Spelunking in Mammoth Cave Area

Of the caves we visited in Kentucky, Lost River Cave was my favorite. The tour starts as a short hike from near the parking lot to the cave entrance. Along the way you walk by the river, which becomes the Lost River when in the cave. The guide tells a little about the nature in the area and begins talking about the history of the cave during this part of the tour.

The cave has quite an interesting history. For one, it was used as a hideout for soldiers during the Civil war. This included local Confederate sympathizers and Union soldiers at different points during the war. It is also supposedly one of the many caves that Jesse James used as a hideout. Additionally the cave has a ballroom near the entrance that was used as a local dancing hall and if I remember correctly it was also one of the prohibition cave speak easies.

The cave has a wide entrance to an area where you pick up a seat cushion/floatation device. By law kids have to wear one of the lifejackets on the boat. They are also allowed a seat cushion if they want something comfier to sit on than the metal seating in the boat.

From the floatation device handout area you go down some steps to board the boat. We had to wait about 10 to 15 minutes for the last tour to come out before going in. That does not appear to be normal, though, because the guide had already finished her spiel before those 10 minutes. That or they really leave you quite unentertained for a long time considering we were already in this area for 10 minutes getting floatation devices handed out.

Once on the boat we all had to duck as we went under a low ceiling into the more open area of the cave. The boat ride through the cave was a fun way to experience the cave because I felt I could actually look around instead of just watch where I was walking, which is what you spend most of your time doing in the other caves. Photography was hard, though, since the lighting was low and you were never still, but having the lighting low does give a better feel of what a cave is like. The formations here are not much, but there is the interest of potentially spotting some water animals such as crawdads.

Onyx Cave is one of the smaller commercial caves near Mammoth Cave National Park. Tours are supposedly on demand, but on the day we visited they only had one guide and it was about a 20 minute wait to do the tour. It is not a horrible cave to visit, however, it also is not interesting enough to make the long wait worth it.

The tour of Onyx Cave is not very long at around 45 minutes. Parts of it are kind of plain, especially in the main passageway. There are some more interesting parts, especially around the stairs. The tour is also a little of a wild caving experience without the mess. By this I mean there are some tight spots and the artificial edges are kept to a minimum.

The cave does have some formations and is not entirely dull. One of the main features is the waterfall looking flow stone as you are on the stairs. There is also a lot of cave coral/cave popcorn. Onyx Cave has some stalagmites and stalactites, however, many have been broken due to the cave being discovered when a parking lot or something like that was being put in. These formations have been artistically set up in a room, which includes the creation of a Nativity scene.

Historic Diamond Caverns is the last commercial hold out within Mammoth Cave National Park. It has been offering tours since the mid-1800s. While it may appear to be a tourist trap cave, it actually has some worthwhile cave formations to admire.

The tour of Diamond Cave is not extremely spectacular, but it is pretty good considering it is not that big of a show cave tour. The length is only about half a mile. Throughout the tour the cave is well decorated with formations.

There is a decent variety in formations, such as stalagmites, stalactites, and cave bacon. In particular they have some well-lit examples of cave bacon, which is small cave drapery that looks a lot like bacon strips. The walls also have a lot of calcite, which gives them a diamond-like look when light is shone on them.

The cave formations may not be the most impressive, although of the caves we saw in the area it was the most decorated. Also, they tell about some interesting aspects of the cave's history. This includes the stories about weddings held in one of the cave's rooms, which still has a cross altar in it. They no longer perform wedding ceremonies here, though, because the way the ceremonies were done proved harmful to the cave.

Another interesting part of the cave's history is the Cave Wars. These Cave Wars took place in the 1920s between rival show caves in the area. One of the "battles" involved vandalizing each others caves to try and make them less attractive.

At first look I thought Dinosaur World may be a cheesy road side attraction, but boy did it end up exceeding my expectations. I am so glad I was traveling with an 8-year-old dinosaur loving boy, as otherwise I would have missed this great place.

I forget exactly how much per person this place cost, but in the end it proved worth it, although it is not exactly a great deal. The thing is that it can be enjoyed by the whole family and is even slightly educational. If you do not have any kids traveling with you, then it is not really worth stopping at, however, if you do, then this is one of the best tourist traps near Mammoth Cave National Park.

