Louisville Mega Cavern: An Underground Adventure
One top attraction in Louisville is actually way under ground: the Louisville Mega Cavern. About 100 feet below the ground not far from the Louisville Zoo lies the Louisville Mega Cavern, a cavernous excavation created by continuous limestone quarrying from 1930 to 1972. All of the stone the miners blasted out over those 42 years would have been enough to build all three of Egypt's great pyramids!
Today the Louisville Mega Cavern takes up 4 million square feet (over 100 acres) with more than 17 miles of underground roadways.
For years, the privately owned underground has been used as a drop-off point for concrete, brick, rock, dirt, shingles, auto parts and other nonorganic waste materials, keeping them out of Kentucky's landfills and, at the same time, filling in cavern holes to create floors and roadways.
The cavern's also used as a weatherproof, earthquake-proof storage facility, housing everything from road salt to boats, cars and priceless original movie prints from Hollywood.
Now, after two years of preparation, the cavern is open for visitors. SUV-drawn trams carry riders on 60 to 70-minute guided tours throughout the day, seven days a week. (Take note: While parts of the cavern system run underneath the Louisville Zoo, there is no entrance there. Tours begin at the Mega Cavern offices, 1841 Taylor Ave.)
The tours opened officially in June 2009 and drew thousands in its first month, said Jim Lowry, one the three owners. "It's going extremely well — actually better than we expected in the early going," Lowry said.
Tour highlights include discussions on how ancient oceans formed the limestone deposits and on the history of the mine, displays of excavation techniques, a replica of the fallout bunker dating to the Cold War and a worm farm being developed to recycle paper waste into fertilizer.
Tours run every half hour and are available in all types of weather — underground, it's a constant 58 degrees. Anyone who might get chilly at that temperature might want to bring a sweater.
General admission is $13.50 for ages 13 and up ($12 for seniors), and $8 for children 3–12. Children 2 and under are free with a paid adult. Discounts are available for AAA members.
Louisville Mega Cavern has special rates for field trips. Staff will also tailor tours to specific areas of interest, whether caverns, karst, cavern life, groundwater or the area's natural or recorded history. Field trips with 20 students or more cost $6 per student, although teachers and bus drivers enter free (one adult per 10 students). Extra chaperones pay $10.
Posted on Jan 25, 2011 by Ivonne Rovira
