In the Area: Mammoth Cave pt. 3
Ok. So. I forgot to push publish. That’s probably because I also forgot to write this last week. But Let’s go ahead and wrap up my recommendations for other things to do near Mammoth Cave National Park.
My brain is so full of tropical, and subtropical, locations at the moment, that it’s honestly nice to remember more temperate places exist!
And, Mammoth Cave, is for the most part, a temperate region. But sometimes, it gets hot too, and in the middle of the summer, when the cooling effect of a forest shade would be most effective, the vegetation is at it’s highest, and the ticks are at their worst, so as summer approaches, I thought I would take this last in the series article to suggest some activities to help you chill out after a visit to Mammoth Cave.
And what better wat to chill out than:
#1 Lost River Cave.
“We should check it out once on our way back to Florida. It’s pretty cool!” - Bethany
“Ok. As long as the water is clear, not red with ghost blood.” Rudy.
Another Cave, I know. And you can get more than enough cave action inside Mammoth Cave. Also, this one is further away, requiring more than 30 miles more travel south on I-65, that’s more than 60 miles round trip! (or you could stop here on your way to Mammoth Cave if you are coming from the south.)
However, I feel the adventure is worth the distance, and the stop, because there are some aspects of Mammoth Cave which have been lost over time. (With good reason.) The Day long tours, with lunches inside the cave, are a thing of the past. For several good reasons. #1. Food attracts the wrong kinds of animals into the cave, and threatens the habitat for the natives. #2. The tours cover familiar ground for a reason, it’s the best part of the cave to see, and also it allows other areas to be preserved. Read up on how white-nose disease effects bat populations, (possibly in a future article here, or in the Specters of Mammoth Cave,) and hopefully you will agree that it might be best to give the native fauna some places to themselves without fear of sneaker transmitted pathogens. and #3. Just ask the rangers how and where people went to the bathrooms on those long tours. (or don’t, you probably don’t want to know.) and #4. The ghosts rove the deeper, darker parts of the cave.
Also gone from Mammoth Cave, are the boat rides down Echo River. This is purely an environmental choice. There’s no good way to take boats through the cave without disrupting the lives of the cave fish and crawfish. But if you would like to experience a boat ride in a cave, similar to the type once offered in Mammoth Cave, you only need to head south the Bowling Green, Kentucky. There you can find Lost River Cave, which is an entirely different cave but still offers boat tours.
Check out the website to learn more. This is one of the rare times I will recommend something that I have not personally done. However I have heard from others who have taken the tour that it is well worth it. Plus you can put yourself back in the early days of cave tourism: on a boat, traversing the depths of the Earth. Pretty cool!
#2. Kentucky Down Under
“Kangaroos!” - Lucy
“I’ll stay over here, thank you.” Amelia. “Emu’s are just modern dinosaurs, That one wants to eat me!” - Amelia Zhang.
Kentucky is known for many things, limestone, blue grass enriched by limestone, caves made out of limestone, horses enriched by eating the grass enriched by the limestone, and many other non-limestone related things, like Kangaroos!
The Bluegrass region is actually North of Mammoth Cave. The Limestone is everywhere. But the best place to see Kangaroos in Kentucky is a little zoo just outside of Mammoth Cave called Kentucky Down Under. Here you can find a variety of wildlife, and even walk amongst the Kangaroos and Emu’s.
(note about the photos: I couldn’t find any I’d taken from Kentucky Down Under, but here is me hanging out with Kangaroos, a thing you can do in KYDU)
Plus, while you are there, there is… Another Cave! Mammoth Onyx Cave, another contender in the Kentucky Cave Wars. Neither Mammoth Cave nor Great Onyx Cave, (two separate caves within Mammoth Cave National Park,) Mammoth Onyx Cave might have taken advantage of the naming confusion back when the caves competed, but today stands as it’s own attraction, (alongside the marsupials and giant birds,) It’s also refreshingly cool inside.
#3. Nolin River Lake
“I learned how to snorkel in Nolin Lake.” - Bethany, “I don’t think I ever saw the bottom though.”
“Finally some swimming.” Lucy.
“Why are you sticking back here with us, Lucy? You swim much faster that we can.” - Amelia
“Because, it’s more fun to swim together, besides, it’s always smart to have swim buddies.”
I feel a few too many of my suggestions are biased to south of Mammoth Cave, so here’s a suggestion to the North. Nolin Lake State Park sits to the North of Mammoth Cave. Which means that it is best accessible when the Ferry is active. Otherwise it’s a bit of a drive (if you are coming from I-65. But honestly, that drive might be worth it. Not only for Nolin Lake, and the activities there, but because the section of Mammoth Cave National Park north of the Green River has some of the best hiking. Still, that’s not why I mention the state park.
I leave this as the penultimate suggestion on my list of places, and things to do near Mammoth Cave because after you’ve been out all day hiking, (or several days hiking) maybe you just want to jump in a lake. Or perhaps you want the view from the big dam which makes it. Or you want even more mountain biking opportunities. (there are trails in Northern Mammoth Cave too.)
Nolin lake has all of these and more, and State parks, while not national, are also pretty cool. Visiting them, and supporting them is also incredibly valuable.
And finally
#4. Turnhole Bend Trail.
Ok. I’m cheating. This is a tiny trail inside of Mammoth Cave National Park. It’s on the park register and everything. (It’s also, unfortunately not the most accessible trial in the park, as it does require steps.) But it is not along any of the main roads into the park. You have to turn left and away from the visitor center, if you are headed into the park from either southern route (off I-65) or you will skip the turn entirely if you come from the Sand Cave entrance. Meaning that it is on a much more infrequently traveled route through Mammoth Cave.
It is, however, on the route you will be taking to the Northern Park if the ferry is out. And well worth stopping at if this is the case. Even if it isn’t along your immediate travel route this short trail is worth the stop. It’s a perfect place to see immediate examples of the sinkholes spread throughout this entire region of Kentucky.
The loop trail winds above and through some collapsed sink holes, which stretches out to an overlook where you can see Turnhole Bend in the Green River below. All in all, it’s a nice little hike which I feel too many people miss. Also, as summer hit’s, it will remain one of the cooler hikes in the park, being entirely shaded, and often breezy.
With that, my short series about other things to do near Mammoth Cave draws to an end!
Something else next week, probably.
Go to Mammoth Cave! Read the Specters of Mammoth Cave, and check out some of the other sites in the area, if you can.