Mammoth Cave, KY

Has anyone ever been to Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky? DH and I would like to go sometime. We would most likely camp. Is there a better time of year to go? Any recommendations for things to see or do or prepare for?

I've been playing around on the website, but it didn't really offer a lot of seasonal information. There is so much to do there!
http://www.nps.gov/maca/index.htm

Send a PM to Mike - skippymjp - he's lives right around there and could probably give you a heap of information. Maybe you could meet the tribe too

Oh, there's lots and lots and LOTS to do here. What style of camping do you think you'd like. There are numerous "rustic" campgrounds, tent locations with water and facilities nearby, RV parks inside and outside the park, to the downright primitive (hike 26 miles of trails to get there, and it's just you and the woodpeckers). If you're canoeing or kayaking, all the river islands are open to camping, plus several of the rustic campsites are accessible from the river. There are 2 privately owned facilities for renting canoes and kayaks for 1 hour paddle abouts, to 3 day excursion trips with transportation supplied at launch and recovery sites. The launch from Munfordville takes you right underneath the L&N railroad bridge (biggest iron bridge in the world when it was built in 1854), which was a significant US Civil war battleground site. And of course you've got the cave tours, I can't even name them all, from the historic entrance to the little known, hard to find secondary entrances throughout the park. They even have a primitive cave tour, helmets, kneepads, oil lanterns, etc...

The Green River was canalized in 1838, with a series of locks and dams on the river all the way to Evansville. The slackwater system all but shut down in 1965, and the remains of the locks are dams are all still there, but they are all downriver and outside the park.

My favorite time of year in the park is early fall. The summer crowds are starting to die down, the river is warm, a little fall color is starting to show up, and all the little critters that stock up for the winter are out in force gathering, so you see wildlife of all shapes and sizes out and about.

I agree with Mike on visiting in Fall. That's when me and the parents were there (Thanksgiving break). Fewer people so more wildlife. We did the 4 hour tour, the one where you eat in the cave. Not being fans of roughing it, we stayed at the motel there.

That said, a trip in spring would be wonderful looking for wildflowers and listening to the birds court.

Mom and Dad's first trip there was in January 1955 - it was part of their honeymoon.

When all of my family lived in Ky we'd often go there. It's a beautiful place and fun, and the Cave is awesome.

Oh, if you do make it to Mammoth Cave, you have to have a meet up with Mike!

Thank you everyone! I'm thinking we could swing a trip down there in the Fall. My vacation will reset in June and DH is building up all sorts of paid time off with the over time he's working. I love hiking in the Fall. My allergies tend to be a lot less severe and I love the temps. We live in Northern Indiana, so really, a trip to Mammoth would be pretty easy for us to drive to. We both enjoy primitive camping. I've never been caving, so we thought a 3-4 hour tour would be good. I'm not sure how to put this delicately: If you go on a longer tour and you have to say, use the facilties, do you end up taking the same steps you do when you are camping primitive?

Ummm.... Mike, why don't you join the vacation thread and host a trip there?

Originally Posted by esrgirl

Thank you everyone! I'm thinking we could swing a trip down there in the Fall. My vacation will reset in June and DH is building up all sorts of paid time off with the over time he's working. I love hiking in the Fall. My allergies tend to be a lot less severe and I love the temps. We live in Northern Indiana, so really, a trip to Mammoth would be pretty easy for us to drive to. We both enjoy primitive camping. I've never been caving, so we thought a 3-4 hour tour would be good. I'm not sure how to put this delicately: If you go on a longer tour and you have to say, use the facilties, do you end up taking the same steps you do when you are camping primitive?

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There are actually 2 sets of eco-friendly restrooms inside the cave. One in the snowball room (enormous cavern), and I'm not sure of the section the others are in, but they're at like mile 3 or so. The Historic tour goes through there, and the Grand Avenue (that's the big one ), and one or two more I think. Tours only a hour or two don't pass the restrooms I believe. I can check fer' ya.

Originally Posted by gemlady

Oh, if you do make it to Mammoth Cave, you have to have a meet up with Mike!

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Yes! And the Jellicle Tribe!!

Checking through the site it does mention if there are pit stops included in the tour.

For example - http://www.nps.gov/maca/planyourvisi...randavenue.htm - it does mention restrooms.