Cave City is a small town in the middle of Kentucky, halfway between Nashville, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky, easily accessible on Interstate 65. While a pleasant area to visit, its claim to fame is that it is considered the "Gateway to Mammoth Cave".
Mammoth Cave National Park
Mammoth Cave National Park is the main attraction for tourists visiting the area. Scheduled tours enter the cave several times a day, and there are tours available for every tourist type, from spunky spelunkers to sedate seniors. Guided tours of Mammoth Cave have been going on since 1816.
Once inside Mammoth Cave, a favorite trick of the tour guides is to turn off all the lights to allow those taking the tour to see how really dark it is in the cave, be it day or night. Besides the total darkness, another constant feature is the temperature, which varies very little from a stable 54 degrees.
Some cave tours feature a boat ride in an underground river while others offer views of bats suspended at rest on the cave ceilings. Stalagmites and stalagmites are a staple of every cave excursion. Formed by dripping water, these beauties hang from the ceiling (stalagmites – remember, tight to the ceiling) like giant burnished icicles or rise from the cave floor (stalagmites) like great pillars.
Mammoth Cave Canoe and Kayak System on the Green River
The Mammoth Cave Canoe and Kayak system inside the Mammoth Cave National Park offers several canoe and kayak excursions through the park on the Green River. For beginners and those with small children, the half-day trip might be best. For more adventuresome and experienced canoers, there is a selection of ten full-day trips or even a two-day trip.
While there are no rapids and travel is downstream, paddling is still necessary to stay on course. For only $55, two adults can rent a canoe for the half-day trip. Everything – the canoe, paddles, life jackets, a map, and delivery to the launch site as well as pick up at the destination – is included in the price. Small children can be carried in the canoe as well at no extra charge.
A canoe trip down the Green River is the perfect way to see the outdoor beauty of Mammoth Cave National Park while enjoying sighting local wildlife, including deer, fox, beaver, bobcat, wild turkeys and other large birds. The Green River is home to 82 species of fish as well with waterfalls and limestone bluffs along the way.
Other Attractions in Cave City
Other water activities abound in the Cave City area including camping facilities, golf and a treasure trove of museums, with such themes as trains, Corvettes, Coca-Cola, wildlife and local legend Floyd Collins, who was trapped in a nearby cave in 1925.
Guntown Mountain, reached by a five-minute ride up the mountain in a chair lift, is a western-style town, offering its own can-can dancers, a shoot-out in the middle of town and a country band. For a small fee, tourists can even have one of their own thrown in jail.
Dinosaur World is another family-oriented attraction of the Cave City area. Life-size replicas of various dinosaurs are situated in wooded areas in the park while plaques give the details of their lives. Dinosaur World offers not only a fun day but a learning experience as well.
Whether it's spelunking, water activities, camping, a canoe trip down the Green River, museums or local wildlife, Cave City, Kentucky and the Mammoth Cave National Park have something every vacationer, young or old, can enjoy.
Pennie Packard - Pennie Packard is a wife, mother, grandmother, virtual assistant, and freelance writer. During her more than four years as a writer of ...
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