How to Spend 2 Days in Mammoth Cave National Park with Kids

Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky boasts the longest known cave system in the world. I went for the cave but it is so much more. We visited in March as part of our Fourth Grade Pass tour.

History

Ranger Alex (our guide in the Historic Cave) and the museum visitor center gave some fantastic information.

Native Americans utlized the caves as shelter, harvested and lit river cane to use as torches inside, and even buried the dead inside with something like mummification.

The cave was later used to mine salt petre, which could be turned into gunpowder. It was very profitable at the time of the War of 1812.

I was most interested to learn that a wealthy landowner ran tours in the cave as early as 1816. Enslaved African Americans who lived on the land were forced to be guides. The most famous was Stephen Bishop, who is credited for exploring much of the cave. He, his wife, and a few other guides used tips and money they earned selling eyeless cave fish to tourists to purchase their freedom.

Read more on the NPS park history website.

Historic Cave Tour

Pro Tip: Book the cave tours early! I reserved tickets a few weeks in advance and got one of the last tour times for the Historic Cave Tour. The others were sold out. The Historic is the one I most wanted to see, so I wasn’t disappointed, but it’s best to see what your options are. Do NOT expect to get a spot on a tour if you show up on the day.

Ranger Alex did a great job discussing the physical and human history of the cave. There are not a lot of stalactices/stalagmites in this cave. Rather, it’s made of mostly limestone. Some highlights of the tour include a look at a simulation of what Victorian cave tourists saw, a windy, skinny part that requires going sideways, some areas that necessitate crouching, and a walk over the “bottomless pit.”

My fourth-grader at the mouth of White’s Cave

Morning Hike

The lodge is under renovation in the park, so we stayed at Sunset Terrace, a small block of rooms inside the park. From there, we could walk directly onto a trail. We went on the Heritage Trail with the guide’s cemetery, down to the Mammoth sink hole, over to White’s Cave, by Echo River, up Two Springs Trail to the River Styx, saw the Green River ferry, went up the Green River Bluff to Dixon Cave, then down to the Historic entrance and finished at the visitor center.

This route took about 2.5 hours and we didn’t stop except for a few quick water and snack breaks. There was one bathroom on the route. My 9yo liked it because there was enough variety to keep her engaged.

Cedar Sinkhole

We drove over to this trailhead, then hiked the one hour-ish route. This was very cool because you get to walk down into a big sink and see where the water collects. It’s different than the rest of the park because you see rock cliffs and blue-green water. And there are a lot of cedar trees.

Cave City

The nearest town has your usual touristy things like mini golf and snack shacks as well as random things like Dino World and Jesse James stables. The dining isn’t plentiful, but we enjoyed Cave City Creamery for coffee and ice cream and Bucky Bee’s for bbq. The Market KY is a cute gift shop.

Mammoth Cave Adventures

The zip-lining course at Mammoth Cave Adventures is wonderful. It has 5 long zip lines through tree canopies, a bit of short hiking, some rope bridges, a ladder up a tree, and it ends with an ATV ride. It was gorgeous and adrenaline-fueling. With more time/money, we’d do horseback riding as well.

Junior Ranger

As usual, I recommend getting the junior ranger book. It kept my 9yo VERY interested, especially in the museum. It’s a special part of the experience.

Two Days Mammoth Park itinerary with kids for fourth grade pass.