Mammoth Caves, KY - Camping or Room at the Lodge

Update 2/1: 2 group sites have been reserved; one for Friday, Saturday, & Sunday and one for only Friday & Saturday. They won't give me the site numbers until that weekend. Wild Cave Tour for Saturday is full. There are 10 remaining spots left for Sunday. Sign up at: http://www.recreation.gov/tourParkDetail.do?parkId=77817&contractCode=NRSO . We will be taking the "Introduction to Caving" Tour on Saturday. (It is a shorter version of Wild Cave Tour). There are 5 spot left.

In your RSVP, please state if you will be staying 2 or 3 nights.

Monday is Casimir Pulsaki Day. I will be staying for 3 nights (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). Feel free to stay for less time.

I will be camping. The shower building opens March 1st (Yea, Showers!) Mammoth Caves is a 6 hour drive from Chicago.

Please include in your RSVP; if you will be camping or staying in the hotel, can offer a ride or need a ride, and if you are looking to share a room at the hotel.

The average high temp for this time of year is 52 and the low is 32. The temperature in the caves stays the same all year round.

http://www.nps.gov/maca/index.htm

Camping: We will be getting Group Sites. Each site hold 16 people. The cost for 3 nights at the site will be 6 to 12 dollars depending on the number for people we get.

Room at the Lodge/Hotel: The Lodge/Hotel is 1/2 mile away from the Group Campsites. For a room for up to 4 people with 2 double beds the cost is $60 plus $6 tax per night. That is $132 for the 2 nights per room or $198 for 3 nights. http://foreverlodging.com/destination.cfm?PropertyKey=71

A Grand, Gloomy and Peculiar Place

Mammoth Cave National Park preserves the cave system and a part of the Green River valley and hilly country of south central Kentucky. This is the world's longest known cave system, with more than 390 miles explored. Early guide Stephen Bishop called the cave a "grand, gloomy and peculiar place," but its vast chambers and complex labyrinths have earned its name-Mammot

Tours of Mammoth Cave

Since 1816, visitors have toured the subterranean labyrinths of Mammoth Cave. Discover what adventures await you on our many Cave Tours (http://www.nps.gov/maca/planyourvisit/gocavetours.htm).

The Age of Exploration is now.

There are many caves tours to choose from. Here are a couple of them. Wild Cave Tour is the hardest and the Frozen Niagara Tour is the easiest.

Wild Cave Tour: Meet Mammoth Cave on its own terms as you and a small group of adventurers don helmets, headlamps, boots and kneepads and venture into miles of undeveloped passageways. Climb, crawl and canyonwalk your way through passageways no other tour sees. On the way, your guides will share their knowledge of the history and geology of places like Cleaveland’s Cabinet, Thorpe’s Pit, and Cathedral Domes. You must be prepared for free-climbing cave walls; lengthy crawls through areas as tight as 9 inches high; walking in a crouched position; hand and knee crawls over jagged rocks and dirt; crawling through wet areas; twisting into and out of tight crawlway openings. •6-6½ hours, 5 miles. Tour limit: 14. Age limit: 16+; proof of age may be requested. Total stairs: . Elevation change: 300’. •An adult must accompany visitors under age 18. Chest or hip measurement must not exceed 42 inches; if you are larger, you cannot physically pass through the crawlspaces. High-top, over-the-ankle lace-up boots, with lug or deeply treaded soles, are required. No low-cut hiking or athletic shoes allowed. You will not be allowed to participate in the tour if you are not wearing proper footwear—No exceptions. Gym shorts and t-shirts are recommended for wear under coveralls. Please bring extra pair of tennis shoes or sandals for use during boot decontamination at the end of the tour. All equipment and outerwear provided; no personal caving equipment allowed. Food is available at the Snowball Room. A box lunch can be purchased for $7.50 (cash only). Visitors may bring a lunch and/or water bottle-a small fanny pack will be provided. Bring no cameras—there will be no opportunity to use them on this activity. Requires at least 2 participants. Reserved tickets not claimed 30 minutes prior to tour departure may be re-sold. •Meets at the Visitor Center. Difficulty: Very Strenuous.

Historic Tour: Entering the cave through the Historic Entrance, you will feel the excitement that intrigued the earliest explorers and visitors. Experience the history and the role Mammoth Cave played during the War of 1812. Large passages invite you to imagine what it would have been like for prehistoric discoverers who walked these passages more than 2,000 years ago. Descend into the lower levels of the cave and follow in the footsteps of the first explorers who crossed the Bottomless Pit. Squeeze through Fat Man’s Misery. Climb 155 stairs up Mammoth Dome and exit through the Historic Entrance. •2 hours, 2 miles. Tour limit: 120. Total stairs: 440, including 155 at Mammoth Dome. Elevation change: 300’. •Limited areas of the Mammoth Cave Discovery, Mammoth Passage, Star Chamber, River Styx and Violet City Lantern Tours are visited on this route. •Meets at the Visitor Center. Difficulty: Moderate.

Frozen Niagara Tour: Depart by bus and journey over the top of the cave to the Frozen Niagara Entrance. The entrance, created in 1924, makes it possible to see this decorative area of the cave. Walk through a fairyland of formations to learn how travertine is formed. Pass through Rainbow Dome, then see Crystal Lake, Moonlight Dome and Onyx Collonade before arriving at the Frozen Niagara flowstone. Descend steps under the Frozen Niagara formation to visit the Drapery Room before returning to the surface. This easy trip is ideal for people who want a short introduction to Mammoth Cave. •1¼ hours, ¼ mile. Tour limit: 36. Total stairs: 12, plus an optional 98. Elevation change: 40’. •Includes parts of the New Entrance and Grand Avenue tour routes. Not available by reservation. •Meets at the Visitor Center. Difficulty: Easy.

I hope you can make it.

Kevin