Beginning of Kentucky Adventures
The beginning of May would find us in Kentucky where we will spend 7-weeks traveling from Cave City (Mammoth Cave National Park) in a big sideways U eventually landing near Louisville experiencing some of the natural beauty and the world-class spirits that are produced in this state.
Our first big adventure in the Bluegrass State will be Cave City where we will explore all that Mammoth Cave National Park has to offer it’s visitors.
Mammoth Cave National Park
Founded as a National Park in 1941, the park’s 52,830 acres encompasses rolling hills, deep river valleys, and the world’s longest known cave system. Mammoth Cave National Park is home to thousands of years of human history and a rich diversity of plant and animal life. The purpose of Mammoth Cave National Park is to preserve, protect, interpret, and study the internationally recognized biological and geologic features and processes associated with the longest known cave system in the world, the park’s diverse forested, karst landscape, the Green and Nolin rivers, and extensive evidence of human history; and to provide and promote public enjoyment, recreation, and understanding.
Wow! That’s a mouthful but to us laymen, it’s just plain fun to experience a cave system that has a history dating back hundreds of years when slaves were required to guide wealthy visitors through the dark tunnels while the women wore corsets and heels and men wore suits and top hats. Today in our sneakers and shorts we follow the ranger led program on any one of many guided tours that walk you through the same chambers with some modern lights to (dimly) light the way.
Of the many tours you can choose from these are the two different ones we opted for:
Grand Historic Tour
Which is described on the park’s website as:
This four-hour tour will provide visitors the experience of traveling through the past as they learn about those who first discovered the cave, its first uses, early tourism, and the cave exploration that continues today. Visit some of the cave’s most iconic landmarks such as Giant’s Coffin, Bottomless Pit, Tuberculosis Huts, River Styx, and Mammoth Dome. It’s an adventure thousands of years in the making!
Includes all of the Historic, Extended Historic, Gothic Ave., Star Chamber, River Styx and parts of the Discovery, Mammoth Passage and Violet City Tour routes. Includes a steep outdoor hillside trail to and from the cave’s natural entrance. Parts of this tour will have lanterns.
As you already know, the enjoyment you receive from a “guided” tour in large part depends on your tour guide. Our guide was “okay”, I was disappointed that we had to walk at a brisk pace unable to soak in the dimly lit surroundings AND watch your step on the uneven ground. Instead, we walked at a brisk pace to get to a spot ahead of schedule to then “waste time” (her words not mine) with questions before we could move on to the next segment of the tour.
But all-in-all it was an enjoyable 4-hours underground marveling at the bravery it took to explore the cave and the manual labor that it took to make them what they are today.
Cleveland Avenue Tour
Which is described on the park’s website as:
For nearly two centuries, Cleaveland Avenue has attracted people from all over the world to see its sparkling walls of gypsum and unique tube-shaped passages. Evidence of early visitors can still be seen on the walls and ceiling as you travel Cleaveland Avenue to the Snowball Room. This tour is ideal for people looking for a unique part of Mammoth Cave and an interest in geology and history.
This tour enters the cave by descending nearly 200 stairs and exits the cave via an elevator. In the event the elevator is not available due to unforeseen circumstances, the tour turns around in the Snowball Room and extends its time 30 minutes, retraces the route, and ascends the near 200 stairs back out of the cave.
For this tour we opted for the 3:30 pm timeslot on a weekday and we were not surprised that it was a smallish group of about 30 people. We were greeted at the pavilion by a booming commanding force named Ranger Jerry who was accompanied by Ranger Eric. We were immediately impressed by these two lively fellows.
After a brief introduction, we learned that Ranger Jerry is a 5th generation tour guide at the caves with a rich history tied to this area of Kentucky. I wouldn’t be able to adequately retell his story so I’ll leave that to him in this National Park Video I found online.
This tour was so very intriguing and interesting in large part because of Ranger Jerry.
