Today we have a short drive to Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky.
It started down pouring rain as we crossed the state line into Kentucky.
Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
Mammoth Cave National Park is home to the world’s longest known cave system, thousands of years of human history, rich diversity of plant and animal life, earning it the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Region.
Grand Avenue Cave Tour
“At 4 hours long, this lengthy tour explores the geologic diversity of what Mammoth Cave has to offer. Going through slot canyons, tubular passageways, tall canyons, and tunnels sparkled with gypsum, this tour is the longest walking tour we offer. This tour also encounters hundreds of steps and ascends and descends many tall, incredibly steep hills. Covering a wide variety of the history and geology of Mammoth Cave, this tour is ideal for those wishing for a lengthy, half-day hike inside of the cave. This tour has 1521 mandatory stairs with an optional 98 stairs in the drapery room.”
Isla’s review on the Grand Avenue Tour: “I really loved it. The stalagmites and stalactites were my favourite. It was cool seeing the cave crickets. I liked all the stories of the 1800s cave wars.”
Caleb’s review on the Grand Avenue Tour: “The frozen Niagara was cool. The cave was really big.”
Joel’s review on the Grand Avenue Tour: “It was a fun tour. The ‘optional’ extra steps was well worth it.”
Tracy’s review on the Grand Avenue Tour: “I loved going through slot canyons in a cave – it was exactly like some slot canyons we have been in in Utah but in a cave. I really enjoyed the variety of the cave tour – massive rooms, then a tube where you can almost touch all sides at the same time, then a slot canyon, and then a massive amount of stalactites and stalagmites. I wish the tour group was a lot smaller. An amazing experience and the time flew by.”
Our Campsite at Mammoth Cave National Park
Visitor Center at Mammoth Cave National Park
Star Chamber Cave Tour
“An evening tour in Mammoth Cave by lantern light, this tour winds its way to historic Star Chamber. Described as more of an experience tour than a sightseeing tour, Star Chamber explores historic sections of the cave in the lighting of the earliest explorers, emerging from the cave in late evening. Focusing on early history of Mammoth Cave, this tour includes a trip into Gothic Avenue. This tour is ideal for visitors wanting a unique way to experience the cave and its history. Please note that this tour in 2.5 hours”
Isla’s review of the Star Chamber cave tour: “I liked how we got to experience what people did on the tours in the 1800’s in the tour. It was funny when the guides took all the lanterns and left us in the complete dark.”
Caleb’s review of the Star Chamber cave tour: “It was cool but I think it would have been better if the lights were on because we didn’t get to see as much with only the lanterns on.”
Joel’s review of the Star Chamber cave tour: “I really enjoyed the acting of the two rangers and how they really played characters of the time. I would like to add to my review of the previous tour and we made friends with a couple who spent the weekend at a running retreat and Tracy quickly jumped in and said “those two words don’t go together”.
Tracy’s review of the Star Chamber cave tour: “I think the Star Chamber cave tour was an excellent compliment to the Grand Avenue cave tour. The Grand Avenue tour gave us a good feel for the expanse and variation of the cave while the Star Chamber helped us feel the history of the cave. I liked the history on the tuberculosis huts and Mummy’s.”
Some interesting things about Mammoth Cave:
In the early 1800s, Mammoth Cave was a major industrial saltpeter mine. Enslaved laborers dug calcium-rich cave dirt to extract potassium nitrate (saltpeter), the key ingredient for gunpowder. The booming demand during the War of 1812 sparked this operation.
In the fall of 1842, Louisville physician Dr. John Croghan brought 16 tuberculosis patients to Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave, believing its constant cool temperature and pure air would cure the disease. The experiment failed disastrously; five patients died in the caves, and Croghan himself died of tuberculosis in 1849.
The “Cave Wars” refers to a fierce, cutthroat period of tourism rivalry in the 1920s around south-central Kentucky. Rival cave owners in Edmonson County aggressively competed for tourists visiting Mammoth Cave—the world’s longest known cave system—ultimately leading to the tragic death of explorer Floyd Collins and the creation of Mammoth Cave National Park.
Enslaved tour guides at Mammoth Cave used tips from visitors to buy their freedom and learned to read by tracing traveler signatures left on the cave ceilings. They transformed the subterranean frontier into a world-renowned destination while securing independence for themselves and their families.
The famous “Fawn Hoof” mummy was discovered in 1813 in Short Cave, KY, and relocated to Mammoth Cave by the cave’s owners for public display. Named for a necklace of young deer (fawn) hooves, her remains were later relocated to Gothic Avenue. For 59 years the American Antiquarian Society paraded her remains around America. Her remains currently reside at the Smithsonian Institution. I hope someday the local indigenous group are able to get her remains and lay her to rest respectfully.