Following the line in front of us, we wind down steep narrow steps, tight curving passageways, and short hunched ceilings punctuated by massive cavernous rooms. A curious feeling of being swallowed by the earth itself looms at every turn.
August 5, 2024
After a two hour drive from Nashville, Tennessee, we find ourselves pulling into the Mammoth Cave Visitor Center roughly thirty minutes before our cave tour. Upon entry into the park, we are immediately greeted by a doe and three speckled fawns grazing just off the road—an idyllic scene, to be sure.
Suiting up for our Domes and Dripstones Cave Tour, we check in and head to Pavilion B with roughly 100 other visitors to await a short bus ride to New Entrance, a small bunker door leading down a flight of steps into the cave system below. Following the line in front of us, we wind down steep narrow steps, tight curving passageways, and short hunched ceilings punctuated by massive cavernous rooms. A curious feeling of being swallowed by the earth itself looms at every turn.
Thankful our guides are experienced, we obediently make our way thorough Grand Central Station, a confluence of underland trails and chutes, and Frozen Niagara, the cave’s only notable stalactite formation. Every now and then the park ranger seats us together in a room to discuss the cave features and history before venturing further into the dark. Occasionally, we hear water dripping above or running below. Tall shafts of rock disappear into dark holes too high or too deep to catch the light.
As we near the end of the tour, we pass over Crystal Lake, a subterranean bed of water created by an embankment in the Frozen Niagara section of Mammoth Cave. And above us sits Moonlight Dome, a 35-foot shaft often dripping from rainy weather above ground into the milky pool below. We pass in awe clinging to the last bits of the cave as we climb the steps out of the Frozen Niagara Entrance door and back onto the bus.
Back at the visitor center we make the most of the afternoon by exploring some of the overland trails, first stopping at Historic Entrance, a large gaping mouth that led early explorers into the tunnels below. As we near the cave, we feel the temperature drop almost thirty degrees, a welcome respite from the August humidity. Unable to venture far beneath the Historic Entrance without a tour, we turn back and make for the Echo River Spring Trail. This trail also connects to Two Springs Trail that guides us to River Styx, an underground river that pops out from under a cliff face. Both trails offer us intriguing views of murky water springing from seemingly nowhere. The golden light and summer greenery injects the atmosphere with a sense of mythic fantasy.
Time well-spent, we wrap up our short outdoor excursion and drive back to Nashville for the evening, content with the day’s activities. Already, we’re dreaming of other tours and the secrets they hold.
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