My nine-year-old daughter and I had down time while we waited for the Amish at their family gathering. How glad we were to discover this tour.There was a lot of great information, three hundred years condensed into just a few minutes.The staff was very knowledgeable and helpful. The park is beautifully kept.One thing to be aware of is there are a couple extraordinary tight spots where you have to be able to duck down low in your seat in order to protect your head.I would recommend this as a must visit spot in the area provided you are not claustrophobic.

Lost River Cave was one of the best and most affordable adventure places we have visited since we moved here. We purchased our tickets online to the underground boat cave tour. The tour is popular, and the tickets sell fast. Online purchases are recommended. It is about $25 for an adult. They will give you a discounted refund in person if you show your military ID. Our tickets were reduced to $15 a person. The hiking trails are fun and gave a good mini workout. The boat tour was about 45 minutes. The walking portion is 20 minutes, and the boat ride was 25 minutes. You sail inside a 350 million years old cave and learn a lot of amazing facts about the cave. Our tour guides were Austin and Caroline. They were easy to listen to and kept the group entertained well.We were pleasantly surprised by the butterfly house and garden. So many beautiful butterflies! Many of them flew around me and onto the ground...like something out of fairytale. This was one our favorite parts of Lost River Cave.

I went on a morning cave boat tour, which was $22 for adults. Ryan was our tour guide and he was great. The entire tour is about 45 min long, which I knew ahead of time. The tour started off with a 10-15 min walking tour that goes over the history of the area. We spent about 30 min max in the cave (boarding/unboarding the boat and actually in the boat). When you start off on the boat, you have to literally duck for a minute to avoid hitting your head on the low hanging cave ceiling. Overall, there were some cool photo opportunities in the cave but I’ve been to similar experiences that have been better. I wish the tour was longer and there was more to see in this area.

What a fun trip! The temperature inside the cave was so pleasant, especially in the middle of July! Our tour guides, Caroline and Austin, were friendly and fun and shared many interesting things from the history of the cave. We also purchased tickets for zip lining for our kids after the boat tour (which was a short walking distance) and the employees there were also really nice and made sure the kids were safe and had fun. They have zip lining for adults as well. You can also pay for gem mining which is located close to the gift shop by the entrance.All in all, I highly recommend the excursion. It felt good to support the university and the non-profit organization that take care of the cave, especially since everyone who worked there was so pleasant and clearly enjoyed their job!

My 10 year old picked the Lost River Cave as a stop for his early birthday trip! I’m so glad he did because it was a very cool experience! We booked a boat tour and bought a bag of gems online the week before hand. The cave tour was a little shorter than we thought it would be, but it was amazing to see! The guides were very friendly, funny, and knowledgeable! All the staff were nice! There are a few small hills while hiking around the property, nothing too bad. The butterfly house was my favorite! There were several butterflies and they landed on flowers very close to us! My son was super excited to be able to mine for gems! He got some really cool gems! We enjoyed our time so much and would love to go back again!

Absolutely beautiful and worth it. The trails are gorgeous and the butterfly habitat is a place I’ll never forget. The boat tour was intriguing and nothing less than informative. My boat’s tour guide, Gavin, was absolutely hilarious, had a great demeanor, and was able to answer every question we threw at him. My entire family had a great time.

Loved the stories, myths, and facts of the cave, natural wonders, and townspeople of Lost River. Those folks are lucky to have Matthew there to help their history live on!!

We really enjoyed our boat tour at Lost River Cave. Our guide Jacob was informative and entertaining. The cave itself as an interesting history and its good to see it cleaned up and giving tours after learning that it was abandoned at some point in the past. I think couples and families would enjoy the tour.

The cave boat tour was fun, not something you get to do often. When they say to get there 30 minutes early, the reason is because you have to walk a bit to get to the start of the tour. In our case it was just as a big rainstorm hit, and we were soaked. The guide will spend a good while talking once you get to the cave, before you can get on the boat, and our 6 year old was bored. But, it was all fine and the guide did well. The company does not enforce masks, which is not good in this close seating arrangement. Nor are masks required in the gift shop. Id be good if they could at least put all the people with masks in the same boat!

