Have you wondered whether or not to visit Mammoth Cave during Covid? We did and felt very safe, but you should know that the activities have been greatly curtailed. That said, we enjoyed our day.
From our home base at Nolin Lake State Park, we traveled 30 minutes to Mammoth Cave National Park. I booked our self-guided tour into the cave over a month ago. It was the only tour available during the time we were there. Rumor has it that they will be opening up some guided tours this summer as the vaccinations continue to increase. Check the park website to see what type of tours will be available.
Green River Ferry
We enjoyed taking the Green River Ferry to get into the park. This ferry takes two cars over the less than 2 minute trip across the river. Call the number in the link to verify it is running the day you are there. Just for fun, click below to see a video of the crossing. I did increase the speed of the video to make it shorter.
Visitor Center
Because of Covid-19, the park service divided the entrance into two different sections: the bathroom and tickets/souvenirs. Both were one way, so we exited the bathroom through the outside door and then circled back around to visit the gift shop while we waited for our tour. I am so glad I bought our tickets in advance. All tickets for the tour were sold out until lunchtime. We would have been waiting 4 or more hours, and as I will explain later, rain descended on the area about that time.
Junior Ranger Program
If you have children or grandchildren with you, I highly recommend having them do the activities to get their Junior Ranger badge. They will learn so much and this tool.
The Extended Historic Tour
We started our tour at a shelter close to the visitor center. We had approximately 30 people or so scheduled for our time slot. We had to wear masks during the duration of the tour as well as try to social distance as much as we could. Because we chose the first tour of the day, we did not have a problem with crowds. Instead of a ranger guiding you through the tour, you walk at your own pace through the cave. Rangers are stationed throughout the cave to answer questions.
The Entrance
You take a short walk down the path to the entrance of the cave. I actually took the picture of the entrance at the end of our tour, which is what they encourage you to do.
It’s Dark!
My pictures make it look much lighter than it really was. You cannot read the signs until you are on top of them. Sometimes, I did not see the ranger until he or she spoke.
A Hospital?
Yes, in the depths of the cave a doctor operated a hospital! This tuberculosis hospital only operated a few months.
Hikes
Because of the impending bad weather, we hurried through a couple of hikes. I think we combined some. We started by going to the Old Guide’s Cemetery. Then we went on the Heritage Loop Trail, but we moved off to hike part of the Sinkhole trail, to the Mammoth Sinkhole, and then back the way we came as it started to rain.
Joppa Road
We took a small one way dirt road. We saw some wild turkeys and heard them gobble. A nice drive and not too rough.
Lodging
The Lodge at Mammoth Cave offers different type of rooms as well as cottages you can rent. The national park also contains a campground. When we were there, half of the loops were closed and half the campsites in the two loops that were open were roped off. I’m guessing it was a Covid precaution. We preferred Nolin Lake State Park, which is about 30 minutes away for a base of operations.
We plan to come back to take different cave tours and spend more time exploring the trails above ground as well when Covid ends.
1 Comment