Cave Crawling is back at Mammoth Cave National Park

MAMMOTH CAVE, KY.- This summer Mammoth Cave’s Crawling Tours are back and better than ever! The crawling activities provide different experiences that can bring out a bunch of mixed emotions.

Johnny Merideth, the supervisory Mammoth Cave Park Ranger tells us, “We have people who have maybe never done this before, and they get in there and they, find out this look maybe more fun than they did on TV, and this is not for me and then you have others who get in there and just so enthralled and exhilarated and ready for some more adventure. ”

When you enter any cave in the national park, you are guaranteed to see natural features unlike any other.

James Drewes, a Mammoth Cave visitor shares his experience. He says, “People would like to see that. But as far as the actual cave itself, just to see the natural beauty of it, it’s like nothing to see above ground.”

Johnny also says, “It’s a variety of, reactions to people who go on these because it’s, you know, it’s a very different activity than you would normally go on. maybe a little anxiety at first, or maybe like, this is not for me to. This is awesome. And I want to do more.”

From Cleveland Avenue to Split Rock, there are dozens of passageways that you can crawl through, but there are certain requirements you must meet before you can enjoy all the fun.

Supervisor Merideth shares some of the requirements. He says, “Visitors who are coming definitely be prepared. Now, we, issue coveralls for people, and we issue the helmets, lights and knee pads. visitors will be, though, responsible for making sure that they show up in the proper footwear, and that’s a must.”

Having the proper equipment won’t just keep you safe, it will also help maintain the passageways, James shares this makes his experience great. He says, “What they what they’ve done was with national parks. It’s just fantastic. the cave itself was beautiful, and we’re, this is not the first national park we’ve been to, and we’re always, happy and pleased to see how well maintained everything is.”

While exploring caves in the park, you’ll find more than what you’d expect. You may come across several pieces of history.

“When you go inside the cave and you’re, you’re crawling around and you’ve got your helmets and your lights and your knee pads and I know for the wild cave tours, particularly, we take a bus ride out to an entrance. We go down some stairs and we’re in the cave, and then you start seeing signatures on the wall and you realize that these signatures are from the 1800s.”

Many signatures on the walls belong to a former slave and guide at Mammoth Cave National Park Stephon Bishop who discovered the several passageways and caves. Not only will you experience, the past the park also gives visitors experiences and memories that they can have for the future.

Johnny says, “These crawling activities fit within that. They’re part of the varied experiences that we wish to provide visitors when they come here, That’s why, you know, for us, it’s important. These are kind of the core experiences we want people to have here.”

For more information about the cave tours and a video about the crawling tours and what you will need, visit https://www.nps.gov/maca/planyourvisit/cave-tours.htm.