I wasn’t sure what to expect at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. Reviews I read ranged from amazing to not worth the time. After spending only one afternoon there, my only regret is not spending more time at this National Park!
My dad, K2 and I signed up for the 2-hour historic tour so we could learn a bit of the history, geology and have an adventure. My mom and K1 chose the less squishy Frozen Niagara tour.
The description for our tour read, “Going through tunnels that humans have used for thousands of years, this tour not only explores huge rooms that gave Mammoth Cave its name, but also descends to much tighter places deep inside the cave.”
One of these tight spaces was called Fat Man’s Misery – a very narrow, windy path carved by centuries of water passing through the cave. It was a tight space, but nothing like the Lemon Squeeze at Lost River in New Hampshire!
K2 passing through Fat Man’s Misery inside Mammoth Cave National Park.
I was surprised to learn that Mammoth Cave is the largest cave system in the world with more than 400 miles discovered so far. They believe there are up to 600 more miles to discover. The history was also really fascinating with cave drawings and artifacts still intact. I wish we had signed up for a longer tour so we could see the underground rivers and other areas of the cave.
Beyond the cave, which was our reason for visiting, there were lots of hiking and biking trails inside the park. Someday we’ll come back and spend more time exploring the area!
Kudos to our tour guide, Haley, who managed to keep it super funny and educational.
