liked the experience in Carlsbad. Note the experience is great, however within a span of 20 days doing 2 national caves, I definitely preferred the other one more. read more

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Worth the 1 hour detour (20 min off the freeway + 20 min at the visitor center + 20 min onto the freeway). Its free to park and walk the visitor center. I'm glad I did it. Would do it again 100%. Highly recommend. I was driving from Cincinnati to Memphis and I had spare time until my hotel checkin. Crazy Vibes. Would do it again if I'm in the area. read more

Mammoth Cave National Park - Sign within exhibit - Parks Near Me - Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

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We did the Historic, Gothic, and Drips and Domes tours. The last was by far the best tour. They were all informative and well structured. If you're looking for beautiful formations, these caves are not that. Because they are mostly dry caves, they don't have the beautiful stalactites and stalagmites that wet caves have. It's also the reason this cave is the world's longest. Definitely worth visiting. Personally, three tours were a bit much for me but my buddy really wanted to do the tours. read more

Mammoth Cave National Park - View from the Historic tour. - Parks Near Me - Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

A 1.5 drive from Nashville. Worth it if you have a day to kill. We drove out to the Mammoth Caves on our last day before our flight in the evening out of BNA. It was an easy drive, you also can say you visited 2 states since you go from Tennessee to Kentucky. HIGHLY RECOMMEND you book a longer tour that visits more of the caves. We did the self-guided tour which we booked last minute, all the tours with the park rangers were sold out. The self-guided tour takes about 30-40 minutes and you only get to see a small glimpse of the cave system here. It was fun but I felt like I didn't get to see enough. Be mindful that the entrance to the caves is a small walk down a paved hill (bring walking shoes) and a light sweater if you get cold easily, and bring water. I wouldn't recommend the caves if you're injured or need assistance walking around because the ground is uneven inside the cave. There's ton of free parking, no cell phone signal in the area but there is WiFi inside the visitor's center. There are bathrooms, a gift shop, tour guides and rangers, small cafes, so you do not need to bring much. There's also a Mammoth Caves lodge across the bridge that has the same amenities. I enjoyed the caves, I wish we could have booked a longer guided tour though but since we needed something to do on our last day before we left Nashville, this worked. Along the drive from Nashville to the caves you'll find a lot of restaurant and city stops for fast food and bathroom breaks. There are a few Starbucks along the way for those of you who want those Kentucky coffee mugs for your collection. If you're a Sam's Club member and need gas for your rental like us, there's a Sam's Club gas station not too far away. Save a few more bucks on your fill up. Be mindful of the speed traps on the highway, we saw 2 speed traps. read more

We signed up for the Gothic Avenue Tour yesterday and arrived early. The gift shop was really cute with lots of great clothes and a wonderful children's section with books, toys, and t shirts. We joined our group on time and met our guide Gillespie. The tour was 2 hrs of fascinating information of the history of the cave and a comfortable walk. There 125 people in our group but it didn't seem that big due to the size of the cave passage and walkways. I highly recommend this tour and give it 5 Note: Mammoth Cave has many tours and different levels of difficulty so ask and enjoy as many as you can. It's a wonderful place to visit! read more

We stopped here as we were driving through Kentucky. No entrance fee but there is a fee depending on the tour you want to take. I would advise getting tickets before you go to make sure you get the tour you want. We took the domes and dripstones tour which was a two hour tour through the caves. There are tight spaces you have to walk through at time and would not be ideal for someone who is claustrophobic. read more

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Beautiful park. But for $30 a head for a guided tour with 3 bus loads of people was not cool. Way too many people crammed on several stairs was very dangerous. I even tripped and caught myself. Beautiful park. Would've been better off doing one of the hike trails instead. Pricey goodies at the gift shops, but I got my stickers lol read more

We did the Violet City Lantern tour. Our guide, Kenna Brophey, was amazing. So knowledgeable and passionate about this park! One of the best we've ever had! Also completed a few outdoor hikes (echo River and Green River Bluffs trail) which were fun but a lot like what we are used to in northern Ohio. The cave is definitely the draw here!! Get more than one tour. read more

Everybody already knows how gorgeous Mammoth Caves is. I'm here to applaud it for something probably only parents of small children would notice. In the family bathroom, it had one of those little seats you can strap babies and toddlers into when you're done changing them and need to use the bathroom yourself! I've never seen one of these in the United States before. Way to go, guys!! read more

Mammoth Cave National Park - Parks Near Me - Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

Nice park grounds and information center. Has 2 small gift shops and a small interpretive "museum" to walk through inside. In another building there were a couple of restaurants and a coffee place. The caverns themselves were a little disappointing. They were more like lava caves, just long caves with no stalagmites or stalactites. There was some interesting history but there are other caves I would recommend over these. read more

Mammoth Cave has been on my bucket list for a long time, and I'm so glad I finally made it out! Stayed at the Woodland Cottages offered through the Mammoth Cave Lodge, and it couldn't have been closer! They are undergoing some renovations at the moment, but I was rather pleased that they now have air and heating, and they are pet friendly!! You aren't in luxury accommodations, though, a small room and bathroom is all you get. Right across the parking lot from the Visitor's Center! Took four different tours offered through the park's website, and just walked across the lot to the meet up area. The exhibit inside is interesting, and the tours help solidify some of the geological themes in the exhibits. The lantern tour was a great experience, and take the River Styx tour for more science over history. Dress appropriately, it's cold and slippery in that cave! The food at the Lodge was great (they had a mini Starbucks too!) read more

