Visited the World's Longest Cave ā Mammoth Cave National Park
š During the Labor Day holiday, I booked two tours on the official website two weeks in advance. If tickets are sold out, you can set up a "ticket available" email notification. You'll get a reminder if someone cancels. I noticed quite a few people did cancel, so don't worry too much about not getting tickets. However, the most popular Wild Cave Tour usually requires booking several months in advance and rarely has cancellations, so plan early. š³ Extended Historic Tour Duration: 2 hours and 15 minutes. Total stairs: 500+. This tour starts relatively flat but later includes a winding path where you need to duck, bend, and squeeze through. Along the way, the guide will let everyone experience the pitch-black darkness of the cave, visit the experimental cabin where they studied if the cave air could treat tuberculosis, and see attractions like Fat Man's Misery and Bottomless Pit... š³ Domes & Dripstones Tour Duration: 2 hours. Total stairs: 600+. This tour goes straight down into the depths of the cave and then back up to the surface. Compared to the Historic Tour, this route is a bit more tiring, but I personally think the stalactites are more beautiful and spectacular. Highlights include Frozen Niagara and Crystal Lake... ā Tips: ā The cave temperature is consistently around 12ā. In summer, wearing short sleeves, long pants, and a light jacket is fine; it won't be cold. ā You can bring drinking water. ā There are restrooms on the Historic Tour route, but not on the Domes & Dripstones Tour. ā Both tours are suitable for children. Many families visit with their kids. ā Kentucky has two time zones. Mammoth Cave National Park is in the Central Time zone. š Accommodation: I recommend staying in Cave City near the national park. We stayed at Baymont, which is about a 15-minute drive to the visitor center. If you want to stay even closer, there is lodging inside the park that can be booked on the official website. š Food: When in Kentucky, you have to try KFC. Our two-day itinerary was centered around the national park, so we went back to Cave City for lunch, where there is a row of fast-food restaurants, including KFC, Wendy's, and Pizza. š£ Other Activities: In addition to cave exploration, there are many other activities around the park, such as hiking, camping, horseback riding, and kayaking. We rented a kayak from Adventures of Mammoth Cave. I'll share more about the experience in the next post ā it was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. š š„ Summary: I highly recommend it! It's meaningful to visit a World Heritage site and the world's longest cave. Even though it's a dry cave, it's still very impressive and worth a visit. As my first national park experience, it was great. It's perfect for friends in the Midwest to visit over a weekend. #MammothCaveNationalPark #USNationalPark #Kentucky #USRoadTrip #Travel
