Tips to Visit Mammoth Cave National Park

Mammoth Cave National Park is located in Kentucky at the mid-point between Louisville and Nashville, Tennessee (map). Designated in 1941 as our nation’s 26th National Park, Mammoth Cave draws around 500,000 visitors annually.

The following are 10 Tips we think are helpful to understand before a visit. We hope you enjoy!

1. The Largest Cave System in the World

Mammoth Cave National Park is the longest known cave system in the world, with 4,000 miles of tunnels, chambers and passageways spread over 82 square miles.

If you’re curious, the top five are: Mammoth Cave, Sistema Ox Bel Ha (Mexico), Shuanghedon (China), Sistema Sac Actun (Mexico), and Jewel Cave in South Dakota.

Wind Cave (South Dakota) comes in 7th, and we strongly recommend visiting.

2. Eyeless Fish at Mammoth Cave National Park

Blind cave fish known as eyeless fish, have adapted to lightless, low-energy environments by ceasing to grow eye structures and unnecessary skin pigments. These fish are troglobites, meaning they spend their entire life cycles in the cave. For centuries, their lives have puzzled and intrigued scientists. The eyeless fish are only found in the deepest parts of the cave.

3. Incredible Visitor Center

Some national park visitor centers are better than others and this is one of the nicest we’ve seen. We would recommend arriving at least an hour ahead of your tour so you can read all the signage. Learn what lies above and below the surface to prepare yourself for a better cave experience.

4. Why are the Caves Here?

A landscape in which water moves rapidly underground by dissolving rock is called a karst landscape.  Cave systems are commonly found in karst landscapes, as are sinkholes.

As rain and snow fall on the karst landscape the water picks up carbon dioxide.  The slightly acidic water works it way through the soil and slowly dissolves the rock beneath as it seeps through the cracks.  Over thousands of years the cracks grow big enough for a person to crawl through.  Over millions of years, narrow crawlways become huge passageways.  

Layers of sandstone cover the Mammoth Cave system. Water does not easily erode this rock. The sandstone here is continuous enough to protect most of the Mammoth Cave system from complete collapse.

5. Book Tours in Advance

Those approx. 500K visitors feel like a million when you’re at the park. I would have guessed that five times that many visit this well-known park. The reason we mention this is you are going to want to book your tours a few days-to-weeks before your visit. I pity the people waiting in line to be told all 10 tours have sold out. Book your tickets here (link to NPS website).

6. There is More Than One Entrance to the Caves

The main entrance to the cave is a quarter mile downhil from the visitor center. A 10-minute walk with your tour guide will get you to the large natural entrance in the top photograph. Most cave tours are accessed here. However, there is a man-made entrance known as the Frozen Niagara Entrance that offers access to different parts of the cave system.

7. Beauty Beyond the Caves

In addition to the cave system, Mammoth Cave National Park also features a number of outdoor recreational activities, including hiking, biking, and horseback riding on the park’s trails. Be sure to drive through the park before or after your tour(s). From the road you can see viewpoints and signage.

8. The Historic Tour is Just OK

The Historic Tour at Mammoth Cave has thrilled park visitors for 200 years. It takes 2 hours to complete and is 2 miles long with 440 stair steps. Some of the notable features are Giant’s Coffin, Bottomless Pit, and the notorious Fat Man’s Misery.

The history is interesting. The features were … interesting. We’ve visited a lot of caves around the country and this is a perfectly decent tour. However, we would recommend something a bit more adventurous if you are willing and able. Here’s the list of tours.

9. Why is it Called Mammoth Cave?

Contrary to what you may read on the internet, no mammoth remains have been found at Mammoth Cave National Park. The name “Mammoth” was first used to describe the cave in the early 1800s. It refers to the “mammoth” (large) size of the cave’s chambers and avenues, not the prehistoric elephant-like mammal.

10. Tourist Towns Near Mammoth Cave National Park

Tourist attractions litter the highway between Mammoth Cave and Cave City. Dinosaur World, the Mammoth Cave Wax Musuem, the Guntown Museum, the Onyx Cave Rock Shop (surprisingly popular), plus an abundance of craft stores and markets are all lined up to help visitors have a well-rounded vacation.

An Honest Conclusion for Mammoth Cave National Park

Mammoth Cave National Park is located in a breathtaking part of the country — the rolling, verdant hills of Kentucky. The national park grounds are just as beautiful. One would never guess that in the middle of all this greenery is the largest cave system on earth.

Once upon a time Mammoth Cave was a very big deal. Just imagine yourself arriving by stagecoach to see the famous Mammoth Cave! Nowadays we’ve access to all sorts of caves, and other than being really large (yet mostly unavailable to the public), this cave system isn’t any better than some of the others you will find around the USA.

And to be perfectly honest, once you’ve visited Carlsbad Caverns, it sort of ruins all subsequent cave trips. Not that we’ve stopped doing them — Not at all. It’s just, Carlsbad is on another level.

That said, if you’re in the area, Mammoth Cave is an absolute-do for USA tourists.

If you’d like to read more about National Parks, here’s a few links:

Wind Cave N.P.

Teddy Rosevelt N.P.

Badlands N.P.

Big Bend N.P.

Thank you for stopping by our website! We are the Hoffmann family, a full-time RV family that has split residence in Seattle, Washington and San Antonio, Texas. We have special needs children that we homeschool, and work travel assignments for the Veteran Affairs Hospital. If you would like to learn more about us, check out our Start Here and Biography pages. In the meantime, God bless and travel happy!