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Mammoth Cave Hotel Parking Lot Rehabilitation Project

A parking lot with scattered cars against the background of a large stone and wooden building.
The current parking lot at the main lodge building.

NPS Photo/ J. Cooper

Project Overview

The Lodge at Mammoth Cave is a central hub for visitors exploring Mammoth Cave National Park, offering a range of overnight lodging such as traditional hotel rooms, motor lodge-style lodging, and cozy historic cottages and food services. The main hotel building underwent a major rehabilitation that was completed in early 2024, but the adjacent parking lot and entrance road have not seen significant upgrades for several decades.

To enhance visitor experience and improve safety and accessibility, a project to rehabilitate this critical infrastructure is underway. The improvements will modernize the lodge area entrance road and parking areas, address long-standing maintenance needs, and ensure the lodge facility continues to serve as a welcoming gateway for park guests for years to come. Repair work began in February 2026 and will include:

  • Improvements to safety and traffic flow in the high-use visitor area.

  • Realignment of entry points from the main park road to enhance vehicle sightlines.

  • Creation of a designated route for cave tour bus pickup and drop-off.

  • Addition of a dedicated service entrance and delivery area to reduce commercial vehicle presence in visitor zones.

  • Enhancement of an overflow parking area for lodge guests and for peak visitation periods.

  • Restoration of historic viewshed near the main lodge to enhance the visitor experience.

High angle view of an entrance road to a parking lot with divided lanes. A green tour bus is parked near large building while a yellow vehicle uses another lane to drive toward a large parking area in the background with scattered parked cars and trees.
This concept rendering depicts how the project will improve traffic flow and reduce congestion via construction of separate dedicated roadway lanes for passenger vehicles and concessioner-operated tour buses.

NPS Graphic

Project Status

Frequently Asked Questions

Project Improvements

A car drives near pedestrians walking along the side of the road in front of a large wooden framed building. A car drives near pedestrians walking along the side of the road in front of a large wooden framed building.

Left image
The current parking lot layout reaches nearly to the front of the hotel building, providing minimal separation between vehicular traffic flow and pedestrian areas.
Credit: NPS Photo/ J. Cooper

Right image
The project's addition of expanded green space and pedestrian paths near the hotel will provide enhanced recreational opportunities and safety for pedestrian traffic.
Credit: NPS Graphic

The Hotel Parking Lot Rehabilitation Project includes improvements to separate vehicular traffic from pedestrian traffic which will result in enhanced safety for both groups.


Tags

Mammoth Cave National Park

Last updated: March 24, 2026