Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky is the world’s largest cave system with over 360 miles of passages. The park offers cave tours, hiking, camping, and wildlife viewing. The park is open year-round, and reservations are recommended for tours. The park has a rich history, with evidence of human contact dating back 6,000 years.
Mammoth Cave National Park is the largest cave system in the world. Located in the state of Kentucky in the United States, the park contains more than 360 miles (579 km) of cave passages, making it twice as large as the next largest cave system, Jewel Cave National Monument found in South Dakota. Mammoth Cave was designated a national park in 1941 and a World Heritage Site in 1981.
Encompassing more than 52,000 acres (about 21,044 hectares), the park is surrounded by the Green River. Two other rivers, the Styx River and the Echo River, are underground rivers in the park. Mammoth Cave National Park is filled with wildlife, including five species of bats, two genera of crickets, cave salamanders, and cave crayfish. In addition to caving, visitors can enjoy hiking, camping, bird watching, canoeing and fishing.
The National Park Service hosts many cave tours for visitors throughout Mammoth Cave National Park. A wide variety of lighted cave tours ranging from one to six hours can be arranged. The two-hour Frozen Niagara tour, for example, can be a good introduction for first-time visitors. The hike is just under 1 mile (about 1.6 kilometers) and takes explorers through deep shafts and tall domes along a dry passage. The Grand Avenue Tour is a strenuous 4-mile (about 6.4 kilometers) hike, including 670 steps, that may be best for experienced hikers. Other tour options include those that are lit not electrically but by paraffin lamps that visitors carry, and wilderness tours that offer more adventurous visitors the chance to venture into dusty tunnels and muddy crawl spaces.
Mammoth Cave National Park is open year round and different tours and activities are offered at different times of the year. Reservations are recommended for tours, especially for longer ones. Reservation information and tour prices are available on the Mammoth Cave National Park website. While the cave itself is not wheelchair accessible, the park offers accessible trails, camping, and other activities.
Historians believe humans have had some contact with the park for the past 6,000 years. Researchers and geologists have discovered Native American remains in Mammoth Cave National Park and other caves in the area. Most of the remains showed signs of intentional burial; some remains have led researchers to believe that there were some pre-Columbian burial practices in place many years ago within the park.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