Absolutely loved this experience. Stopped by on the way to Florida for something to do and assumed it would be a cheesy tourist trap, but it is not. Knowledgeable friendly staff, a large beautiful trail system as well as a butterfly enclosure to walk and visit at your leisure, and my favorite part, the boat tour. The underground cave tour is just surreal with all the things youd expect to see while being educated with a bit of humor as well. On top of all of that the gift shop is well stocked and the prices are all surprisingly low as well. There was also a zip line course that looked great but we didnt have the time to try it this time. If you have the chance I would definitely suggest stopping by.

The tour is shorter than I thought it would be, but its still pretty neat and informative. And there are some trails you can walk after the tour. Zip lining is pretty good too.

We have done various cave tours and would definitely recommend the Lost River Cave tour. It is a unique cave experience being on the boat and even ducking to avoid rocks. The boat ride/cave tour was somewhat short but the short hike along with the scenery supplemented the short cave experience. The park does have other activities and one can easily spend 3 plus hours there. There is also a great gift shop that has a large selection.

Highly recommend! Really cool place to visit. The cave tour and its history are great and very interesting. All the staff we encountered were all very friendly. We went on a Sunday and did not purchase tickets in advance. So we had to wait an hour and a half for our tour. (The tours are spaced an hour apart.) While you wait there are things to do. There are well beaten hiking trails with signs that we went on while waiting for our tour time. Nice gift shop. Well worth the visit.

Spent a day here with my 16 yr old Eli while visiting friends in TN. Easy to get to and a very enjoyable day. Zip lining 1st with Luk and Austin as guides was awesome. If you have always wanted to try zip lining, this is a great place to start. One lower to the ground practice run gave you the feel of stepping off and landing before doing the 3 runs. They were high enough and fast enough without being too simple. One guide stayed back to assist each person getting hooked on. The other went ahead first and assists you with the landing. Gage and Austin were friendly, professional, and safety focused. We also took the boat tour with Abigail. That was also very enjoyable and nice and cool on a hot day. We enjoyed the trails and the Butterfly Garden as well. The only thing I would say is it might have been nice to have been able to purchase a sandwich or other lunch items at Lost River Cave. We did leave the premises to go get lunch and then return.

The tour was interesting, but not the most spectacular cave I have visited. The tour begins with a walk down from the visitor center to the entrance to the cave. The boat ride begins with everyone ducking under the lowest section of the cave. The boat might go in 200 yards with the guide pointing out various features of the cave. Since the cave often floods, there arent many stalactites or stalagmites to see. There is a dam inside the cave to maintain the water level for the boats to enter the cave.

This wasn’t planned on our trip to KY, we accidentally found this place and it turned out to the best part of our family adventure! We will definitely be back! The staff was great, especially the people that operated the Zip Line!

Our family loved this place. The trails are very well kept and the have a beautiful aviary with lots of butterflys. We would recommend this to anyone looking for a good walk and beautiful sights.

Our experience at the Lost River Cave was great. Our tour guide was awesome. His name was Matt. He had a lot of good information and presented it with a lot of enthusiasm. It is easy to see how much he loves his job and Lost River Cave.

Nice place to visit for a quick tour. Would suggest advanced reservations to avoid waiting hours. Neat butterfly house and little hikes. The boat tour itself could be better with speakers on both ends of the boat. Its hard to hear if youre not near the tour guide.

This was a fun adventure for our family! We have been inside caves but this one you tour from inside a boat. Very cool! Our Tour Guide Linda was fun and made learning about the Blue Holes, the cave, and the legends surrounding it entertaining. She was friendly, knowledgeable and answered all questions! We had a great time!

Great tour if you dont really want to exert yourself too much or get dirty. Was a fun little diversion as a side trip from Mammoth Cave. The short tour time is also a bonus because you can easily sneak this visit into your day. Tour guide Abigail was the bomb! Gift shop was nice. Pick an early tour time if you want to beat the crowds. Check out The Bike Rack Bistro (not a far drive) as part of your trip!

