The Domes & Dripstones Tour at Mammoth Cave National Park was easily one of the highlights of our…read moretrip to Kentucky. If you're looking for a cave tour that combines incredible scenery, fascinating geology, and a bit of a workout, this is the one to book. The ranger-guided tour is well organized and packed with interesting information about the cave's history, formations, and the natural processes that shaped this underground world over millions of years. The descent into the cave through the natural sinkhole entrance is an adventure in itself, and while the 638-640 stairs sound intimidating, they're absolutely worth it. The highlight for us was Frozen Niagara. The stunning collection of stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, and delicate cave curtains is unlike anything we've ever seen. It's amazing to think these formations were created one drop of water at a time over thousands of years. Throughout the tour, the massive domes and enormous passageways constantly reminded us why Mammoth Cave is the world's longest known cave system. The guides were knowledgeable, friendly, and happy to answer questions, making the experience both educational and enjoyable. The cave's constant 54-degree temperature also makes it a comfortable activity no matter the season. Be prepared for plenty of stairs and wear comfortable shoes, but don't let that discourage you. The tour is paced well, with opportunities to stop and admire the scenery along the way. If you're visiting Mammoth Cave National Park, the Domes & Dripstones Tour is an unforgettable experience and one we would enthusiastically recommend to anyone looking for a memorable underground adventure. Five stars! Check out our video on our socials @reessroots

I wish I just day tripped it and did not spend money to stay the night. I was travelling solo and…read morethis was my last stop before heading back to Maryland. I was arriving from St. Louis. I booked one of the historic cottages to stay the night and planned on hanging out in the bar on site. When I first arrived my cottage wasn't ready to check in yet and I still had a couple hours until my tour. I went to the restaurant and sat at the bar. I was informed that they did not have a bartender but the servers were rotating serving the guests at the bar. I was promptly greeted by the waitress but ultimately moved to a table because the chairs are not tall enough for the height of the bar. It would have been extremely awkward and uncomfortable to eat up there. I had a salad and sweet potato fries and two IPA beers. Everything was delicious and the service was great. I went on the Historic Cave tour which was great. I wish I remembered the rangers name who gave the tour because he was amazing and hilarious! After the tour we (another solo traveler and I) planned to go to the bar and grab a drink before she hit the road for her next stop. Upon arrival to the restaurant, the bar was open but the host (who admitted he was new and did not know what he was doing) refused to let us sit there. He said there was no bartender. I told him earlier they allowed people to sit there and the servers helped. He said they only had 3 servers so he handed us a buzzer to wait for a table. The restaurant had half of its tables open. She decided she didn't want to wait so she left. I was then frustrated because I did not want to sit at a table alone again so I ordered food to go and ate in my cabin. There is no service in the cabins because you are in the middle of nowhere. As a solo female traveler I rely on meeting people at restaurants by sitting at the bar. This on site restaurant clearly was not staffed well enough to accommodate their guests in the middle of the summer when everyone is travelling. The other stores that served coffee and ice cream were closed by the time I finished my 3:30 tour. The prices in the gift shop were extremely high and I refused to pay for a magnet that was $12.00. I ended up going to bed super early and hit the road at 3 am because there was nothing else to do. For these reasons and more, I would have preferred to come for my tour and left to stay somewhere else.

We are visiting from out of town and searched Yelp for a playground close to our hotel. This is…read moreabout 3 miles from the interstate. There are some rocks to climb which my boys loved. There also is a very nice and accessible playground with things to climb on and instruments to play. There are lots of different structures to keep the kids entertained. There also are a few covered shelters for picnics. Very clean and safe.

Cute little park with basketball court, playground, and picnic areas. Connected to a golf course…read morebut does not appear to be a private park.

Sooo apparently I was right when I said this lake definitely has snakes (whenI saw kayaks on the…read morelake I was like that seems fun but bet it has snakes!!). I saw one swimming and it went right towards the guy's fishing line and attacked it as I predicted. For some reason he started to reel it in (I would have cut the line or waited and given him my rod if it started to climb the line). The snake "jumped" off the line and swam away under the bridge and into the dark part by the grass.....umm ok time for me to walk...fast....away. So be careful!

My family enjoys the park. They rent paddle boats, kayaks, and john boats by the hour. They have…read moreseveral great places to picnic. There is a nice walking path that weaves around the lake. I like the boat launch for kayaks. We bring our kayak and its a nice clean lake to paddle on.

We stopped at Onyx Cave on a total whim during our road trip and so glad we did. This was the…read moreperfect little adventure break, especially with kids. I have a 3 and 5 year old and they both LOVED it. It's short, sweet, and just enough "wow" without being overwhelming. The cave itself is really cool, with some tighter crevices that made it feel a little adventurous (my kids thought that was the best part), but nothing too difficult or strenuous. If you're worried about that--don't be. It's super manageable and moves at a good pace. Price-wise, it felt totally worth it for a family stop. They've also got a little gift shop at the end which my kids obviously needed to check out lol. If you're passing through, just stop. It's a fun, easy memory to make and doesn't take up your whole day. Would 100% do it again.

Super cute and quick cavern tour off the highway home to Cincinnati…read moreBelieve it to be family run and owned very knowledgeable about the caves and cave systems and how they came to be found child friendly, but some spots can get very claustrophobic

LOVED staying here!! We were here for 2 weeks and were never bored. Lots of history to see in the…read morearea. We even took a day trip to Cumberland Falls- a 1 1/2 hr drive- but didn't seem like it at all. Staff was very helpful and friendly. Showers and bathrooms were immaculate! The grounds were mowed and kept up well. There's a very nice boat launch right next to the campground. The beach was closed but it is early in the year. There's a park next door with volleyball, picnic shelters etc. The lots are all a fairly good size with great views of Green River Lake Overall wonderful place to stay!!

