Mammoth Cave
The world's longest known cave system under quiet Kentucky hills and rivers
- Hours
- Park open daily; tours by ticket
- Entry
- Free entry
- Reservations
- Required in season
- Size
- 52,830 acres
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Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system in the world, with more than 400 miles of passages mapped so far and more found every year. It formed as slightly acidic water dissolved thick layers of limestone, while a sandstone cap above kept the big passages from collapsing. People have explored the cave for thousands of years, and in the 1800s enslaved guides such as Stephen Bishop mapped much of it. It became a national park in 1941 and is a World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve.
Most visits revolve around ranger-led cave tours, which range from easy one-hour walks to crawling Wild Cave trips. Above ground, the Green and Nolin rivers wind through hardwood forest with more than 80 miles of hiking, biking and horse trails. The cave is home to rare eyeless fish, cave crickets and blind shrimp that live nowhere else. Saltpeter mined here was used to make gunpowder during the War of 1812, and you can still see the old mining equipment.
The park and surrounding area
- Park boundary
- Other parks
- Major highway
- Road
- Rivers and lakes
- Town
Plan your trip
- Best time to go
- April through June and September through October offer mild weather above ground and a wide tour schedule, though the cave is 54 degrees year-round.
- How long to stay
- One day covers two cave tours; two days lets you add hiking or paddling the Green River.
- Getting there
- Nashville (BNA) and Louisville (SDF) are each about 1.5 hours away by car; Bowling Green is about 40 minutes away but has no commercial flights.
- Wildlife
- Look for white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, and in the cave, bats, cave crickets and rare eyeless cavefish.
Plan and book
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Where to stay
- Hotels in Cave City (opens in a new tab)Kentucky
- Hotels in Bowling Green (opens in a new tab)Kentucky
- Hotels in Park City (opens in a new tab)Kentucky
- Lodges inside the park (opens in a new tab)Official NPS list
Tours and activities
- Guided tours on Viator (opens in a new tab)Day trips, wildlife, photography
- Tours on GetYourGuide (opens in a new tab)Compare options and reviews
- Campsites on Recreation.gov (opens in a new tab)Official federal booking site
What to pack for Mammoth Cave
- Light fleece jacketThe cave stays near 54 degrees, which feels chilly on a long tour.
- Sturdy closed-toe shoesCave paths can be wet, uneven and include hundreds of stairs.
- HeadlampUseful on lantern tours and for trails if you stay out until dusk.
- DaypackCarry water, snacks and layers between tours, though packs are not allowed on some tours.
- Insect repellentTicks and chiggers are common on the surface trails in warm months.
A first day, start to finish
- Pick up tickets at the visitor center
- Historic Tour
- Lunch at the Lodge
- Domes and Dripstones Tour
- Sunset walk on the River Styx Spring Trail
Don't miss
- Historic TourA 2-mile, roughly 2-hour walk through the Historic Entrance past Broadway, Bottomless Pit and the tight squeeze of Fat Man's Misery.
- Domes and Dripstones TourCovers about 0.75 miles through tall vertical shafts and ends among stalactites and flowstone near Frozen Niagara.
- Historic EntranceA short walk down from the visitor center to the cave's natural mouth, where cool air flows out year-round.
- Green River FerryA free cable ferry that carries cars across the Green River to the park's quieter north side and its trails.
- Cedar Sink TrailA 1.6-mile loop to a huge sinkhole where an underground river surfaces and then disappears again.
Know before you go
Do
- Book cave tours on Recreation.gov before you go, especially for weekends and holidays.
- Bring a light jacket, since the cave stays around 54 degrees all year.
- Arrive at the visitor center at least an hour before your tour time.
Don't
- Touch the cave walls or formations; skin oils damage them.
- Bring firewood from outside the park.
- Wear shoes you've worn in other caves without cleaning them, to help stop white-nose syndrome.
The park and its roads are open year-round, and cave tours leave from the visitor center daily on a schedule that changes by season. The Green River Ferry runs 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central time but can stop for high or low water. Mammoth Cave and Maple Springs campgrounds are open March 1 to November 30, and Houchin Ferry Campground is open all year.
Pair the Historic Tour in the morning with Domes and Dripstones in the afternoon to see both the giant dry passages and the dripstone formations.Trekker's tip