Named in honor of Parker Cleaveland, Professor of Mineral Geology at Harvard, the Cleaveland Avenue Tour in Mammoth Cave National Park is a must-do for history buffs and geology lovers. The tour showcases some of the most extraordinary natural mineral formations in Mammoth Cave, offers visitors a glimpse into early cave exploration, and an opportunity to learn about perhaps the most fantastic section of cave in the entire park, Cleaveland's Cabinet.

Bathrooms at the end

Water no

Stairs 400 descending

Duration 2-2.5 hours

The tour kicks off with a brief 5-minute park shuttle from the visitor center to the Carmichael Entrance. Upon arrival, visitors are greeted with a lengthy staircase, consisting of 400 steps, descending roughly 300 below the surface, leading to a well-trodden dirt trail. After a brief walk, a spacious cave section unfolds, followed by another leisurely walk down a gentle slope.

Upon reaching the base of the slope, park rangers typically pause to provide insights into the cave's history, address any questions, and prepare visitors on what to expect in the upcoming section before proceeding further.

Following a turn in the trail, the next section of the cave emerges, resembling a low-hanging, oblong lava tube, well-lit every few hundred feet.

Just a short distance into this section of the cave, rangers will point out striking gypsum formations often resembling lilies or snowballs on the ceiling and walls, a feature consistently seen throughout Cleaveland Avenue.

The rangers will also highlight instances of cave graffiti, created by using charcoal pencils and smoke, remnants left behind by miners and cave explorers over the past two centuries.

The cave boasts an average width exceeding 50 feet, with an average ceiling height of roughly 10 feet. The park ranger featured in the photo below provides a clear indication of the scale visitors can anticipate.

Except for the initial descent into the cave and the spacious room near the start of the tour, the entire excursion will look very much the same. Throughout, rangers occasionally pause to highlight abandoned mining equipment from years past, discuss the numerous contributions of Stephen Bishop, a famed cave guide and explorer, and point out openings at ground level that connect to other sections of Mammoth Cave used during the Wild Cave Tour.

Shortly before the tour's conclusion, rangers point out the entrance to Cleaveland's Cabinet, a cavern spanning one and three-quarters miles adorned with stunning gypsum and alabaster flowers, some larger than the average human. Despite visitors being prohibited from entering one of Mammoth Cave's most otherworldy features (not even park rangers are permitted), it's said that every square foot of Cleaveland's Cabinet is filled with breathtaking formations in the shapes of roses, dahliahs, tulips, carnations, and most abundantly, lilies, all in brilliant white.

A noteworthy inscription to seek out is positioned along the right wall, roughly chest high. The inscription reads, "To Nick The Guide," and pays homage to Nick Bransford. In 1838, Bransford, an enslaved man, was leased to the cave's owner. Remarkably, he served as a guide in Mammoth Cave for five decades. In 1863, Bransford purchased his own freedom with the tips he earned as a cave guide. The inscription stands as the sole documented dedication to an enslaved guide, written by a visitor of the cave.

Another interesting piece of historical graffiti on that same wall bears the inscription, "Hoofland's Tonic, 1869, July 28, O. Mill, Richmond, VA." This particular marking points to a pancea-like medicine that purported to remedy a wide range of ailments, including jaundice, constipation, nausea, heartburn, depression, and more. The painted inscription is known as the most prominent commerical advertisement within the confines of Mammoth Cave.

Upon concluding the tour at this point, an elevator returns visitors 267 feet back to the surface. In the event that the elevator is non-operational, an occasional occurrence, the only way back to the top is retracing your steps, adding another mile and 400 stairs to the adventure.