The Green River is beautiful and this state park offers a great area for hiking, biking, and…read moreanything outdoors. We did one of hikes that goes right down to the lake, offering beautiful views. I would especially recommend coming here in the fall, when the leaves are changing colors. It's a great park!

We went for dinner at the lodge. By far the best fried catfish! And all you can eat at an amazing…read moreprice. The view is so peaceful. Love seeing the deer at dusk. One of our favorite lodges. The staff is so friendly, they truly make you feel at home. The rooms are comfortable, with a balcony to enjoy nature right outside your door. The grounds offer so much! Playground, golf, hiking trails and boat ramp activities for year round nature lovers. Say it again, one of our favorite places to visit.

Absolutely an amazing lake! Clean water and beautiful scenery. Everyone is very friendly. Great…read morefamily environment.

Worth the entry fee for sure! These games are much different than mammoth caves. They are…read moreconsidered caves along with caves are considered dry caves. The tour guide did a fantastic job of explaining everything and pointing out diverse structures that a novice cave person would miss

My family planned months in advance to do a road trip and stay at Mammoth Cave NP. Unfortunately…read morethe federal government shut down just before we made our visit. When looking for things to do in lieu of MCNP we ended up at Diamond Caverns. It was ok. We'd been to Carlsbad Caverns recently so this was very underwhelming. 4 stars because the staff was great. The tour guide had her script nailed and she was passionate about working there. Large gift shop. My kids loved it and sometimes at the end of the day that's all that matters.

On our way up from Knoxville TN to Louisville KY, we made sure to swing by here to see Abraham…read moreLincoln's birthplace! It was thunder storming and lightning abound when we arrived but cleared up during our stroll through the memorial and the visitor center. There is a longer path to the side of the visitor center where it's all covered by trees so we didn't get rained on. Inside the memorial is the replica of the log cabin where he was born. That closes at 4:30pm, whereas the visitor center closes at 5:00pm. I made sure to stop at the sinking springs next to the memorial for the watering hole where Abe took his first drink of water. It felt very cold in that area compared to the humid weather surrounding it. Very cool. So glad we made a stop here on our roadtrip!

Honestly? Abe deserves better, but it just doesn't seem like there's enough material to work with…read morehere, which may not necessarily be anyone's fault. My top-tier chum who literally went to the school of hospitality and I came by here last Thursday in the late morning at my request. I love presidential shizzle - one of my earliest memories is getting a book of the presidents and learning all of them in order, and instead of going to Disney World (don't get me started), my parents took me to a number of presidential homesteads and birthplaces when I was in elementary school, mostly the heavy hitters in VA and the Adams one in Braintree, MA. And I've legitimately celebrated President's Day by dragging some of my chums to Grant's Tomb at 9AM to listen to a reenactment of the 1873 State of the Union. So I came into this with some nerdy, executive branch street cred. Part of it was definitely the mediocre rainy weather, but I just wasn't that impressed. I want to emphasize that there might not have been anything the National Park Service could have done once they got involved, because the biggest issue here is that the actual birthplace doesn't really exist anymore. I'm sure they got the land/property lines correct, but the log cabin that we all naturally associate with Abe? Gone, so you have to settle for a recreation, and that recreated cabin isn't given its own space outside - it's housed in the Memorial Building, which makes that experience more claustrophobic than it should be, since the cabin takes up about 70% of the room. There may be excellent reasons why it had to remain indoors, but I found that decision pretty curious. And bottom line - it's hard to have a national park based on a birthplace that's largely abstract and not something you can see with your own eyes. The Visitors Center was relatively small but pleasant. I haven't stopped to think about it until now, but I'm guessing that the vast majority of Lincoln exhibits are at his home in Springfield, IL, which I know DOES physically exist. Again, they just didn't have as much to play around with here so they're relying more on fancy/tasteful Lincoln quotes on their walls versus, say, a glass case featuring his top hat. When a sizeable chunk of your Visitors Center is taken up by a gift shop and little movie theater showing a 15-minute video about Lincoln, you're pretty much broadcasting the fact that you don't have a lot of standalone items to display, which is a shame. The biggest selling point is the Memorial Building, notwithstanding the replica cabin situation inside. It's built up on a hill with 56 steps for each year of Abe's life, and bares a pretty strong resemblance to the more notable Presidential memorials in DC. I thought it was cool that several Presidents have stopped by, now knowing that this is a bit in the middle of nowhere, but it's also just an hour outside Lexington so it was also disappointing to learn that no Presidents have visited since Eisenhower. They can't fit in a 15-minute photo op over the course of four to eight years? Come on. It's Abe. The NPS rangers (right word?) were very nice. I'd be curious what the pecking order of historic sites is for the NPS but I have to think this isn't at the very tippy top. Regardless, lots of smiles and at least one of them went out of their way to ask us if we had any questions and to (unprompted) pull out a map to orient us before we left the Visitors Center to explore the grounds a bit. If you're in the area, sure, pay your respects to the beginning of Honest Abe's story. But if you have more time/bandwidth, I think the play is to jump ahead in the timeline and get yourself up to Illinois.