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 in .
| Address | |
|---|---|
| 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 |
When to Visit: Weather vs. Peak Visitation
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.