Hidden River Cave

by MHSjennie on September 1, 2015

Hidden River Cave

While staying at Camp Jellystone Mammoth Cave, we explored several of the sites around town. We went Ziplining, caving and checked out Dinosaur World. 

One of the cave tours we went on was at Hidden River Cave. I was surprised when I pulled up to a building in the middle of the City of Horse Cave in south central Kentucy. It looked like we were in the city so I was wondering where this cave was. Much to my surprise, one of Kentucky’s largest & most scenic historic cave entrances, where two subterranean rivers flow over one-hundred feet below ground, is directly underneath that old city building!

They offer several tours, but we chose the Public Tour which is best suited for kids, however, the exit from the cave requires a stairway of 230 steps and is not handicap accessible so keep that in mind when choosing your cave tour. This Historic tour lasts about 45-60 minutes and are scheduled upon arrival. Reservations are not required for the public guided tours and includes the American Cave Museum at no extra charge. Tours are scheduled beginning at 9:30 AM every morning, with the last tour scheduled for 6:00 PM Memorial Day through Labor Day. During the rest of the year, the last tour is scheduled for 4:00 PM.

If you want to take your adventure up a notch they do offer Ziplining and Rappeling which I really wanted to do, but we just didn’t have the time for unfortunately.  As you can see below, there is the mouth of the cave and the Rappel Lines. How cool would that be to Rappel down into that?!

Hidden River Cave

I was nervous about my first cave tour as I am highly claustrophobic. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I had read that some cave tours can bring you into some pretty tight spaces. This public tour was the perfect first time caving experience, in my opinion. You get a lot of history form your tour guide and the cave is well lit, has a great walking path and the cave itself is wide open and big so I never felt panicked. I even carried the baby in my moby carrier and had no issues maneuvering through the tour. There are a lot of steps going into and out of the cave, but both my boys had no problem with them. The cave can be a bit cold, so be sure to wear your sweatshirts! 

You can see below the entrance to the cave. It goes pretty far back into the cave. The cave itself is lit up, but not enough for me to get any great shots of the beauty of the cave as it opened up. You would be amazed with how gigantic the cave is and how much it opens up once you are inside. 

Hidden River Cave

This is looking up from the main entrance of the cave. You walk down this staircase to enter and then walk up to exit. 

Hidden River Cave

Overall, we loved the tour and had such a great time exploring as a family. They are hoping to be able to open up the tour to go deeper into the cave which I would love to check out on our next visit. 

I received complimentary tickets for my family, however, all opinions and ideas are my own! You can read more about my Disclosure & Disclaimer Policy here. Feel free to contact me with any questions! Thanks for reading!

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