Mammoth Cave National Park
The grounds outside Mammoth Cave National Park is home to dense hardwood forest. However, beneath the park’s ground lies the main attraction. Mammoth Cave National Park features the world’s most extensive cave system in the world. With nearly 400 miles of mapped passageways and probably hundreds more that have been undiscovered, no known cave in the world is even half the size of Mammoth.
Mammoth Cave was a tourist attraction as early as 1816, making it the second-oldest tourist site behind Niagara Falls, NY.
Where to Stay While Visiting
If you want to stay inside the park, The Lodge at Mammoth Cave is your only option. If that lodge is full or you’d prefer to find other accommodations, here are a few nearby towns that have options:
- Park City, KY (9 miles away)
- Cave City, KY (11 miles)
- Brownsville, KY (14 miles)
- Smiths Grove, KY (17 miles)
VISIT Mammoth Cave National Park:
Park Details
Mammoth Cave National Park was established on May 25, 1926, and has a total area of 52,830 acres (83 square miles, or 214 square kilometers).
| Address | 1 Visitor Center Parkway, Mammoth Cave, KY, 42259 |
|---|---|
| Phone | 270 758-2180 |
| Hours | Park open 24/7, but cave tours are from 8am to 5pm |
| Entrance Fee | Free to enter park. Cave tours $6-$66 |
| Learn More | Official Website |
When to Visit: Weather vs. Peak Visitation
Mammoth Cave National Park is the 106th most visited park in the country.
We crunched 30 years of historical weather and/or park service data to find the best months to visit Mammoth Cave National Park. We looked for the optimal temperatures, the least amount of snow and rain, and stayed away from peak visitation months if we could help it. All this data then helped us paint a picture as to what the absolute best time to visit Mammoth Cave National Park is.
Our data shows the best months to visit Mammoth Cave National Park are October, September, August & June.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Visits | 9,297 | 11,483 | 36,663 | 47,678 | 42,128 | 63,254 | 96,985 | 47,231 | 49,594 | 57,384 | 33,893 | 20,185 |
| Precipitation | 96 | 92 | 112 | 106 | 110 | 74 | 70 | 49 | 73 | 83 | 97 | 113 |
| Avg Temp | 45 | 49 | 58 | 68 | 76 | 83 | 87 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 58 | 47 |
| Max Temp | 62 | 66 | 75 | 81 | 86 | 91 | 95 | 95 | 90 | 82 | 74 | 63 |
| Avg Temp | 29 | 32 | 39 | 48 | 58 | 66 | 69 | 68 | 60 | 50 | 40 | 32 |
| Min Temp | 10 | 13 | 20 | 29 | 41 | 53 | 59 | 56 | 43 | 32 | 24 | 14 |
Mammoth Cave National Park Road Trips
Many family vacations consist of stringing one or more national parks together during a week-long trip. Creating these types of trips is our specialty! Here are the road trips we've created where Mammoth Cave National Park is visited.
| Trip Name | Trip Miles | Trip Days |
|---|---|---|
| Mammoth Cave & Smoky Mountains | 536 | 8 |
Other Nearby National Park Sites
From national monuments, to historic sites to seashores and more, here are the other parks closest to Mammoth Cave National Park.
| Name | Distance |
|---|---|
| Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park | 31 mi |
| Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument | 75 mi |
| Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial | 81 mi |
| Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area | 91 mi |
| Stones River National Battlefield | 92 mi |
| Camp Nelson National Monument | 92 mi |
| Obed Wild and Scenic River | 103 mi |
| Fort Donelson National Battlefield | 109 mi |
| George Rogers Clark National Historical Park | 130 mi |
| Cumberland Gap National Historical Park | 139 mi |
Nearby Campsites & RV Parks
If you are looking to pitch a tent or park an RV at a campsite near Mammoth Cave National Park, here is a list of the closest campsites in the surrounding area. They all have slightly different amenitites, so its best to check them all out instead of just chosing the first on the list.
| Name | Details | Miles Away |
|---|---|---|
| Mammoth Cave - Mammoth Cave National Park | Mammoth Cave, KY more | 0 miles |
| Houchins Ferry - Mammoth Cave National Park | Brownsville, KY more | 8 miles |
| Dog Creek - Nolin River Lake | Cub Run, KY more | 10 miles |
| Nolin River State Park | Mammoth Cave, KY more | 10 miles |
| Wax - Nolin River Lake | Munfordville, KY more | 11 miles |
| Moutardier - Nolin River Lake | Leitchfield, KY more | 12 miles |
| Beaver Creek - Glasgow | Bowling Green, KY more | 18 miles |
| Narrows Boat Ramp - DFWR | Glasgow, KY more | 20 miles |
| Barren River Tailwater | Scottsville, KY more | 20 miles |
| The Narrows - Barren River Lake | Lucas, KY more | 20 miles |
Nearest Ski Resorts
For those of you who are the diehard outdoors type, visiting a national park on a ski trip can be quite the adventure. Here are the ski resorts within 100 miles of Mammoth Cave National Park:
| Name | Location | Summit | Difficulty Score™ | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paoli Peaks | Paoli, IN | 900 ft | 31% | 97 mi |
Nearest Airports
When visiting a National park, many people are faced with either a very long drive across country, or a much shorter flight. For those of you looking to fly into Mammoth Cave National Park, we've listed the closest airports in the area.
Large Airports
A large airport has scheduled major airline service with millions of passengers per year. This type of airport always accepts international flights. Here are the closest large airports to Mammoth Cave National Park.
| Name | Code | City | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport | SDF | Louisville, KY | 71 mi |
| Nashville International Airport | BNA | Nashville, TN | 80 mi |
| Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport | CVG | Cincinnati / Covington, KY | 150 mi |
| Indianapolis International Airport | IND | Indianapolis, IN | 175 mi |
| St. Louis Lambert International Airport | STL | St Louis, MO | 256 mi |
| John Glenn Columbus International Airport | CMH | Columbus, OH | 260 mi |
| Memphis International Airport | MEM | Memphis, TN | 262 mi |
Medium Airports
A medium-sized airport has scheduled regional airline service. This type of airport may or may not accept international flights. Here are the closest medium-sized airports to Mammoth Cave National Park.
| Name | Code | City | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owensboro Daviess County Airport | OWB | Owensboro, KY | 70 mi |
| Evansville Regional Airport | EVV | Evansville, IN | 98 mi |
| Blue Grass Airport | LEX | Lexington, KY | 101 mi |
| Barkley Regional Airport | PAH | Paducah, KY | 147 mi |
| McGhee Tyson Airport | TYS | Knoxville, TN | 150 mi |
| Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (Lovell Field) | CHA | Chattanooga, TN | 157 mi |
| Huntsville International Carl T Jones Field | HSV | Huntsville, AL | 180 mi |
Credits: Campground data provided by USCampgrounds.info. Map shapes from CartographyVectors. Weather data from NOAA. Airport data from OurAirports.com. Images from Unsplash, Flickr and Parks&Trips. All data has also been updated and augmented by Parks&Trips.