Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system in the world measuring over 400 miles. This is mainly due to a rock layer essentially creating a seal from letting in water that would cause caves to collapse over time. Sure there is still water coming into the cave but not enough to cause significant erosion of the limestone ceiling.
Mammoth Caves offers many different tours of varying degrees of difficulty and length. Back in the late '80s, early '90s, we took a family vacation to Kentucky. My dad, brothers, and I went on the all day tour (6 hours) of Mammoth Cave while mom stayed in the visitor center/car. I don't remember much of the trip which is part of the reason I wanted to go back. Since the hubby and I didn't have time for 6 hours of cave exploring, not to mention the hubby's fear of staircases, we opted for the Frozen Niagara Tour.
The Frozen Niagara Tour is 75 minutes in length. Perfect for people who are just passing through. It features 12 mandatory stairs and 98 (46 down, 46 up) optional stairs. It is a relatively easy walking tour with a couple narrow passages.
The highlight of the Frozen Niagara Tour is at the end of the tour where you can see water looks like a frozen waterfall but is just stalactites that formed into a frozen water fall. There is an actual stream of water from the ceiling as well. You can walk down the optional stairs to see the formation from the bottom which I did. The hubby stayed at the top.
It is a great tour. A bus picks you up and drops you off so there is minimal walking. The longest walk, besides in the cave, is walking back to the visitor center from the lodge where they drop you off at after the tour and that isn't really that long at all.
Even you don't have time to tour the cave, the visitor center offers a great exhibit on the history of Mammoth Cave and the area. Plus you can get your passport stamp.
If you're ever in the area, check it out. It's not like it's going to disappear any time soon.
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