Mammoth Cave temporarily reopens the Green River Ferry

MAMMOTH CAVE Ky.-What was a quiet area of Mammoth Cave National Park is now filled with the sound of rushing water, coming from the once again operational Green River Ferry.

Those commuting to work to and from Edmonson County now have a way to quickly get across the river. The ferry can now carry more weight and uses higher ramps to reach further up the shore.  The ferry also provides an additional resource for park visitors.

“It’s an important place that our local community uses to commute to and from work. It’s also a way that our visitors get to the north side of the park to the business and recreational opportunities on that side,” said Mammoth Cave’s public information officer Molly Schroer.

The north side of the park contains even more opportunities for those visiting the park.

“Visitors also use it to go to the north side to go to our hiking trails over there, there’s horseback riding on the north side that they can reach. It’s a lot quicker for them to go across the ferry,” Schroer said.

A project in the works for months, park officials say Covid was one of the barriers in getting the ferry up and running to the public again.

“People have been very anxious to get it up and running. We’ve had a lot of questions about it, so we were really happy that we were able to get it up and running,” Schroer.

While it’s up and running, users can expect another closure in the coming months, a closure that will result in an enhanced experience when it comes time to open once again.

“We will have to close down the ferry operations again later in the year. We do not have an exact date yet, but that’s going to be to finish the work on the south side ramp to extend that into the water. We’re opening it for a little while, but it is going to have to close again in the next few months,” Schroer said.