Turns out rainy days are the best days to visit Mammoth Cave National Park!
Buried under the Kentucky hills and hollows is a limestone labyrinth that became the heartland of a National Park in 1941. The surface of Mammoth Cave National Park encompasses over 52,000 acres. No one knows how big the underside cave system is. More than 400 miles of the five-level cave system have been mapped, and new caves are continually be discovered.
“Over 400 miles of discovered caves”
Mammoth Cave is longest known cave system in the world and is also a UNESCO site. Humans have visited over the last 5000 years, several sets of Native American remains have been recovered from inside the cave. The mummies found represent examples of intentional burial. The only known exception to this purposeful burial was discovered when in 1935 the remains of an adult male were found under a large boulder. The boulder had shifted and settled onto the victim, a pre- Columbus miner who had disturbed the rubble.
At the bottom of Frozen Niagara Falls!
Frozen Niagara Tour
When I arrived I knew little about the various tours offered. I simply looked at the time table and booked the soonest available tour, the “Frozen Niagara”. I had some time to kill so I walked through the interactive portion of the visitor center and found it to be extremely informative.
It was neat to be able to see a miniature map of the system I would soon be exploring. However this is also when I realized that the Frozen Niagara tour would be very brief and barely venture into the cave.
The tour started with a 10 minute bus ride to the man-made entrance to the Frozen Niagara. It felt strange entering the under-world by walking through a concrete door frame and air-tight turnstile.
If you like stalagmites and stalactites and other strange natural formations this is the tour for you!
As mentioned the Frozen Niagara was a quick 45-60 minutes tour with only a few stairs to climb. There was nothing extreme about it but it is definitely the most unique and mesmerizing tour offered.
On the bus ride back to the visitor center, the family sitting in front of me, (Kallen, Allison and Frazier) recommend that I stick around for the “Historic Cave Tour”. Kallen had been before and ensured me that it was much more in-depth and well worth the wait.
I was sold, I couldn’t wait to see more!
It was still raining pretty hard so I decided to grab lunch at the Green River Cafe adjacent to the Visitor Center. The Catfish Po-Boy was better than expected and hit the spot perfectly.
There was no bus ride to the historic entrance, instead we walked a couple hundred yards down a trail and around towards a depression in the hill.
On the walk I met Tyler Hazelwood, a boat captain and dive instructor out of Jupiter Florida. He was on the beginning leg of his road trip west. You can can follow his blog HERE. It is always nice meeting other solo-travelers, especially ones who scuba!
Pictures will never portray the true scale of this massive cave!
The section of the cave pictured above was over 40 ft tall and went on for as far as you could see! The scattered relics that can be seen were left over from an abandoned tuberculosis clinic that once existed underground.
Many remains could also be seen from the nitrate-mine near the rotunda section of the cave.
In the 1800’s visitors would often write their name on the cave ceiling with the flame from their lantern. Many of which can still be seen today, albeit the tradition has long been prohibited.
You’ve never experienced true darkness until you’ve been in a cave!
The cave is for the most part very dimly lit and visitors are not given a light source. During each tour the guide will, with little warning, flip out the lights. Sending you world into complete darkness. Then her/she will ask you to raise your hand if you have any questions, very funny.
“But I am claustrophobic”
I understand this may be a concern for some visitors. However from my experience on the Frozen Niagara and Historic tour there’s only one section that might make you uneasy. Famously known as “Fat Mans Misery”, it is very narrow and you will have to duck and use your hands and knees to navigate the short but confined section. Thankfully once you reach the other side, the cave opens up into a large room, known as the “relief room” for obvious reasons.
Here your guide will briefly explain how the cave was formed. Due to the rainy conditions outside we were able to hear the River Styx, roaring down below. The underground river same river that created the chamber we were sitting in as well as the levels above us.
Back to the surface!
At the end of the 2 mile journey you will be greeted with a massive stair system that will take back to the Rotunda, where the nitrate mine once lay. From there it is a short walk back to the main historic entrance, or in this case an exit.
On the walk out the park ranger at the back of the group was explaining to Tyler and I how the cave discovery process worked. He was also turning off the lights behind us as we walked. It gave me one last taste of true darkness as I gazed back, day dreaming of what it would be like to explore uncharted areas of Mammoth Cave.
Overall,
This was a much difference National Park experience compared to the majority, save Carlsbad Cavern. However, it still ranks very high on my list of favorites and one that I will surely visit again. Caves have always provided me with a great deal of fascination and the incredible size and scale of Mammoth truly left me in awe and longing to see more.