Abode 1
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.3337°N, 84.7275°W
INTO THE DARK · CAVES DIRECTORY
Caves in Kentucky
26 Caves Found
Mammoth Cave is here — the longest known cave system on Earth, over 420 miles of mapped passages, with human history running from saltpeter extraction to a tuberculosis sanatorium built underground in the 1840s. Gap Cave at Cumberland Gap sits at the gateway that 300,000 westward pioneers crossed on the Wilderness Road. Kentucky's karst runs from the Tennessee border north through the Pennyroyal Plateau — Mammoth Cave sits in a landscape that is honeycombed underneath.
Every cave listed here is on public or accessible land. Always bring three light sources, water, and let someone know your plans before entering any undeveloped cave. Temperature inside: typically 50–62°F year-round. Explore all caves on the Trek4Free map →
Type
Access
Carmichael Entrance
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.1673°N, 86.0921°W
Carter Caves State Resort Park
Limestone Guided State Park $9
A Kentucky state resort park built around three cave systems in the northeastern corner of the state — Cascade Cave, X Cave, and Bat Cave — each with a different character and tour type. Cascade Cave …
Cathedral Domes
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.1629°N, 86.0699°W
Crystal Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.2118°N, 86.0550°W
Diamond Caverns
Limestone Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.1163°N, 86.0620°W
Dome House Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.1009°N, 86.0813°W
Gap Cave - Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Limestone Guided Nat'l Park $8
A limestone cavern accessible only by guided ranger tour at the same gap in the Appalachians that 300,000 westward-bound pioneers crossed between 1775 and the 1820s. Gap Cave sits inside the same ridg…
Great Onyx Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.2190°N, 86.0781°W
Great Saltpetre Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.3677°N, 84.2036°W
Hidden River Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.1793°N, 85.9062°W
Hundred Dome Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.1023°N, 86.0796°W
Lost River Cave
Limestone Guided Private $16
The only underground boat tour in Kentucky — a 30-minute ride through a cave river passage on flat-bottomed boats, gliding through sections where the ceiling drops to within a few feet of the water su…
Mammoth Cave Frozen Niagara Entrance
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.1495°N, 86.0581°W
Mammoth Cave Historic Entrance
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.1873°N, 86.1034°W
Mammoth Cave National Park
Limestone Guided Nat'l Park $14
The longest known cave system on Earth — over 420 miles of mapped passages and likely hundreds more. Mammoth Cave has been drawing visitors since the early 1800s, long before it was a national park, a…
Mammoth Cave New Entrance
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.1521°N, 86.0637°W
Mammoth Onyx Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.2048°N, 85.9305°W
New Discovery Entrance
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.1720°N, 86.0954°W
Resurgence Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.4860°N, 83.9105°W
Salts
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.1924°N, 86.0496°W
Sand Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.1545°N, 86.0470°W
Short Creek Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.1501°N, 84.4317°W
Slave Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.1011°N, 86.0708°W
Violet City Entrance
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.1680°N, 86.0914°W
Waterfall Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 37.3681°N, 84.2357°W