Mammoth Cave National Park - Wild Cave Tour (U.S. National Park Service)

Duration: 6 to 6½ hours
Caving Distance: 5½ miles
Sells Out at: 14 visitors (reservations required)
Restroom Available? Yes, at Snowball Room
Emphasis on: Safe caving techniques; environmental concerns; cave exploration (past and present); team building
Landmarks Seen: Carmichael Entrance, Cleaveland Avenue, Split Rock, Snowball Room, Boone Avenue, various areas off developed tour trails, Frozen Niagara Tour route
Elevation change: 300 feet
Physical Challenges: 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

Over-the-ankle boots with lug soles are *required* on the Wild Cave Tour.

Restrictions: • Visitors must have had their 16th birthday • An adult must accompany visitors under age 18 • High-top, over-the-ankle lace-up boots, with lug or deeply treaded soles, are required. No low-cut hiking or athletic shoes allowed. Failure to wear required footwear will result in visitor being removed from the tour prior to trip departure • No backpacks are allowed on the tour. Small fanny packs may be taken • Chest or hip measurement should not be more than 42 inches to avoid situations that impact tour for all participants • Work or climbing gloves and long pants are recommended - do not overdress • Helmets and lights are provided • Visitors should bring their own kneepads • Soft athletic (i.e. volleyball) kneepads are recommended (hard plastic kneepads are prohibited) • If desired, visitors may wish to bring a pair of gloves and soft athletic elbow pads (hard plastic elbow pads prohibited) • Requires a minimum of 2 participants • Visitors must pick up reserved tickets 30 minutes prior to tour departure, or tickets may be sold to others.

Tour Descriptions