The main attraction at Dinosaur World is the walk through a wooded area. As you walk along the path you encounter different dinosaur statues. They are all built to be life like, except for the colors since we do not really know what colors the dinosaurs were. Each species represented has an information sign that tells a little about the species. My favorite thing about these information signs is that they give you the pronunciation under the dinosaur's name, which can be really useful since some of the names get quite complex.

All the dinosaurs are based on real fossils found, except the giant Photosaurus that can be seen from the Interstate and you can walk right up to and touch. Along the walk to Photosaurus there are also some non-dinosaur statues. They are of several Mammoths. They seem kind of out of place here, but I guess they relate to the name of the nearby Mammoth Cave.

While walking around and seeing the different dinosaurs is the main attraction, there is certainly a few other small parts worth taking in while here. For one, there is the Museum, which has displays of different fossils that include dinosaurs, shells, and mammoth tusks. I am not sure if the fossils are all real, but I do remember one specifically saying it was. Even if they are not real they are accurate reproductions and are presented with informative signs. Plus the museum is air conditioned and a good place to cool off after walking around seeing the dinosaurs.

Another small part is the theater that shows one of the educational television shows about dinosaurs. For the kids there is a fossil dig and a dinosaur themed playground area. Doing the fossil dig and keeping three fossils found is included with a kid's admission ticket and can be purchased for around $3 for anyone else.

The four-hour long Grand Avenue tour of Mammoth Cave is certainly something amazing. It is kind of long and a little bit of a strenuous cave tour, but the pace is slow allowing the cave to still be enjoyed as you trek through it. There are some spots tall people might need to duck, but overall the tour goes through reasonably spacious passageways.

I enjoyed this cave tour mostly because of the awe inspiring amount of cave we covered, which is actually only about one percent of the mapped Mammoth Cave. There is not much in terms of cave formations until the end, but just pondering how water formed the spaces you walk through makes it something to see.

Parts of the tour were a little intense like walking up what they dubbed Mt. McKinley, but boy was it worth it. Plus doing hiking in the cool 60 degree cave sure beats hiking above it out in the humid summer weather.

One of the best parts of the tour is when they turn off the lights. It really gives you the idea of total darkness and if you have a good group you can get total silence, too. They also show you the minimal light early spelunkers in Mammoth Cave used, which makes you glad they have the modern lights set up to light you way and the formations.

Part of the tour includes a stop for lunch in the Snowball Room. This room is named for the melted snowball-like formation on the ceiling. In it there are picnic tables and a little food stand. You can bring your own lunch or buy lunch here. The options are pretty limited to ham or turkey sandwiches, soup, chips, apples, and candy. Basically if you are a vegetarian it stinks and I was glad to have brought a meal bar with me. Note that if you plan to bring a lunch, you must carry it in a clear bag.

Along the way there are two potty stops (one at the Snowball Room and one near the end), so do not worry about holding if for four hours, however, they are a little few and far between and it is best to take advantage of when you get the chance.

As part of a cave road trip across America our first stop was Mammoth Cave. While there we also trekked through a few of the other caves open to the public in the area.

We spent two days touring four caves and Dinosaur World while camping in Mammoth Cave National Park. Each cave had its own highlight that made it at least as interesting as the last and kept the cave tours from becoming monotonous.

The Mammoth Cave Grand Avenue Tour was amazing with the large spaces and the aspect of having lunch in the cave. Diamond Caverns gave us a good look at different cave formations. Onyz Cave had some fun stair passageways and a few kind of tight spots. Lost River Cave was my favorite with the boat ride through it.

Quick Tips:

Most caves do not let you bring bags inside. Mammoth Cave is in particular quite picky in what you are allowed to bring in with you. Thus if you plan to bring your lunch on the tour instead of buying it inside (highly recommend doing if you are vegetarian or picky eater as choices are very limited) you must bring it in a clear bag (a Ziploc type freezer bag is best choice). You can also only bring in clear water bottles, so do not even bother bringing one of those shoulder strap carrier ones unless it is one that is clear. Leave the stuff in the car or back at camp or in one of the lockers that cost 50 cents at the Visitor Center.

Best Way To Get Around:

You pretty much have to drive to Mammoth Cave and nearby caves. We, of course, drove our whole trip, as this was just part of a caves in America road trip. You could fly in and rent a car, but probably the closest convenient airports are Nashville or Louisville.

If you drive here, you may consider bringing bicycles if staying in the National Park because there are some good trails around the park and they are at least useful for riding to the camp store and the Visitor Center.