SnapshotPlanning Your VisitWhen we visited the park We visited this park in June. Everything was beautifully green and in bloom. I can imagine you can access the cave year-round, however if you want to get out and hike or camp, summer is probably a great time to visit here. If summer is not an option, I would think spring would also be a great time to visit this park. There was a surprising amount of wildlife here, and I think in the spring you might catch some baby animals. Things to Consider 1. The first thing to know is, access to the cave with children can be challenging. I thought I had booked the easiest tour, and then when listening to the guide introductions, we learned that you would not be able to bring any carrier on the tour (front or back carrying). This posed a problem for us, and we decided it would be best if I stayed back with our one-year old. We hiked some of the trails while the others went on the Historic Tour. 2. There is a self-guided tour available. This is a limited view of the cave, but would be ideal for families with young children. I should have looked closer into this option. 3. The hiking here is easy to access, has clear trails, and there are limited elevation changes. 4. Biking in this park would be a great way to see a lot of it. If you don't bring your own bike, there are some rentals available through the lodge. 5. You can really see the main attractions in this park easily in one day. If you are in the area for an extended time, the surrounding communities of Park City or Cave City have a lot of activities to do as well. How to Get There From the North - Take Interstate 65 to exit 53 (Cave City) and turn right onto KY-70. Follow this until you get to the visitor center. From the South - From Interstate 65, take exit 48 (Park City) and turn left onto KY-255. It will become Park City Road, and follow this until it joins Mammoth Cave Parkway. Turn left, and follow this until you get to the visitor center. From the West - Take KY-70E out of Brownsville, KY into the park. Follow this until it turns into Mammoth Cave Road and you reach Mammoth Cave Entrance Road. Turn left and follow until you reach the visitor center. More Maps provided by Park Where to Stay In the Park Mammoth Cave Lodge This is the only lodging directly in the park. The lodge is conveniently located across from the Visitor Center and near the entrance to the cave. There are rooms in the lodge, historic hotel cottages, and woodland cottages available for rent. You will want to select the lodging that fits your party best, depending on the size of your party and desired amenities, The reservation rates range from $82 - $172. These cottages look adorable, but make sure you book early! Camping Mammoth Cave Campground There are 109 sites available at this campsite with showers, water, and some tent only sites, and some RV sites with electricity. It costs $25 a night to reserve a tent site and $50 a night to reserve an RV site, and reservations are recommended. The reservations open on a six month cycle, March 1 and September 1 of the year. This campsite is about five minutes from the visitor center. Maple Springs Campground This campsite is located six miles from the visitor center, and requires riding the short ferry across the Green River, or a 45 minute drive around it when the ferry isn't running. There are seven sites available for rent here for $50 a night. There are RV hookups located here. Houchin Ferry Campground This campground is 15 miles from the visitor center and has 12 tent-only sites available to reserve. They are located along the Green River and more remote than the other campsites in the park. It costs $20 a night to reserve a campsite. Back Country Camping There is back country camping and riverside camping available in the park. It is best to check in with a ranger or read more on recreation.gov to learn about this, regulations, and fees. Outside the Park The nearest cities are Park City and Cave City. You will be about 20 minutes from one of these locations for lodging. There are other communities (up to 45 minutes away) that also offer lodging and entertainment - Bowling Green, Brownsville, Horse Cave, and Glasgow. ![]() What We Did We spent a morning in the park, and felt we got to see most of the highlights. We arrived early so we could be prepared for our cave tour. We also spent time at the beautiful visitor center in the park. We spoke with the ranger and got our Junior Ranger books. These cost $3 per book, and were very nicely done. We had about an hour before our cave tour, so we walked around the grounds near the entrance. There is a pretty River Styx Spring not far from the entrance, that is worth a walk down the hill and back. I had booked the Historic Cave Tour. Not all tours are available each day, so when I looked up what was available, this felt like the best option for our family. It was a 2-hour tour, which was just pushing the limit of what our kids could handle. I clearly did not read closely enough, because you are not allowed to use baby/toddler carries on this tour at all. When we found this out, we learned this while the ranger spoke to our group and explained what we would be doing and seeing while in the cave. We decided that the cave tour was not going to work for our one year old, so I stayed back with her. The kids and my husband then went on the cave tour, and they really enjoyed it. They loved the different areas of the cave, like tall man's agony, the fire tower, and the endless pit. They came out of the cave laughing and telling me all about what they saw. My husband described it as very cool and enjoyable. It is one of the longest caves in the country, and the size impressed him. While they were on the tour, I decided to hike some of the trails near the visitor center. I started with the Green River Bluffs Trail, from the picnic area. I am glad I did this, because it was mostly downhill at the beginning. It walked along the ledges and looked out over the Green River. Eventually, the trail meets up with other areas of the park that are more popular. I connected with the Dixon Cave trail, which I followed to see a former natural entrance to the cave. It is no longer operational because it collapsed on itself and bats made it their home. That took me to the Historic Natural Entrance to the cave and connected me to the River Styx Spring Trail. These all looped around and connected in a couple of places and to different parking lots. It was pretty easy to navigate, and I used All Trails to help me find my way. After we finished hiking and the cave tour, it was time for lunch. We lucked out and found they had a food truck with great burgers, hot dogs, and fries. There was something called the Mammoth Burger, and it got rave reviews from our family members who ate it. Where this fit in our Road Trip This was the first stop on our Southeast US road trip. We spent the morning in the park, and we felt we got to see a lot of the things we wanted to. After our morning here, we headed over to Gatlinburg, TN. This was about a 3-4 hour drive, and we made it in time for dinner. NPS App and All Trails Maps I highly recommend using the National Park Service (NPS) App, as well as the All Trails App for hiking. There is limited service in the park, so planning ahead is helpful. These two apps allow you to download sights, maps, and trails so that you can access information anywhere. The NPS app also links to the full National Parks Website, with a plethora of information. Don't forget to follow along on Instagram @wanderlust_with_three
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