Disclaimer: It is difficult to capture photographs in the dark of the caves.
Green River
The dark cyan waters of the Green River flow through a bluff-lined gorge with streamside caves, springs and healthy populations of fish life for the 25-miles that wind through the Mammoth Cave National Park. From fishing, padding and camping the river offers something for everyone.
We cherry-picked a spectacular spring day with mild temps and full sunshine in the days between Spring Break and Memorial Day when visitors were few.
Once I was dropped at the Green River Ferry Launch Site, Mike used a shuttle service to pick him up from our end point, Houchin Ferry Campground. That took about 1-hour for him to arrive back to launch the boats. The Park makes it easy to get your kayaks (or canoe) in the water with the ramp (behind Mike).
Ours was to be a 12.4-mile float/paddle that was estimated to take between 4-6 hours. We (especially me) LOVE to paddle so combined with the flow and our paddling we arrived at our end point in about 3.5 hours. Even still, nothing felt rushed or exhausting. It was a very pleasant paddle trip with a few gravel bars for snack breaks. We were even escorted by an adolescent bald eagle for part of our trip. Otherwise, we heard nothing but birdsong and wind the entire trip.
Biking the Mammoth Cave Railroad Bike and Hike Trail
Originally opened in 1886 the Mammoth Cave Railroad brought early tourists to Mammoth Cave and other neighboring caves in the area. The train line continued its service for 45 years and made its final run on August 1, 1931.
Today, a portion of the path of the former Mammoth Cave Railroad has been converted into a 9-mile hike and bike trail. This trail can be accessed from Park City, KY, several points along Mammoth Cave Parkway, and the park’s visitor center area. Along the trail, cyclists and hikers can stop at historic sites, interpretive waysides, and scenic overlooks.
We parked at the Park City Trailhead and rode the 9-miles to the Visitor Center stopping along the way to pay our respects at the Shackleford Cemetery, view the overlooks and enjoy the ride.
Hiking
With 18-miles of easy to access trails found on the south side of the Green River, a hiking adventure is never out of the question. This will take you to the complete list here. We opted for the All-Trails recommended hike combining several trails to form the Green River Bluff, Echo River Springs, Sinkhole and Heritage Trail. It was an easy 4.3-mile “walk in the woods” with a few ups, some paved, some boardwalk, some well-groomed and even a trip by the Green River Ferry. The views were nice and the flora was pretty along the trail.
Campground
We stayed at Cave Country RV Campground in Cave City which was a short 20-minute drive to the heart of the park. Admittingly, it wasn’t our favorite campground because of the highway view, road noise and the close proximity to your neighbor. The plusses were the staff was pleasant, a nice laundry room, a cute rec room and well kept ground. Compared to other options in the area, it was definitely the better choice. Others that we saw weren’t very well put together or maintained and the very family-friendly Jellystone was a little out of our price range.
Dining & Other
While trying to maintain a reasonable budget, we opted for these two dining experiences:
- Bucky Bees BBQ of Cave City. They have a 4.4-star rating on Google with over 2,000 reviews! We were one to give them a 5-star rating! The staff was very friendly, the BBQ and sides were delicious and the portions were huge. Highly recommend this joint if you are in the mood for some down-home BBQ.
- Bluegrass Vineyards. We drove the 20-miles via the highway to this quaint winery. It was an adorable setting inside with options for snacks to go with your flight. We enjoyed their selection of fruit wines from sweet to dry and found a couple to take home. Again, the southern hospitality was abundant and the pricing was reasonable.
In Closing…..
We enjoyed our short 5-night stay in Cave City, Kentucky exploring the National Park. I’m not sure there is enough here to bring us back.
Stay tuned for lots of posts and more importantly….. photographs by James Frazier (aka Mike).
Dream Big….Travel Far….Live Well
Photography
Although we don’t have any photos that made it to our photography website, please visit Nspired Eye Photography to see other areas of Kentucky and around the United States.
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