Amazing cave we found in Kentucky only a couple hours north of where we were staying in Tennessee.

This place was amazing. Truly unique. The guides are great and you get a real feel of the history. Highly recommend!

Loved taking the cave tour, In a Boat. Underground river tour was great. The water was very clear and the cave was very cool, Especially on a hot July afternoon. The tour guide was excellent. She is a college student at WKU.

Really great little tour. Guides were entertaining and was really interesting. Definitely take some time to walk the trails, it was a pretty area.

Scarecrow trail was fun. Shy was our tour guide. She was very knowledgeable, fun and full of personality. Matt was the other staff member we interacted with.. both seemed great! Caves were so cool!We really had a wonderful time.

The staff is very helpful and friendly. The gift shop and facilities are very well maintained. The cave tour is fun. I wish the tour was was longer, but there are natural and physical constraints. The cave is beautiful and the boat tour is great.

We had a great time! Our guide was great. He genuinely seemed to love giving the tour. He was very informative and entertaining. I would recommend this tour to everyone.

Cool boat tour through a shallow river running through a cave! The actual boat tour is very short and rest of the time the tour guide would tell you stories!!

Cave tour is awesome and zip lines are OPEN! Such a great place to spend a weekend and staff very knowledgeable and friendly. Will be back!

We had a great time! Conner and Linda were fantastic guides, and funny!!! Will definitely go back again!

Very cool river cave tour. Not a lot of formations but very unique and novel cave. Recommend

Tour was the perfect length. The website did an excellent job explaining what to expect. The story about the history was great. The tour guide was incredible. Had a great personality, was enthusiastic, funny, and engaging. I don’t remember her name but she said she is from Wisconsin (Packers fan). She is a true asset.

Really nice cave. The aquatic element was new for me. Would have liked to see some info boards and such about the cave and the critters living there. Guide was having a rough day, missing bits of the banter and having trouble with the boat. Zipp lines outside look pretty cool but didnt ride.

It was the best time!!! Very beautiful and well maintained with wonderful tour guides and staff.

Linda was very good & helpful. Nice experience & nice place to hangout.

This was an amazing place the park and trails were a little humid and the cave was really cold but overall it was beautiful. (The cave photos arent very good sorry!) This is also not everything there you can see.

Its just 5 mins travel inside the boat. Charging even new born is too much. Choose any good option instead of wasting time here. Children Zipline is good!

A relaxing stop. Call before you go & make reservations online for possible special bonus if you shop at the gift store. Staff was very helpful. Rainy season now & we look forward to when we return in March for the Stop & Stretch return home.

Only took the trails because I had Ezra with me but they were well kept and was an enjoyable hike.

Wonderful experience at Lost River Cave! At first May seem to be a bit pricey but definitely worth it. Guides are very knowledgeable and entertaining. We did the boat tour but no time for gem mining….maybe next time. Truly a 5 star experience.

Im definitely not a local to Kentucky, everyone recommended Lost River Cave, I couldnt be happier with this experience. I know the other caves in the area offer tours between 30 minutes and 6 hours. This was a 45 minute tour and was such a good experience for those who have little ones, arent sure about caves, or who havnt seen one before. I had Christine as a guide, she was wonderful, even though our group wasnt too chatty she did a great job filling everyone in and making everyone feel comfortable. Coming from Colorado, Ill remember this part of my month here in Kentucky the most! I highly recommend this experience for everyone looking to get put of the house. I also indulged in the mining experience.I got the bucket bonanza and a yellow bag. It was quite a job sifting through it all but the peices that came from the bucket are beautiful and so much fun to hold and know what they are. This would be fantastic for the kiddos or the kids at heart. Keep an eye out for the arrowheads!Have fun and be sure to take lots of pictures!

You get to explore a cave on a boat! It was fun.

We enjoyed our boat ride into the cave. We also bought the bag of gems (that was fun).

Very fun! Had a great tour guide!

