National Park Guide: Kentucky's Mammoth Cave

— -- Thousands of visitors are lured to central Kentucky each year by their interest in exploring the longest cave known in the world, Mammoth Cave.

But as they make their way from I-65, passing the kitschy attractions of Dinosaur World and old-time diners, visitors arrive at the park to find much more than a cave. In addition to the rich history of a cave discovered 4,000 years ago by Native Americans, visitors find a wooded area of 85 miles of hiking trails, two rivers that provide 31 miles to canoe and fish and both modernized and back-country camping facilities.

"The majority of the people go for the cave itself and don't realize there is so much to do there," says Yancy Moore of Louisville, who says he makes his way to the park once or twice a year.

And while Moore says he is fascinated by the history of the cave, he is lured to the park because of the camping. While many Kentuckians find the Red River Gorge area a popular vacation spot, Moore says going to Mammoth Cave to camp in the backwoods of the park means a lot less company. When he took a canoe trip down the Green River, Moore says, he saw only two other canoes the whole time. "Mammoth Cave is often overlooked, and I don't know why," he says.

The caves offer multiple tours, ranging from easy walks through popular formations, lantern-lit treks in lesser-traveled areas and strenuous caving explorations. More than 380,000 of the park's yearly visitors opt for a cave tour during their visit.

Duane Bonifer of Greensburg, Ky., about an hour from the park, says he takes his two sons to the park several times a year. The best part of the cave tours, he says, is the moment when all lights are extinguished and it becomes completely dark.

"That's worth the price of admission," he says.

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About the park

Size: 52,830 acres

Visitors: 483,319 in 2011

Established: 1941

History: Mammoth Cave was discovered by Native Americans about 4,000 years ago. In the late 1790s, it was rediscovered by settlers. During the War of 1812, slaves mined saltpeter from the cave sediments and used it to make gunpowder. By 1816, tours began in the cave, launching over a century of private ownership and exploration. In 1926, Congress authorized the formation of the national park to protect the caves, hilly country and river valley.

When visiting: 1 Mammoth Cave Parkway, Mammoth Cave, Ky. 42259. Visitor info: 270-758-2180.

Of note:Mammoth Cave National Park contains and protects 400 caves; one of those is Mammoth Cave, which is 290 miles long and the longest known cave in the world. In 1842, the owner of Mammoth Cave, physician John Croghan, invited consumptive patients to live in the cave, believing the cave to have preservative qualities. Sixteen people, sick with what is known today as tuberculosis, volunteered. After six months and the death of five of his patients, Croghan disbanded the experiment. He later died of tuberculosis.