Mammoth Cave National Park and Campground

April and May 2024, 6 nights, campsite 85

Mammoth Cave National Park loop C campsites

Campground

There was no one at the entrance booth when we arrived, so we proceeded to our reserved site. There are no tags or reserved signs on the sites, so if you do not have a reservation, it is difficult to know which sites are available. We did see staff at the entrance off and on during our stay; just not when we arrived.

Mammoth Cave National Park campsite 85 in loop C

We had reserved campsite 85, which is a pull through site in loop C on the right side of the road. It is a spacious and mostly private site; however, it floods during rain.

View from campsite 85 in Mammoth Cave National Park loop C

If you have a pull through site on the left side of the road, be aware that your camper door will be facing the road, unless you turn around and pull through backwards. You can get pretty good views of the campsites in this park on their website and on google maps. One night of our stay, a camper pulled into site 84, a pull through site across the road from us. They opted to stay parked backwards with their camper door open; facing the road and us. Since it is basically just the roadway between our tar pad and theirs, we could easily hear them when we went to bed that evening, even though our bed is at the front of our camper (they were also a loud group of 4 people).

Other than the site flooding when it rained, we liked campsite 85. A couple of other sites we liked were 90 (loop C), and 13, and 11 in B loop. There are two full hookup sites in this campground, 91 and 93, which we were not aware of before this stay. When I looked at the reservation site again during our stay, I saw that these sites are listed as FCFS. Both of these sites looked nice, although it looked like the cost might be twice as much as the other sites. 

Sign posted by restrooms in Mammoth Cave National Park loop C 

Overall, this campground was a noisy place during our stay, and no rules were enforced. During part of our stay, the person on campsite 71 ran a very loud generator (loud generators not allowed, it says) all day long. We were quite a ways away from that site, and could easily hear it. We happened to be chatting with someone at the dump station when we left a few days later, and learned he had been on the campsite across from the loud generator. He said everyone in his area was happy when that camper departed the day before us.

Laundry facilities in Mammoth Cave National Park

Amenities

Along with a sanitation station, this campground has laundry facilities, pay showers, and a post office behind the camp store. The washers were $1.75, and the dryers cost $1.50 for 45 minutes. Flush toilets and fresh water are available in each campground loop. 

Seating area in lodge in Mammoth Cave National Park

WiFi was available for no charge in the lodge, and we could sometimes get reception from the Visitor Center on our campsite. We both had cell reception (Spectrum and Mint), and we could get five TV channels—too bad we had no power without the generator!

Walkway between campground and lodge/visitor center in Mammoth Cave National Park

Inside the lodge, there is a nice seating area, a gift shop, café, restaurant, and Starbucks. Another gift shop is located in the Visitor Center, along with Mammoth Cave information and displays. It is about a half mile walk from the campground to the lodge and Visitor Center.

Above: Echo River Spring Trail
Below: River Styx underground spring

Cave tours and recreation

There is a lot of great hiking right from the campground, and we hiked pretty much every trail. Our favorites were Echo River Spring Trail, and River Styx Spring Trail/underground spring. The viewing platform on the River Styx Trail was closed for repair in April, and there was a foot path next to it out to the spring. There is a link at the bottom of this post with pictures and more information about the hiking in this park.

Above: Mammoth Cave Railroad Trail
Below: Sloan's Crossing Pond

Mammoth Cave Railroad Trail is accessible from B loop. This trail is gravel and goes all the way to Park City. The grade goes down from the campground, so we only rode it as far as the Appalachia Overlook and Sloan’s Crossing Pond.

Domes and Dripstones Cave Tour in Mammoth Cave National Park

We went on two cave tours: Domes and Dripstones, and Gothic Tour. We had thought about the Historical Tour; however, the tours were very busy with school outings, and the NP guide told us they were all on the historic tours. The tours book as many as 100 people, and when there are a lot of people, it is difficult to hear the guide unless you are at the front of the line. 

Gothic Cave Tour in Mammoth Cave National Park

We took a bus from the Visitor Center a short distance for the Dome and Dripstones tour. We walked to the cave below the Visitor Center for the Gothic Tour. We purchased our tickets for both tours at the Visitor Center, and received 50% discounts with our senior passes. Although we enjoyed both tours, I liked Gothic Tour best. This cave is not as confined as the one we entered for Domes and Dripstones. I found it more enjoyable to look around and see everything on the Gothic Tour.

You can find more information about this campground and area in my previous post from 2016, and in the Facebook album. Let me know if you have any questions, and feel free to share this post!