We live in cave country
A little over a month ago, my eldest daughter and I toured a recently reopened cave here in south central Kentucky, just a little north of Mammoth Cave National Park. Cub Run Cave was discovered by two Hart County farm boys in 1950 and opened to the public in 1951. But the cave closed after only a year due to legal wrangling by landowners that kept the potential attraction sealed for the next 55 years.
Located on Ky. 88 about 15 miles west of the Munfordville exit from I-65, Cub Run Cave is now open for tours due to the efforts of Terry and Judy Schneble of Lebanon Junction, Ky. The Schnebles, who own a camp on nearby Nolin Lake, bought the 210-acre property at auction in 2004 and employed local Amish carpenters to construct an elevated wooden walkway that traverses the half-mile length of the pristine cave.
A stream flows through the cave, and a clear pool reveals eyeless crawfish, salamanders and minnows. A few very small bats also call the cave home.
We arrived more than an hour early for the first cave tour so had breakfast in their restaurant. It's a beautifully done, brand new establishment with antique items on the knotty pine walls and they served us a huge breakfast for $5.99. The main entrance wasn't open as yet when we took the tour, so we came in through the back entrance, toured the cave then retraced our steps. The main entrance will entail over a hundred descending metal steps leading to the elevated walkway. With the exception of 12 wooden steps near the end of the tour the rest could be toured on roller skates. Their elevated wooden walkway with a special metal mesh tread for non-skid walking makes this cave tour a leisure stroll, slightly descending for the full length. It's lighted, a guide takes you through showing you many of the special features, and they have some of the most beautiful formations I've seen in a cave. Another delight is there's no empty areas along the way, but fascinating formations the full length of the tour.
After the tour we sat in the restaurant again, sipping iced tea, and had a lengthy talk with Terry, the owner. A very down to Earth man, but one that really wants to provide the best possible experience for the visitors. He said he had already taken 15 handicapped kids in wheelchairs through from the back entrance, and intends to make that a regular feature. If there is another cave that offers handicapped accessability I'm not aware of it.
Located on Ky. 88 about 15 miles west of the Munfordville exit from I-65, Cub Run Cave is now open for tours due to the efforts of Terry and Judy Schneble of Lebanon Junction, Ky. The Schnebles, who own a camp on nearby Nolin Lake, bought the 210-acre property at auction in 2004 and employed local Amish carpenters to construct an elevated wooden walkway that traverses the half-mile length of the pristine cave.
A stream flows through the cave, and a clear pool reveals eyeless crawfish, salamanders and minnows. A few very small bats also call the cave home.
We arrived more than an hour early for the first cave tour so had breakfast in their restaurant. It's a beautifully done, brand new establishment with antique items on the knotty pine walls and they served us a huge breakfast for $5.99. The main entrance wasn't open as yet when we took the tour, so we came in through the back entrance, toured the cave then retraced our steps. The main entrance will entail over a hundred descending metal steps leading to the elevated walkway. With the exception of 12 wooden steps near the end of the tour the rest could be toured on roller skates. Their elevated wooden walkway with a special metal mesh tread for non-skid walking makes this cave tour a leisure stroll, slightly descending for the full length. It's lighted, a guide takes you through showing you many of the special features, and they have some of the most beautiful formations I've seen in a cave. Another delight is there's no empty areas along the way, but fascinating formations the full length of the tour.
After the tour we sat in the restaurant again, sipping iced tea, and had a lengthy talk with Terry, the owner. A very down to Earth man, but one that really wants to provide the best possible experience for the visitors. He said he had already taken 15 handicapped kids in wheelchairs through from the back entrance, and intends to make that a regular feature. If there is another cave that offers handicapped accessability I'm not aware of it.
posted by Fish-2 at 6:43 AM
2 Comments:
It sounds like you had a great time. I think Carlsbad Caverns was accessable by wheelchair, but it's really been so long since I've been there I could be wrong about that. I've been through many caves and may have confused Carlsbad with another one. I haven't been through Cub Run Cave though. I've been through Kentucky, but at a fast clip on the way to somewhere else. It's beautiful country!
Sounds like a nice attraction, Fish, and that's especially thoughtful that the owners made it accessible to handicapped folks.
We've Carter Caves State Park over here on the east side, but I don't think it has handicap access. I do know that they have big spelunking events there several times a year. It's alway featured in the local news when they have that sort of event.
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