This is a MUST SEE. We pre ordered tickets for the 11am tour on Wednesday. We got to post river cave about two hours early. We were very surprised on how much there was to do before our tour started. It was very organized and the staff was extremely friendly. The tour guides were hilarious and the tour was very educational and fun. Highly recommend anyone thinking about going to do it! It’s worth the money.

What a Wonderful experience. Brady our Tour Guide was amazing!!! I will definitely comeback.

Parking is super tight here. Our tour guide was great.

Unique tour with some enjoyable surprises but was a little shorter than I would of liked. And that is not due to being rushed it’s just such a small portion of the cave they let you see. Would like to see them add some walkways so you can go deeper into the cave. I didnt really care for the sense of humor of the guide, I’m sure kids would enjoy it.

You gotta see this cool place.Tour guide Kylie was awesome!!!

Very fun and educational experience. Props to WKU for maintaining the area for conservation. Try to sit towards the front of the boat if you can to interact with the knowledgeable guides. The guides have portable speakers but it can get loud in the cave.

The cave was neat, It would be great if they offered options for further exploration. The butterfly house was not open but looked like a nice facility. The trails seemed well kept. I only wish they would give up on the masks. This is terrible for the environment and impossible to keep clean.

I really enjoy walking the trails at Lost River Cave.

Was here visiting my inlaws in Portland. Very unique experience and our guide Jacob was personable and informative. The only downside was there were two boat tours going on at the same time so it was difficult to hear the narration. Worth the trip!

Lots to see and do. We were just passing through and did the boat tour. Paige and Chad were very polite and helpful.

Was a great little pit stop! Paige was a great guide, funny and didnt make it boring as some tours can be. And the guy in the gift shop that pointed out the buckets of gems for my daughter back home. Thank you. She will love it!

Kylie was our guide for the cave. She genuinely loved her job cracking geology jokes that ended up being rock solid ( see what I did there? ) continued to profusely thank us for being there.It is non profit and for a good cause going towards cleaning up the area, which is steeped in history.The tour was worth every cent I highly recommend it if you’re ever in Kentucky.

Very interesting and a great family trip.

Great boat tour. Not long, about 25 minutes, but you actually get a good look at the features of the cave. It was great to cool off a little too! The butterfly habit was a cool extra. Well done and not just a money trap.

This is a very pleasant gem in the heart of cave country. If you have experienced caves elsewhere, this is still a neat adventure due to the short boat ride. Definitely something different to check out. And for newbie cavers, it’s a nice introduction to the geology. I only wish we’d had the time to walk the trail system and see the disappearing/reappearing creek. Be advised the entrance to the property along Nashville Rd isn’t as noticeable as we expected – drove right past it, in fact!

We can say, this is three in one attraction. Butterfly house, nice little hiking trails and underground boat ride. The boat tour is unique experience. The guide was knowledgeable and very funny.You might have to duck the rocks above your head at the low points in the boat ride. The river is shallow and the actual boating is less but with lots of interesting story telling and history. We did the boat tour only once but later on came back so many times with the kids for hiking and to see butterflies.

Beautiful area and very cool cave to visit! The gift shop had lots of cute items and souvenirs. Yes, the actual boat tour is maybe 30 minutes long, the cave isn’t that big but it is worth to visit. Wear shoes with a good grip and watch your head in a few spots! The guide was very friendly and funny. The tour sells out so make sure to book ahead.

Great outdoor experience, kids loved the cave and zip lining.

This place is a little hidden gem. Our tour guide was laid back and funny, and she definitely knew her history. You walk across a bridge and down a little trail to get to the boat ride. It’s a short ride, but well worth it. At one point you can touch the cave ceiling. The history surrounding it being an old nightclub is mind blowing. So glad I stopped. After the boat ride there is a mile or so of trails leading to other little “blue holes” and a small waterfall. The butterfly house was under construction, as were the zip lines I believe. But still 100% worth it in my opinion. The trails were really nicely maintained with mostly fresh white gravel and the trail actually attached to another trail, one of Kentucky’s “green ways” for about half a mile.

