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National park in Kentucky, United States
Photo: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Mammoth Cave National Park is a United States national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Kentucky's Caves and Lakes region. It preserves the world's longest known cave system, with over of caves, visitable only by guided tour. While the caves are the highlight of the park, there are also extensive hiking trails and other outdoor activities. The park was established in 1941 and draws nearly two million visitors annually.
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A tour that includes a dramatic series of domes and pits. This tour includes the entirety of the cave covered in the Frozen Niagara Tour. The tour lasts 2 hours and covers 3/4 of a mile (1.2 km). Approximately 500 steps must be traversed.
This short tour visits the most highly-decorated area of the cave, offering a chance to see cave formations including the massive "Frozen Niagara". The tour lasts for 1.25 hours and covers approximately a quarter of a mile (400 m), with a few stairs and some ducking.
This tour enters through the natural entrance and covers two miles of cave passages, including Fat Man's Misery, several old mining areas, Mammoth Dome, and a variety of lengthy caverns. There is a fair amount of ducking, twisting, and stair climbing during the two-hour tour. Note that due to the geology of the site, most of the portion of the cave that you'll see on this tour, while often large and impressive, lacks the stalactites and stalagmites that many people expect to see in limestone caves. If you've only got time for one tour and want to see more "decorated" caves, you should opt for the Domes and Dripstones tour.
A one-mile (1.6-km) trail leads to and down into a massive sinkhole. A sinking river flows at the bottom. While the trail to the sinkhole is rated as easy, there are many stairs to descend and climb if one wants to explore the bottom.
A popular boat launch and picnic area on the Green River. The recreation area used to be a primitive campground, but no overnight camping is allowed.
A 9-mile (15-km) trail that follows the right of way of the Mammoth Cave Railroad which operated from 1886 to 1931. The trail connects the Mammoth Cave Hotel with Park City, KY.
A short trail leads to Sand Cave. In January 1925, Floyd Collins became trapped while exploring the cave. The attempts to rescue him drew national attention, and while unsuccessful, were credited with generating the interest to create a national park centered on Mammoth Cave.
A half-mile (800-m) loop trail that leads to a scenic overlook of the Green River.
The First Creek Trail crosses Houchins Ferry Rd. near the northern boundary of the park and can be accessed via this trailhead.
The Lincoln Trailhead is located on the northern park boundary and provides access to the Collie Ridge Trail.
This trailhead is near the Maple Springs Group Campground and provides access to the Buffalo and Sal Hollow Trails
This trailhead provides access to the First Creek and McCoy Hollow Trails. The Temple Hill Cemetery is located nearby. The very scenic First Creek Lake is located about 1-mile north along the First Creek Trail.
This trailhead on the northern park boundary provides access to the White Oak Trail. This trail does not connect to any other trails within the park and is 2.5 miles (4 km) one way. The trail leads to the White Oak Campsite on the banks of the Green River and is directly across the river from the Dennison Ferry Recreation Area.
In the park. It features 42 standard motel-style rooms (closed in 2017 due to renovations), 20 more rooms in the "Sunset Lodge" near the main hotel facility, and two groups of cottages with limited facilities (open only during summer). Nightly rates range from $38 for cottages to $92 for motel rooms during the summer. A restaurant, snack bar and gift shop are on the premises. The hotel is across a small ravine from the Visitor Center, from which all cave tours depart. A paved trail adjacent to the hotel leads directly to the Historic Entrance of Mammoth Cave.
111 sites, 4 group sites. Mammoth Cave Campground is the park's developed camping area, situating campers most conveniently for excursions underground, around the Visitor Center, on the rivers, or farther afield. Rangers on duty in the campground kiosk are happy to provide information to make your stay a special adventure. The campground's 111 sites are open seasonally and are available by reservation. No hookups are provided; a shower and toilet house is available. Maximum stay 14 days.
12 sites. Not suitable for RVs or trailers. This primitive campground is located on the eastern side of the park on the banks of the Green River and is accessible via the Houchins Ferry Road in Brownsville. Open year-round.
8 sites, 6 group sites, 2 sites with electrical hookups. This campground is a natural launching-point for forays along the more than 70 miles of backcountry trails in Mammoth Cave National Park. The sites are specially designed to accommodate larger groups of campers, and their horse companions.
Most visitors access the park from two roadways which have interchanges with Interstate 65, one near Park City, Kentucky (KY 255) and the other near Cave City (KY 70).
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