Mammoth Cave Tours: From Easy Walks to Crawls

Human stories down there reach back more than 5,000 years, from early explorers to the ongoing exploration of today. The park's other toured caves, Great Onyx Cave and Wondering Woods Cave, also require a guided trip to see inside.

The Mammoth Passage Tour is the easiest place to start. It begins at the Historic Entrance and follows broad walkways through some of the largest rooms, where many artifacts left by early explorers remain. Covering three quarters of a mile in about an hour and a quarter, with 135 stairs, it suits visitors who feel uneasy in tight spaces, families with small children, or anyone who wants few steps. Expect a steep outdoor hill on the way to the natural entrance and again on the way back. This route does not pass the dripstone formation areas.

The Grand Historic Tour is a four-hour outing covering roughly 4 miles, with 640 stairs and a difficult rating. Guides trace who discovered the cave, how people first used it, the early years of tourism, and the exploration still underway. Highlights include Giant's Coffin, Bottomless Pit, the Tuberculosis Huts, River Styx, and Mammoth Dome, and lanterns light parts of the route. The tour is open to visitors six and older, and anyone under 16 needs an adult along.

For more challenge, the Wild Cave Tour fills an entire day with long stretches of crawling through cramped passages and climbing over rough sections, with the history of cave exploration woven in. Bring sturdy boots that reach over the ankle bone and have treads at least a quarter inch deep, since slick soles and sneakers are not allowed. The Introduction to Caving Tour lasts 3.5 hours and goes off-trail through hard-to-reach areas, teaching safe caving techniques. It requires at least two participants, and there are no restrooms on that tour.