This was ok. They had a lot of issues the day we went with multiple boats going down, but they did do right by us. The trails were a little confusing at 1st bc right away we had run into a sign saying stop. Theres were trails to the right of that but also ppl right there waiting to go on the boat tour, so we didnt see that trail entrance right away. We did find another trail and the gift shop has alot of cool things. I would recommend checking It out. Theres a lot of cool history and the guides do their jobs very well.

Paige was wonderful. She was bubbly and had a lot of information to share. The cave was very cool and fascinating. Definitely take a jacket. Definitely worth the drive and time to see such an amazing natural formation.

It was a great experience going there I will definitely come back and visit again the stories were awesome the lady Caroline inside the cave was nice and the two Agar was okay I dont not sure if he wanted us to be excited about it or not but it was pretty awesome and Im happy I came been living in Kentucky since 2015 and am now starting to travel and see thanks will return

Short but sweet tour. The walk to the cave was linger than the tour but it was still nice

We stopped by lost river cave as we were passing through the area. Our family of 5 participated on the boat tours. Thankfully it was the last tour of the night because the forest portion was very humid. The guides were very friendly and comical. Was a nice change for the day to day tour guides. Always nice to have a good laugh. I do wish the boat tour was longer for the price but it was still enjoyable and a unique experience compared to walking tours. Afterwards we took a walk through the parks wooded trails and stopped by the butterfly house. (No additional charge for this). There is also a woodsy playground at the front of the park as well.For a family of 5 (kids aged 15-7) it was around $115.Boat tour about 45min activityShort hikeButterfly pavilionParkAnd we also received a $10 gem bag mining kit in our package (normally $12)Was a fun family activity.

I always love going to Lost River. Some days more than others, though. Great place for birding! They have the scarecrow exhibit up now....well worth the trip!

This was our first boat ride in a cave. Page was our wonderful guide! Great experience to pass along to others! Thank you!

Awesome experience the whole family loved it. The workers were incredible, knowledgeable and great sense of humor. Our 11 month old was good until you had to lower your head in the cave but besides that she was fine. All around experienced must try

I enjoyed this so much more than I thought I would. Im not what one would call adventurous so boat ride in an underground cave was outside my comfort zone. It was so much fun! I had no idea this place had so much history. I loved learning all the history of not only the cave, but the area around it as well. I had a wonderful guide who was very knowledgeable and a great boat driver. This is a must see!

Very good place to visit, beautiful scenery

This is a MUST see cave! They have a gift shop, flushing bathrooms that are clean, hiking trails (we went in October & they had fun scarecrow scenes set up along the trails), a butterfly house (although it wasn’t in operation-Covid 2020), but the best part was the underground boat ride inside the cave and our experienced guide! So glad we were able to experience this natural wonder!

Nice little stop. Our guide was great. Cave isnt very big, but the river element makes it different from other caves Ive been to. Some nice walking trails and a few other activities to do there as well.

Our guide Matt was very enthusiastic and local to the area and knowledgeable of the caves. Because of this we had a Great experience. Would recommend.

A good history lesson. Tour is pretty short but that is to be expected with the cave being less than 500 ft. Long.

Beautiful and a really neat experience. They have a very nice gift shop. I was expecting it to be a bit larger than it was but they were friendly and informative.

This place was a gem! Gavin did a great job as our guide on our way to the boat. Caroline, our boat tour guide was very knowledgeable, witty and so funny! It was a highlight of our Kentucky trip! All the profits go right back to the park which is a worthy cause. We would highly recommend it!

I had a great time here. The zip line and boat guides were really nice. They enjoyed their jobs and are very good people. They know how to make you enjoy your time here. Austin especially is really funny.HEY EVERYONE: Take out Austin’s legs on the zip line. It is really funny!

Our boat tour was fantastic! Our tour guide was Matt and you can tell he loves his job and the land. The butterfly house was magical and we enjoyed the walking trails as well. And the gift shop is filled with wonderful treasures. Highly recommend!

