Hidden River Cave & American Cave Museum

Was in Indiana visiting my boyfriend while he's here working and was looking for dog friendly things to do. The 2.5 hour drive was worth it because the cave was awesome, tour guide Dylan was patient and knowledgeable and my pup was allowed throughout the whole tour (couldn't find any other caves that allowed this).

What a great experience. We got to the museum at 3:30pm and got on the last tour at 4:00. We were directed to walk to the side of the building by Our guide Jay. The cave is under the town which was incomprehensible. Jay was fantastic and extremely knowledgeable. We got to see frogs, crickets, salamanders. We had a private tour.

We arrived just in time to hop onto a tour that was about to start - literally - the tour guide said hop on in, you can pay for the tickets when we come back up. Up indeed - as with many caves, there are quite a few stairs to scale! They first bring you out back and let you see the amazing view of the cave entrance while you get some basic information. Then it's down into the cave itself, which is very impressive. It's a huge space with lots of neat rooms. Because the cave floods as quickly and fully as it does (they have a lot of flags marking where the water has reached previously), it does not have much in the way of cave formations. The draw is more in the huge spaces and the interesting tour information. It also offers the longest underground suspension bridge in the world, which does, as the tour guide warned us, move around. They were really great about letting us cross as we felt comfortable - groups, in units, or as individuals (to minimize swinging/bouncing). The Sunset Dome, one of the largest freestanding cave domes with fantastic coloring, was absolutely beautiful. This is an in and out tour, so we followed the same path back out and got to admire sections for a second time. The turnaround is at Sunset Dome, so be sure to take it in while you're there, however! There's a nice little gift shop attached to the cave museum. The staff was extremely friendly too.

Amazing cave and dog friendly as well! Six adults, three pooches in our group, all were allowed in the museum and on the cave tour. They also allow veterans and active service folks on tour for free. The cave was magnificent, a river runs through it. Lots of steps, some places were slick, but there were handrails. We went over a very long suspension bridge, I couldn't look down, but everyone in our group said it pretty cool. Cole was a great tour guide, knowledgeable and a good sense of humor.

After striking out at Mammoth Cave (which felt kind of offputting anyway) we came here.I was immediately impressed with how laid-back and friendly the staff was. A perfect contrast to the NPS and their rigid, uptight demeanor.The museum is certainly impressive, albeit in need of some TLC. I found the various videos about bats to be particularly illuminating.Our tour guide was a kind young man who answered our many questions patiently. The various steps and passage ways for thrilling to experience, and the suspension bridge was exciting.I'm so glad we took the time to stop here.

This was the best Cave tour we took while visiting. Jay was a phenomenal tour guide and you can tell the history of the area and the cave are both things he's very passionate about. It really shines through and I feel like this was the most comprehensive tour we had our entire trip. It also was on the longer side, which I loved. A full hour and a half and it was the perfect amount of time to really see everything. The steps though are no joke. It's not bad on the way down, but what goes down must come up. Luckily they have landings were you can kind of stop to catch your breath. That was undoubtedly the hardest part. There were definitely people of all ages and abilities doing it, so it's definitely doable. Secondly if you have a fear of bridges and heights, the suspension bridge is rough. Our tour guide did let people go at the very end, or by themselves to offset swinging and help with that fear. My only critique is that ITS SO DARK. If you're in the middle, it's difficult to see . Up front you have the guide and in the back they also get a flashlight, but in the middle it's tough. You almost need on more flashlight to help light the path in the middle. Also to see the formations you do need a flashlight to see them.

Excellent tour guide, he was extremely knowledgeable, friendly and stopped often to ask if anyone had questions. The tour was very easy, the lighting was great. A few critiques, which is not necessarily the fault of the tour guide, but 1- the amount of people that went were higher than normal (mistake), 2- they are very laid back however when guests bring their own flashlight and have zero regard for anyone other then themselves, that's ridiculous. Many guests brought their own flashlights and had no etiquette. Quite literally shining the flashlight in other people eyes, along with taking constant photos with flash. Seriously, enjoy the tour, stop with the pictures. 3- the museum is rundown but so is the town however they rely on donations. Overall, I don't regret going but Just remember, you go with random people that are inconsiderate.

This was an incredible Cave experience and I highly recommend it. This was a highlight of our trip to Kentucky. We were lucky enough that there was some recent rain, but not too much - so the cave was partially flooded. The staff had us don rain boots and trek on through. It really added to the 'wildness' of the experience. The cave itself is large and makes for a really enjoyable tour seeing the sights, feeling the cool air, and listening to the tour. Our tour guide was excellent and made sure it was a safe and enjoyable experience. Another highlight for me was the suspension bridge, the largest in any cave. It really gave us a 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' vibe! We visited three caves during our trip and this one was by far our favorite - for me, my wife and my stepson. Even if you have to go a little out of the way, I recommend visiting this gem. Happy Caving!

Out of the 4 caves we visited, this was our favorite. There are a TON of steps. The suspension bridge is scary and I'm not sure I would have felt comfortable taking small children but there were a ton on our tour and they were fine. This cave has been built for tours while leaving the are as natural as possible. The week before we arrived, the entire cave had been flooded so it was cool to see it still messy (or rather in a natural state). Our tour guide was great. The only problem, I'd you weren't in the first few people behind him, you heard nothing that he said. Luckily our party was split up so the ones at front told us what was said and the history of the cave. My only negative was the lighting. It would be nice to sell flashlights and even suggest the purchase or bringing or flashlights. It was hard to see and if you were near the back, you had little light since the tour guide had the flashlight.

Well worth the stop and visit. Laid back on the tour but the walk up the stairs at the end is a doozy.....Ella was a wonderful tour guide and very funny. I would highly recommend the visit and the tour took about an hour.