With more stairs per mile than any other cave tour in Mammoth Cave National Park, the Domes & Dripstones Tour is certainly a memorable one. Featuring towering domes and seemingly bottomless pits, grand rooms, beautiful rock formations, and windy passages, it often ranks near the top of most casual visitor's lists of the best experiences in the park. Highlighted by a steep descent through narrow passageways, the tour is nothing short of spectacular and should be near the top of your list when visiting the park.

Bathrooms No

Water No

Stairs Around 550 descending, 200 ascending

Duration 2 hours

The tour kicks off with a 10 minute park shuttle from the visitor center to the New Entrance, which sits at the top of a large, yet unassuming sinkhole. From the entrance, the tour immediately begins a long descent into the depths of the sinkhole's drain via a network of intricate, maze-like passageways.

As the descent unfolds, the passageways progressively narrow, barely extending beyond shoulder width. Beautifully water-sculpted walls hug the staircases as they twist and turn, further and further and further down.

A few brief flat sections give pause to the seemingly endless descent.

True to its name, the tour traverses through expansive domes, like Roosevelt's Dome, a towering limestone dome standing at 130 feet tall.

And, beside deep pits, such as Silo Pit, a 160-foot deep hole.

After descending nearly 300 feet beneath the surface, the path levels out once more, winding through dim passages just before reaching the deepest point of the tour, Grand Central Station.

Upon arriving at Grand Central Station, park rangers take a few moments to delve into the room's history and provide insights into the cave's past.

After Grand Central Station, the tour resumes with a slight ascent along several paved pathways and numerous stairs, leading to Big Break, where a substatial amount of fallen cave ceiling rock has littered the floor. Shortly thereafter, the tour arrives at Fariy Ceiling, where rangers once more share insights into the cave's history and answer questions visitors may have.

Beyond Fairy Ceiling, the tour progresses through level, subway-like passages, including an area known as Flat Ceiling.

Then, the tour passes through a large room known as Lover's Leap,

A look back at Lover's Leap.

After navigating more subway-like passages, the tour proceeds through College Heights, a sizable, dimly-lit chamber, and eventually arrives at Thanksgiving Hall, renowned for its beautiful colors.

Shortly after Thanksgiving Hall, the tour arrives at Frozen Niagara, perhaps the park's most well-known formation. Here, a 48-step staircase leads beside it.

Midway down the staircase, it makes a 90-degree turn, providing arguably the most spectacular view of the colossal formation. The stats on Frozen Niagara are impressive, with dimensions of 43 feet in width, 70 feet in height, and a thickness of 32 inches. Considering that these formations are thought to grow at a rate of 1 inch per 1,000 years, Frozen Niagara has undergone a process spanning at least 800,000 years to reach its current size.

Following the staircase's 90-degree turn, the Drapery Room awaits visitors roughly 20 steps later. The aptly named room provides breathtaking views in all directions, with the upward perspective being particularly extraordinary.

Space in the Drapery Room is slightly confined, but well worth the minimal effort and wait.

An endless sea of arthritic fingers hang from above.

And, the view looking all the way to the top of the dome is superb as well.

After ascending the stairs back to the top of Frozen Niagara, the tour resumes through various sections of cave such as the Onyx Chamber, Rainbow Dome, Crystal Lake, Onyx Colunnade, and eventually to the Frozen Niagara Entrance. For information about these areas and the conclusion of the Domes & Dripstones Tour, check out our ,Frozen Niagara Tour in Mammoth Cave National Park article. Just be sure to read it backwards from the end.