Among the cave-centric park units within the National Park System, Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky stands out. Not only is this the longest known cave system in the world, but it’s a place rich in human history, both above and below ground, and home to some unique wildlife that call this cave home. Because of this, Mammoth Cave is declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve.

Long before the first European discovered this cave (allegedly either John or his brother Francis Houchin) in the late 1790s, Native Americans were exploring Mammoth Cave and mining it for minerals. African Americans, women, guides, and the Civilian Conservation Corps have also all left their own history on and beneath this national park’s landscape.

According to park staff:

The human history of the Mammoth Cave area began by 12,000 years ago with the exploration of Mammoth Cave itself dating back between 5,000 to 4,000 years ago. Prehistoric people from the Late Archaic and Early Woodland period once inhabited the forests and plains of Kentucky, with a focus on the river valleys and their abundant resources. Their hunter-gatherer lifestyle eventually led them to discover Mammoth Cave thousands of years before the arrival of European settlers.

In the 18th century, enslaved African Americans worked to produce saltpeter in the depths of the cave. After the [Civil] War ended, Mammoth Cave transitioned from a saltpeter production facility into a world-renowned tourist destination that African Americans also helped to create. Enslaved men and women worked in the Historic Mammoth Cave Hotel to clean rooms, change linens, and prepare meals.

In the cave, some of the early guides were young enslaved men such as Stephen Bishop, Mat Bransford, Nick Bransford, and Alfred Croghan. These men, along with many others, discovered and helped develop cave tour routes that enhanced the visitor experience throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.

For many events in history women were often involved but seldom mentioned. For Mammoth Cave’s history, reminders of these women are recorded in their professional achievements, published accounts, or literally written on the walls [such as the cave ceiling at Gothic Avenue, where cave tourists can see the scrawled signatures of Elizabeth Gatewood and Charlotte Bishop, who accompanied their spouses on tours and perhaps even further exploration of the cave passages].

Four CCC camps were established in the park with each of the camps housing 200-250 young men. The CCC often sent workers far from home to work on projects, yet several men from the local communities were part of the Mammoth Cave camps.

These workers built structures still standing today, planted more than 1 million trees, and within the cave itself, improved or created 24 miles of passageway.

The wildlife here is pretty unusual, too, with about 160 animal species documented as living within the cave system, including eyeless fish, translucent crayfish, cave crickets, and bats. Seventy species of animals found here are listed as threatened or endangered, and seven species are endemic, including the endangered Kentucky cave shrimp, found nowhere on Earth except within the large, base level cave streams flowing through Mammoth Cave. 

While it’s a no-brainer you’ll be taking at least one (if not more) of the 18 cave tours currently offered by the park - from the Accessible Tour to the extreme Wild Cave Tour - there is plenty to do topside, such as hiking, biking, paddling, horseback riding, and fishing.

The Green and Nolin rivers flow through Mammoth Cave National Park. These rivers are part of the Green and Nolin Rivers Blueway, a National Water Trail encompassing 36 miles (58 km) of navigable waterway and seven public access sites, making them perfect venues for paddling a canoe or kayak from which you can fish, spot wildlife, and view the karst landscape from a different perspective. No kayak or canoe? No problem. Several rental businesses operate within the park.

Feel like dropping hook, line, and sinker into the park’s waters? You might pull out bluegill, catfish, bass, perch, or crappie from the rivers and creeks flowing within the park’s boundary.

Eighteen miles (29 km) of easily-accessed trails, plus over 60 miles (97 km) of backcountry trails provide varying distances on which to stretch your legs while offering scenic ridge, river, sinkhole, stream, and forest views. Some of these trails might lead you to one of over 80 known cemeteries in which rest those people who called the park their home.

Mammoth Cave National Park offers a unique view of the land’s geology and cave forming processes. You’ll learn about sinkholes, sinking streams, soluble rocks such as limestone and gypsum, cave formations (aka speleothems), karst topography, and a treasure trove of fossil finds, including 70 species of shark.

Feel like spending a night or two inside the park? The Lodge at Mammoth Cave, which recently received a new roof, a reconfiguration of the interior lobby, installation of new energy efficient windows, additional building insulation, and a complete facade update, offers the closest option for overnight stays in the park and is conveniently located directly next to the visitor center.

If you’d rather pitch a tent beneath the stars, Mammoth Cave National Park offers three frontcountry campgrounds as well as backcountry and riverside camping. From there, you can gaze up at the starry sky with little light pollution interference.

If you are planning a trip to this national park, the pages below should help you with your travel preparations. Even if you’ve visited more than once, you might still learn something new, here.

Traveler’s Choice For: caving and cave tours, history, geology, photography, paddling