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Cave New World Many adventures are begun with a simple question, and the question that led us here to Mammoth Cave NP was when Carissa asked her youngest: If you could go anywhere in the country, where would it be? A few months later, we're driving across the country and end up here in Central KY. It's easy to see why Mammoth Cave would be on many bucket lists to visit, as it has many amazing features: *At over 400 miles, it's the world's longest cave system known to man. *Some parts of the cave date back as far as 10 million years *Almost every type of cave formation is present here. *Surrounded by thousands of acres of pristine forest with a unique biodiversity. But, in order to visit the cave, one needs to book a tour either in advance online or at the visitor center on your date of arrival. Pro Tip: Book ahead if possible, as on the date of our arrival almost every tour was booked but we had, fortunately, booked our tours in advance. There's a plethora of tours available (including a free self-guided tour), and each one is a bit different and costs fluctuate. Here's a review of the two we did: 1) Mammoth Cave National Park Historic Tour ($20/adults $15/Youth [under 16]): If you only have time for one tour, then this should be it as you'll get a really good idea of the immensity of the cave, and you get access to some of the cave's best features. This is a mildly strenuous tour at two miles over 2 hours and 540 total stairs, but it's worth it. 2) Mammoth Cave National Park Violet City Lantern Tour ($25/adults $20/Youth): This tour was really unique as you make your way thru the cave using only a lantern. Yes, you read that right. I mean, obviously, you're with a trained ranger guiding you thru the cave, but definitely not for the faint of heart. But if you're up for an adventure and a short three miles and 200 stairs over three hours, then this tour is for you! The park classifies this as "difficult," but I found it to be anything, but. TLDR: Fantastic park to visit, but make sure you plan and book ahead to get the tours you want. read more

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We were pretty excited to see the largest cave system in the world. We love cave and mine tours. There is no cell service or workable WiFi when we arrived. Make sure your tickets are downloaded to your device or printed before you arrive. Once there we realized there are so many tours you could spend a week there just doing cave tours. That said it can be difficult to figure out what tour is best for you and what kind of an adventure you want. Plus, our group was about 100 people! So the tour lacked intimacy and of course people lack manners in that large of a group. Our Park Ranger was entertaining but her presentation lacked depth. She went a little overboard on giving much deserved credit to Stephen Bishop and his stories to the group. Kinda skimming over the geological and historic significance. I felt like we were on a Stephen Bishop tour. A smaller group would have made the experience so much better. read more

We've driven past the Mammoth Cave National Park several times and planned to finally stop there for a tour. After doing some research, I discovered it's best to pre-book tours through their website because the tours sell out, especially during summer months. We did the domes & dripstones tour. The stairs descending were a little treacherous. But the remainder of the tour was fine. There were a couple stops that had seating, which was nice. These tours have way too many people in my opinion. It would also be better on the more difficult tours without children. It ruins the experience. The cave is beautiful, the visitor center is very nice and there are food and snack options. Parking was a bit limited for the amount of people and tours that go through here. read more

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Very bad time. Horses in a bad mood, all of us flew off, I went straight in a trees hurt my leg. We're all OK so I don't recommend. Not on a day like how it was. These horses are lunatics read more

The Historic Tour is mind-blowing. The guide said there are 415 known miles of tunnels. read more

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Really wonderful state park! Very kind rangers, and beautifully well kept & maintained. The wildlife is not afraid of humans at all - we had many encounters with wild deer and turkeys within arms reach and they never spooked, it was truly crazy how close we could get because they never were hunted or trapped. The caves were also beautiful. Definitely worth a visit if you ever are in Kentucky!! read more

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What a unique and amazing hike the mammoth Cave national Park was an amazing day out for our family while visiting Kentucky. We did the giant cavern tour and it was the perfect experience for a little because it only took about 40 minutes. It is a long walk downhill to reach it in a long walk back uphill to get out. read more

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We love our national parks and were happy to have the opportunity to visit this popular one. We weren't sure we were going to be able to go, so we didn't buy cave tour reservation tickets ahead of time, which is highly recommended. By the time we arrived, there was only one tour that still had tickets, the Mammoth Passage Tour. It was a fairly short, fairly easy tour, but maybe not the most interesting one. They had several others available if you'd booked ahead. The caves were chilly, so I'd suggest taking a jacket with you, even if it's warm outside! Beautiful area, and we enjoyed the deer munching on grass around the parking lot when we were getting ready to leave. read more

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I'm on a mission to get to all 50 states and 63 national parks so when we went to Kentucky last month, I was able to add a new state and NP to my roster. I didn't expect to love this NP since I'm not into caves, but this is now one of my fave NPs. We booked the Historic tour and had a fun time with our guide who shared that this is the longest cave system in the world! Make sure that you book your tour in advance especially if you're going on a holiday weekend. We went on Memorial Day, 5/29, and I first tried to book a tour the day before but everything was sold out except for the Cleaveland tour. The morning of the 29th, I went on the NP website to see if there are any openings and luckily there were! Long story short: book your tour early on so you don't miss out! I highly recommend the Historic tour but I heard the other tours are cool, too! read more

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