Amazing and educational. Please treat it like the gem it is.

Go early and explore the grounds. There’s some interesting historical landmarks and some hiking trails. The butterfly exhibit is a must visit on the grounds! The boat tour was great fun and very unique.

Loved that you could take a boat into the cave. The walking part of the tour is an easy paved walk going down but you will have to walk back up. If your in semi-decent shape youll be fine no problem. The first part of the cave boat tour you have to duck down inside the boat which was a little scary at first not really being able to see and feel like your going through an mri machine in a way without the squeeze on your body... but it goes quick and once inside the cave it is super spacious and less chlostrophobic feeling. Theres even a dam inside the cave. You will also get some cave kisses which are little water droplets that land on you. Super cool and glad we got to experience this!

So beautiful and awesome! Staff was friendly, fun and informative.

This place looks like so much fun but when I called we were told that we would not need a reservation. When we were arrived they were already sold out for the day. So sad! They were kind about it but said there was nothing they could do. So just be sure to make a reservation so that you can see the cave.

The staff is great! I thought they had a lot of personality and were wonderful with the kids compared to a lot of other cave tours I have experienced. The tour itself wasnt very long, however it is very pretty and the sound of the water running through the cave is extremely peaceful and relaxing. Overall, a decent day trip for the family.

We were there on a wedding night, so maybe our tour was abbreviated. We met at the end of the bridge and walked down to the mouth of the cave where we got a brief history. Then we loaded onto a boat and spent about 20 minutes on the underground river. It was a little underwhelming. I can say that Ive done it, so I wont need to do it again. It was about 110 dollars for a family of 5.

Beautifull place, the boat tour was way too short for all the Hype but still it was very interesting . Very kid friendly

The Lost River Cave tour was absolutely amazing! The guide was knowledgeable and funny as he provided historic background and geographical facts about the cave and river. Visiting in October gave the opportunity to see it in full color, and it was absolutely beautiful! We arrived at 2:40pm, took a 3pm tour, and enjoyed walking around the grounds/shopping, and left about 5pm. If you are crunched on time you could be done quicker, but it was nice to explore.Warning: the office/gift shop is loaded with adorable finds - everything from cookbooks and hot sauce to Christmas ornaments! Be ready to purchase something!

Great place to visit with family, great history, trails, and the cave tour was good. The prices are reasonable but the only thing I was a bit disappointed with was the actual cave tour. For $19.95 I’m thinking, at least, we would have almost two miles of cave to explore. It was a very SHORT cave tour. We went to the end of the cave and turned around and came back. However, great spot for a quick trip.

What an amazing place! The tours are 100% worth the cost and all proceeds go back into keeping up the park. The guide for our tour was not only informative and entertaining, he is an expert on the place and area. The cave has been so beautifully brought back to life. The other activities on site and the shop are really well put together. What a gem to have amongst the hustle of a city.

Was a unique experience. Not everyday you can ride a boat under the city ..in a cave at that

We had a great experience! We did the cave tour and then took a small walk to butterfly habitat.The tour was short but informative and near to see all the formations. There are a few in even stairs and gravel walkway down to the cave. my toddler handled it well or could be easily carried for the short distance. Tour guide was funny and engaging.There is also a natural play area for kids to climb on logs and things.The area also has more hiking trails, the zip lining, a gem mining.We spent about two hours there from just before check- in, tour, small walk to the butterfly habitat, and gift store and play area. :)Would go again!!

This is a really neat experience! The boat tour is short, but very interesting. And the walking trails are very nice!

Unique experience!! I really enjoyed the underground river boat ride. The tour is short but this is still a beautiful cave to go see. The tour guides and those working at the Visitor Center were kind and genuinely seemed to be enjoying their work.

We love Lost River Cave! The staff is always very polite and professional. The play area is a great place for kids to blow off some steam. The trails are clear and well maintained. The boat rides are very informative and neat. We have not yet tried the ziplines but they look fun!

So beautiful! A few small hills to over come, but over all gorgeous experience!

Loved it it was awesome