Mammoth Cave? Anyone?

[Leajess99]

Actually, if you forget your favorite liquid refreshment, you may have to drive to Bowling Green anyway. The area around the caves is in a dry county, and Bowling Green is the closest city to buy liquor. While vacationing in the caves area, I remember a few trips to Bowling Green.

The caves area is great. You can spend a good week there. Have fun.

Hardin County (Elizabethtown) is now a wet county. It is not that far from Mammouth Cave either.

 

[NancyIL]

My daughter and I were at Mammoth Cave just last Sunday! We arrived at 1:45 p.m., and I asked to book whatever tour was next - which was the 2-hour/2-mile Historic Tour at 2:15 @ $12/pp. Lots of steps and a few tight squeezes, but it was a good tour. We spent the night in Elizabethtown, KY, but on the way wanted to see Abraham Lincoln's birthplace and childhood home in Hodgenville. We got to the birthplace after it was closed, but did see a replica of the cabin where he spent his early years.

Cave City looked like your basic tacky tourist town, so I'm glad we didn't spend any time there.

 

[ilovemk76]

We love touring caves. We have been in many of them, including Mammoth Cave. We have not toured this cave in years, so my info may not be the most useful. We have done many of the tours but really loved the "lantern or candlelight" tour. I believe there was a minimum age for this tour. You went into the cave like it was for the first who explored. We had already done other tours before we took this one. You will enjoy it.

 

[erincon23]

Our family has done a lot of caves -- one of our fave things to do when we come across them. We only had time for the basic tour at Mammoth,a nd I don't remember any claustrophobic areas on that one. There's another cave close by (it's actually a whole chain of related caves, if I remember correctly) called Crystal Cave that I really liked -- but that required some pretty steep stairs and maybe a ladder -- it was very pretty with lots of stalactites and stalagmites. And an interesting gift shop.

 

[DisneyStoryMania]

The caves are great, a good place to spend the day. The scenery is amazing there...worth the stop and if you go a lil futher you should check out squire boon caverns...

Another real cool place to hang out for the day....

 

[Beckypooh1972]

We took our niece and nephew there when they were pre-teens and we all loved it! We only did the actual Mammoth Cave Park - none of the kitschy stuff. We took a guided tour but sorry I don't remember the name. It was not the lantern tour but that looked cool. It was extensive - at least an hour but not the most expensive available by any means. I think the tours ranged from $7.00 up but you can check there website for that info.

The visitor's center was very interesting too. There were a lot of pictures, artifacts and history about cave explorers.

The cave temperatures are very mild neither too cold or too warm regardless of the season. In fact I think we went when it was cooler weather and there was steam coming out of the mouth of the cave because it was warmer in there than outside! I think the guide said the caves are a constant 70 something degrees. If it's summer and you are wearing a tank top you might get cool from the temperature change.

 

[auger]

We're in NW Ohio and have a May trip planned to head down to KY for a short/budget vaca.
Our plan is to go to Cumberland Falls for a couple of days before heading over to Mammoth Cave.
CF has lots of hiking trails, horseback riding ($18pp-seasonal, so check site for dates), and lots of outdoor activities in the area.

Might be something to consider if you are having trouble finding something else in the Cave City area.

 

[NancyIL]

The cave temperatures are very mild neither too cold or too warm regardless of the season. In fact I think we went when it was cooler weather and there was steam coming out of the mouth of the cave because it was warmer in there than outside! I think the guide said the caves are a constant 70 something degrees. If it's summer and you are wearing a tank top you might get cool from the temperature change.

Our guide last Sunday said the temp inside the cave is in the mid-50's. It was a warm day, and it felt great to be inside wearing a light jacket.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Really? I went on the tour, got down the first long flight of stairs and turned around running back up those stairs and into a drenching lightning storm. I felt relieved in the lightening. I barely took the time to say goodbye to my husband and son. My husband, who has never felt claustrophobia, said he'd never do the tour again because it was so tight for him. He's 6'5" but not heavy. We liked the area around it and we camped at a very nice campground. Guess we're not cave people.

I was in Meramec Caverns when a tornado came through outside and tore through the campground & canoe launch area. We didn't know it at the time, but one person in the campground was killed. Inside the cave, no clue what the weather even was outside. Place has been there millions of years. Hard to find anywhere safer! And one of our guides was 6'7" OTOH, I've been nearly stuck in some of the off-path parts & I do understand the claustrophobic feeling from THAT!

 

[espana94]

Our family visited Cub Run Cave which is close to Mammoth Cave in October. It was the most amazing cave I have ever been in. The cave was open for visitors in the 50's and then closed and sealed from visitors until about 2006. Because there were no visitors for almost 50 years and it was sealed, the cave is very clean and pristine. There is boardwalk that the current owner built to protect the cave, so the walk through the cave is easy and very accessible. DD16 was able take the tour in her wheelchair. The cave ceiling is very high, so no issues with claustrophobia either!

We were the only ones on our tour so we basically had a private, hour long walking tour with a very knowledgeable guide.

I can't say enough about this cave. It was not touristy at all. We absolutely loved the tour. And the price was very reasonable. Highly, highly recommend Cub Run Cave if you are in the area and want to see a clean, pristine, gorgeous cave!

The reviews at Trip Advisor bear out what my family thought about the experience: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...08-Reviews-Cub_Run_Cave-Cub_Run_Kentucky.html

www.cubruncave.net