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A section called Broadway is one of the main passageways in Mammoth Cave, averaging 40 feet high and 60 feet wide for three miles.
Long shadows flickered before me as I walked through the dank, subterranean passages of Kentucky's Mammoth Cave. During my recent two-hour Historic Tour, I crouched and twisted my way through the cramped alleys of Fat Man's Misery, checked out a massive block of rock aptly dubbed Giant's Coffin, and faced the gaping maw known as the Bottomless Pit.
With more than 365 miles of discovered passageways, Mammoth Cave is the world's largest cave system, and geologists believe there could be hundreds of miles yet to discover. Compared with caves I'd visited previously, Mammoth felt a little different -- and not just because of its size. "It feels like walking through a big salt mine," said my travel companion after we'd hiked more than an hour without seeing a single stalactite or hearing the trickle of water seeping down the limestone walls.
But this is a good thing, our National Park Service guide told us, at least for the future longevity of the cave. Mammoth does have some water-carved formations such as stalagmites and stalactites, but much of the cave system is actually sheltered from water by a “roof” of sandstone, which keeps it dry and protected.
Mammoth may not have the exquisitely colored formations that draw visitors to other caves, but it does have a fascinating history. Back in the 1800′s, African-American slaves were among Mammoth's first tour guides and explorers. (Visit the the National Park's website to learn more.) I was particularly drawn to the story of Stephen Bishop, who began guiding visitors at age 17 and later was the first person to cross the Bottomless Pit and chart the previously undiscovered passageways beyond. After nearly two decades in the caves, Bishop was given his freedom -- but he died the following year.
After you emerge, squinting, from the cool darkness underground, don't forget to enjoy the other half of Mammoth's ecosystem. Visitors can soak up some sun and fresh air on a network of wooded hiking trails.
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I had the good fortune to see Mammoth Cave in the 70's. It really is awesome and a real treat for anyone who loves natural bueaty and don't mind being underground in a cave. If you ever get the opportunity to do some great cave exploring, I would definitely recommend Mammoth Cave.
It's a fascinating place. I grew up in the area and we got to go on class trips, picnics, etc.
In the late 50's, my family went to visit relatives in Kentucky. We went to Mammoth Cave and took the all day tour (7 hours) and ate boxed lunch brought down by a dumb waiter in the dining room (can't remember the name of the room). It was fascinating. Then in Utah (where I was born and raised), we went to Timpanogas Cave. I was never more disapointed that I was on that day. Timpanogas Cave can't hold a candle to Mammoth Cave. Since I have seen the best, all other pale. Someday I would like to go back to Mammoth Cave, but I'm much older now, and I don't think I could handle all that walking.
Hi Opal:
The name of the dining room is The Crystal Ballroom, due to all of the gypsum blooms on the upper portion of the cave's roof. I have lived about 9 miles north of the northern boundry of the national park for eleven years, hence the screen name CubRunRick.
It is an absolutely beautiful area, and I am glad you enjoyed it.
If you did the all day tour, then you probably emerged from the cave on the back side of the park. The old rickety wooden steps that you had to climb have been replaced with aluminum non-slip treads and handrails. The bad thing is that there are still 260 or so, steps.
If you have limited mobility, they have shorter tours that are a lot less taxing on you.
Come on back to Kentucky for a visit, you would like it here, especially in the spring.
Regards,
Rick
cub run:
I do believe the name of room is the Snowball Room not crystal ballroom
Never been and don't plan anytime soon. I don't know which scare me more, Rand Paul or the banjo players?
Michael Coats, don't worry about running into either -- I highly doubt that you will see or hear either while here. I'm a native Louisvillian (still here) and my mother and her family are from the Cave City area. It's a beautiful place that shouldn't be missed out on simply because of a bias against a politician and banjos! :-)
BTW, it's the world's longest cave system, not the largest.
Side note: There is a campground on Mammoth Cave Road (Hwy 70) called "Singing Hills". Next to the entrance is a large two-story house that was built during the Civil War. My mother's father used to own that house and the campground property when it was a farm. The original builder is an ancestor by the last name of Monroe. :-)
We toured Mammoth Cave system when we lived in Elizabethtown, Ky in 1990. We moved to Virginia and my husband swears that some day they'll figure out that the Mammoth Cave system comes as far as we are now. He says it's the largest cave system in the world. It really was magnificant and awe inspiring.
There are probably much larger cave systems even in the lower 48 but, this should not lessen the status of Mammoth. My late brother was an avid world explorer, biologist and spelunker. He assisted in mapping caverns in SD that probably connect Wind cave and Jewel cave national monument. I spent many days exploring darkness and conserving carbide in the America's. Few can grasp the extent of the cave systems under foot.
The Mammoth Cave area is a really pretty part of the country. Any time I went there the people were really nice and friendly. Coming from Tennessee that is expected. There is a lot to see around there and the Bowling Green area. We used to go to the drag races and amusement park in Bowling Green and sometimes would go to the caves while there. Another neat cave to tour is Meramec Caverns in Missouri along I-44 and the old Route 66 Highway. My aunt and uncle took us there in about 1959 or 1960. Took my son there 35 years later and a lot of memories came back because it is nearly the same. That's how I got interested in caves and once I started driving Mammoth Cave was always one of my favorite trips.
I have read in an article stating that, Mammoth Cave is one of the portals on the earth's surface going inside into the hollow earth. It is indeed an amazing beauty!
I went to Mammoth Cave when I was around 12 yrs. old. I'am 56 now they had a dead Indian preserved in a glass case. Is he still there? I don't remember much about the trip.
No, Mam-Maw, the remains are no longer there. The remains of the victim that had been trapped by a loose boulder were named "Lost John" and exhibited into the 1970s, when they were buried in a secret location in Mammoth Cave for reasons of preservation as well as for political sensitivities with respect to the public display of Native American remains.
Spelunkers (cave exploring professionals and enthusiasts) and geologists have defined parts of Kentucky, the Cumberland Plateau and Ridge and Valley areas of Tennessee, as well as Northeastern Alabama and Northern Georgia as having more caves per square mile than any other place on the planet - and the Cumberland Plateau region is especially rich in this designation. Every year sees more caves discovered (or rather, rediscovered in most cases) and often there is a wealth of archeological and biological treasures discovered as well. Caves were the first homes used by our earliest ancestors and today there are modern troglodites building comfortable dwellings in caves, clefts, and under overhangs. Back when I was 16 I ran away from home and lived in a dry cave for about 2 months - just me and my half-wolf dog Max - and it was a heck of a good experience.
I still love climbing around in caves even at age 51 because each cave is a unique world with its own atmosphere and climate, fauna, mineral composition, and defining characteristics. If you go spelunking, please remember to leave it as you found it...take nothing out that you find there and leave nothing behind that you've brought in.
I highly recommend the "Wild Cave Tour". I did it a number of years ago, and it was an amazing experience. Yes, you absolutely have to meet the requirements, and be warned, this is a grueling, rugged trek off the beaten path, but it was one of the best almost-adventures I've even taken.
The price is a little steep, but totally worth it.
I went last year. We stayed at the on site hotel and ate at the restaurant. It was a really great vacation. Plenty of outdoor hiking also in the park.