Mammoth Cave National Park with Kids
In southern Kentucky, near Bowling Green, lies Mammoth Cave National Park. And while I wouldn’t expect the largest cave system in the world to be found in Kentucky just off of I-65, Mammoth Cave National Park is a fantastic park to see with kids. Keep reading for the best of what this unassuming national park has to offer for families.
Best Cave Tours for Kids
One of the best things about Mammoth Cave National Park is its sheer variety of tours. With different tours of different lengths, there is bound to be a tour that matches the needs and interests of your specific family.
However, there’s a few that we’ve enjoyed the most with our kids.
Discovery Tour
For families with the littlest of kids, or for families that get claustrophobic easily, I highly recommend the Discovery Tour. This is a self-guided, self-paced tour of one of the more spacious parts of the cave. To reach this tour, you walk from the visitor center and up a paved hill towards the historic entrance. This section of the path takes about 10-15 minutes. From there, you enter the cave down a relatively steep (and occasionally slippery) flight of steps.
Once in the cave, you can take your time exploring this pretty open section of the cave. There’s sections that teach you about how saltpeter used to be mined here as well as information on how American Indians used to explore the cave.
As this is self-guided, you’re definitely not going very far into the cave, but this was the perfect amount for my young children. They loved seeing the cave without rushing to keep up with a large group. I loved seeing the cave without feeling claustrophobic. And while it is self-guided, there are still park rangers available to answer any questions and point out any bats that may be present.
Historic Tour
If you want more of a “classic” Mammoth Cave tour, check out the Historic Tour. This tour gives you an overview of the best of what Mammoth Cave has to offer, including spacious rooms as well as tighter passages. This is one of the more popular tours, and there can be about 75 people on it, making it a pretty large group to keep up with. However, if your kids are older, this can be a good one to see a variety of cave formations.
Frozen Niagara Tour
This tour came highly recommended by a park ranger when we mentioned we were traveling with very young kids. The Frozen Niagara Tour includes a bus ride to a different entry into the cave system, and only requires 12 steps. It’s also incredibly short, at only .25 miles. This is a great way to see one of the more famous parts of the cave without having to do a longer tour. On our next trip to Mammoth Cave, we plan on trying this tour out.
For more informaiton on all of the tours available, as well as reserving tickets, what to wear, etc., check out their website here.
What Else to Do with Kids in the Mammoth Cave National Park
Beyond the cave tours, there are several things to do in Mammoth Cave National Park that are great for kids.
Hiking
Located near the Green River, there are some beautiful hiking trails within the park. I highly recommend going in the fall or early spring to have the best views of the river and the rock formations.
With kids, I recommend the Dixon Cave trail or the River Styx trail. Both are less than a mile, making them great for families (especially if you’re doing a cave tour on the same day). They also leave from the main picnic area or the historic entrance, so odds are, you’re already near the trailhead. These offer great views of the pallisades and the river.
If you’re looking for longer hikes, you can combine several of these shorter hikes as many are near each other.
For more information on trails in Mammoth Cave National Park, check out their website here.
Picnic Areas
There is a lovely picnic area just up the road from the main visitor center. With picnic shelters and tables tucked into the woods, this is a lovely place to enjoy. Additionally, there are bathrooms in this area, so that you don’t have to deal with the visitor center mid-picnic.
Campground and Stargazing
There is a fairly large campground in the park. While it is not electric, there is a camp store and showers and laundry are available. More information on their campgrounds are available here.
If you’re camping, be sure to take advantage of the stargazing here. Mammoth Cave is an International Dark Sky Park. As there are not as many east of the Mississippi, this is definitely something to take advantage of here. The park also offers everal ranger led star gazing programs.
Gift Shops, Hotel, and Dining
If camping isn’t your thing, there is a hotel within the park that looks fancy. Directly across from the visitor center, they also offer dining options and several gift shops.
Even if you’re not staying in the hotel, check out the dining options. There are several grab and go options as well as hand scooped ice cream- something my kids LOVED after a cave tour.
(If you’re looking for dining options outside of the park though, you’re a very short drive from Cave City, which offers your basic interstate exit fast food options.)
Logistics
Mammoth Cave is a pretty highly visited national park. If you want to go on a specific cave tour that is offered less frequently, it would be a good idea to book ahead of time.
(Also- just note that this park is right on the line of the Central Time Zone. All cave tours are based on Central Time.)
Be sure to check out the visitor center and the small museum, as it offers diagrams showing kids how caves are formed as well as information about animals within the cave.
And of course, don’t miss the Jr. Ranger Program. It’s free and after your kids complete the booklet, they can earn their National Park badge. All of the information needed to complete the booklet can be found in the museum, but it also definitely helps to go on a cave tour as well.
Nearby Attractions
Mammoth Cave is right off of I-65 near Bowling Green, Kentucky, and the area offers a lot to families. If “kitchy” attractions are your thing, this is the place for you. Think Route-66 vibes. Lots of places that offer gem stone mining for outrageous prices.
Just up the road is Kentucky Down Under. It’s a small area that features Australian animals. Why this is here, I have no idea, but you can walk around kangaroos and stand in a lorry cage. Now-if you live near a zoo that has Austrailian areas, I would personally skip this. But if your kid LOVES kangaroos or your local zoo doesn’t have Australian animals, this could be something to check out with kids.
Nearby in Horse Cave is also Historic Hidden River Cave, which offers the world’s longest underground swinging rope bridge.
A bit further down I-65 is the Lost River Cave in Bowling Green, KY. You can tour this cave by boat as a family. And if you have any car fans in your family, Bowling Green is also home to the National Corvette Museum.
Learning Extensions and Related Posts
If you’re staying in Kentucky longer, be sure to check out my posts about things to do with kids in Kentucky.
If you have a preschooler and are looking for more learning activities after visiting Mammoth Cave National Park, check out my post here for a Montessori friendly cave unit theme.
And if you have a toddler and are looking for more national park themed activities, check out my post here:
