Last week, we went camping at Mammoth Cave National Park! Its not what most people do at this Park, we know. We did go through the caves back when Little Man was little, but he did not enjoy the caves at all. We had to carry him and he was the right height to get everything in the face… rocks, other people’s bums, etc. But, on that trip, we realized what a beautiful park it was up top, and decided to, some day, camp in the back country of Mammoth Cave National Park.
Up Top
This area of Kentucky is just beautiful. Years ago, we came through in July, and it was green and lush. This year, we visited in May, and it was green and lush. Of course, when one visits Mammoth Cave National Park, one must ride on the Green River Ferry. If you want to ride the ferry this summer, you gotta get up there quick. They are closing the ferry June 17 so that they dredge the river.
Camping at Mammoth Cave National Park
Our first night we camped in the camp ground that is near the visitor center. If you have never been camping, this is the place to start. You can drive up and there are bathrooms available, but you are still off-grid while there (or you should be!).
I regularly have people ask me about good games for kids at camp grounds. But honestly, I’ve found that I don’t need to provide much for them. This time, a large tree was down and created a nice edge to our camp ground. And it made a wonderful balance beam. You can’t beat this for gross-motor skill development. Mr Wigglesworth climbed up, walked down the trunk, walked back, climbed off and jumped off many, many times.
At these camp sites, you get a fire ring. You shouldn’t bring in wood, but use dead and downed wood that you collect in the immediate area. This is a great job for the kids!
More to come! Questions?
I’ve got a whole series of posts planned out, so keep an eye out for more! Do you have questions about camping with kids? Send us the question either via comments on this post or via the contact form.
