• The Historic Entrance of Mammoth Cave

    Mammoth Cave

    National Park Kentucky

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 - Mammoth.

Did You Know?

Tuberculosis Hut in Mammoth Cave

In 1841, cave owner Dr. John Croghan believed the cave air might cure his patients suffering from tuberculosis. He brought 16 patients into Mammoth Cave that winter and housed them in stone and wood huts.  After some perished, they left the cave, for of course the cave air offered no cure.