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Take exit 161 off I-64. Head two miles east on U.S. 60 to State Hwy. 182. Park entrance eight miles north of Olive Hill. |
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Daily tours all year, to: |
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606/286-4411 |
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Two miles east of I-65, Cave City exit on Hwy. 90 |
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(502) 773-2359 |
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Exit 48 on I-65. One mile north on State Hwy. 255 to cave. |
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(502) 749-2891 |
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Cave plummets directly beneath downtown Horse Cave. Exit 58 on I-65 and head southeast on State Hwy. 218 to Horse Cave. |
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Hidden River Cave is now the home of the American Museum of Caves and Karstlands, an excellent display of the history, natural history and environmental issues concerning cave-riddled lands, particularly the spectauclar example in central Kentucky. The cave, itself, was once the water supply and electrical generator for the town of Horse Cave. For a time, the cave had become so polluted by sewage and heavy metals that it was deemed unsafe to enter. Reclamation of the cave is one of the great groundwater success stories of the country. |
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(502) 786-1466 |
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Exit 58 on I-65, three miles west of Horse Cave, KY. Part of Kentucky Down Under Theme Park |
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1 (270) 786-1010 |
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From Park City, take State Hwy. 255 west to park entrance. Follow signs another 5 miles to Visitor Center. From Cave City, State Hwy 70 leads 10 miles to Visitor Center, |
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With more than 350 miles of surveyed passage, Mammoth Cave is easily the longest cave known in the world. Its of grand passages, locally known as "avenues", are laid out in such neat grids that you might imagine they were the design of a city architect. Level passages, however, are occasionaly punctuated by towering dome pits, where aggressive waters have invaded the cave from the surface. At the lowest reaches of the cave, the River Styx and Echo River wend their way toward surface springs, giving a glimpse of cave development in action. The River Styx and Echo River are home to some of the most unusual life inhabiting Mammoth Cave, including blind and unpigmented fish and crayfish. In dry passages, cave-adapted crickets,beetles and spiders take up residence. As you enter the grand Historic Entrance of Mammoth Cave, you follow in the footsteps of human visitors that have traversed the cave for some 4,000 years. Native Americans first made far-reaching forays into the cave by torchlight, in search of gypsum and other crystals. Cave sediments were later mined for saltpeter, which was used in the manufacture of gunpowder during the War of 1812. Shortly thereafter, Stephen Bishop, a self-educated slave, began penetrating Mammoth's deep, unknown recesses on daring solo journeys. Regaling visitors on his guided tours with witty accounts of the grandeur of this remarkable cave, Mammoth drew growing crowds. In 1941, it was finally designated a National Park. |
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Open all year, except Christmas Day. Visitor's Center open 8:00 to 5:00 p.m. Check the tour information hotline (below) for tour details. In the park vicinity, tune your AM dial to 1610 for further info. Tickets for cave tours are sold only on the day of the tour. Note that in the summer, and on weekends and holidays, many cave tours sell out. Check in at the Visitor Center at 8:00 a.m. and you will be more likely to have your choice of tours. |
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General Information: 270-758-2180 |
Information
on the
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Lost River Cave and Valley is located at the intersection of U.S. 31-W (Nashville Road) and Cave Mill Road in Bowling Green. See web site for directions |
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270) 393-0077 |
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In Cub Run, Kentucky on Highway 88, just fifteen miles west of the Munfordville exit on I-65. About 30 minutes south of the Mammoth Cave Visitor Center |
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(270) 524-1444 |
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©1996