Hidden River Cave; Secrets Beneath the Surface in Horse Cave Kentucky
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- Опубликовано: 14 сен 2023
- Hidden River historic cave tour will take you through one of Kentucky’s largest and most scenic cave entrances where two subterranean rivers flow over one-hundred feet below ground. Walk across the world’s longest underground swinging bridge and step up into Sunset Dome, one of the largest free-standing cave domes in the United States.
You’ll pass the remnants of a turn-of-the-century hydroelectric generating system that once supplied the town overhead with water & electricity and explore areas with seldom seen creatures that live in the darkness underground.
Hidden River Cave is located directly beneath the City of Horse Cave in south central Kentucky. Its main entrance is at 119 East Main Street in the center of town! Hidden River Cave and the American Cave Museum are operated by the American Cave Conservation Association (ACCA), a national nonprofit organization committed to the protection of caves, karstlands and groundwater.
The cave was once the source of drinking water and hydroelectricity for the City of Horse Cave and offered commercial tours from 1912 through 1943. Groundwater pollution from domestic and industrial sewage, combined with the impact of low visitation during World War II and a lawsuit by the L&N Railroad led to the cave’s closing in 1943. For 50 years Hidden River Cave had been all but forgotten except during hot summer months when noxious fumes spewed from its enormous entrance.
In 1987 the American Cave Conservation Association relocated their national headquarters from Richmond, Virginia to Horse Cave at the invitation of William T. (Bill) Austin. Bill had approached two other caving organizations about creating an educational center at Horse Cave without success. As fortune would have it, ACCA was looking for a new home and jumped at the opportunity.
A planning grant from the Economic Development Administration provided funding for a feasibility study and Horse Cave seemed like the perfect place for a national cave and karst center. The site was in an internationally significant cave area near Mammoth Cave National Park, the educational and environmental needs were obvious: a polluted cave right in the middle of town, and the location was in a major tourism travel corridor. At this same time a new regional sewage treatment system was also being developed by the Caveland Sanitation Authority and hopes were high that this would correct the groundwater problems in the cave. In 1989, this system went online.
With sewage no longer draining into the cave, a remarkable recovery began to occur. ACCA continued to raise funds for exhibits and to operate the Karst Center. In 1992, the first phase of the center opened to the public as the American Cave Museum. Since that time, we have raised approximately 7.5 million dollars for land acquisition, construction of the museum, additional exhibits, developing the tour into Hidden River Cave and to fund our ongoing educational and conservation programs.
Today, thousands of visitors and school children tour Hidden River Cave and the American Cave Museum. The museum and the cave, which has been called “the greatest cave restoration success story in the United States” is now open year-round to visitors.
Thanks for joining us for this awesome cave tour!
Keith & Terri
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Oh my, that's quite amazing!! One brave lady to be the first! Wonderful stuff!! Bruce and Otis
Thanks so much guys! Enjoy the weekend! 😊
Lots of cool things to see here... the underground river, the old hydroelectric pump system, the suspension bridge. And of course, checking out the caves themselves is always fascinating. Thanks so much for taking us along for the tour!
It wasn’t the prettiest cave we’ve ever been in but the history was fascinating and it’s always fun to see new cave systems.
This is fabulous my good friends great upload
All the best have a wonderful weekend be safe 👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks & enjoy your weekend as well! 🤗😎
We enjoyed visiting Hidden River Cave with you, Terri and Keith. Always interesting to see an underground river. Also the Turbine! It was amazing what they could do in the 19th century. Also more recently, building an underground suspension bridge! Wonderful tour but so many steps. I'd be huffing and puffing too! Thanks for bringing us along. Shame you couldn't rappel! 🤣🤣
We definitely would have tried the zip line but seeing where they rappel we would have definitely passed on that 🤣😂 thanks so much for watching! Enjoy your weekend 😊
We love visiting caves. Such a fun outing!
It really was great learning all the history there even if it wasn’t the prettiest cave we’ve ever seen. Have a blessed Sunday!
Amazing! The best cave tour I’ve taken. I have to rate it way above Ruby Falls! I highly recommend anyone going to Kentucky to take this tour. ❤
It was a great cave! Our favorite is still Squire Boone Caverns in Mauckport Indiana 😊
Our guide was awesome. Very Knowledgeable!
He was amazing!
I did this cave when I was 50 pounds heavier, and I was the very last person out. Really really tough! The cave guide asked me if I was going to be ok! 😂 It was my wake-up call to lose weight.
My biggest learning was “bring a flashlight”. I couldn’t see half the cave, and if it wasn’t for the woman in front of me, that had one, I would’ve had a bad fall somewhere. You however got TERRIFIC video during this tour, very well done!
Thanks Roger! It was much darker than we anticipated & those steps were killers for sure 😣 we were both very winded but we did it! We loved hearing about all the history there.
That was very interesting and a little scary too 😁. Those stairs, oh boy!!( Thanks for sharing.
It was a lot of steps for sure!! Thanks for watching 😊
Thats really amazing 👌 loved the film 👍 regards Glyn uk 🇬🇧
Thanks Glyn! We truly appreciate it 😊
So interesting to see what’s under the ground. Can’t begin to imagine early explorers trying to get around in that cave. Love the bridge
It was kinda scary to cross though 👍
That suspension bridge is pretty spectacular!
It was! And a bit scary crossing with it’s bouncing & swaying
What a cool cave! I love that it has a suspension bridge in it…even though I think I’ve had my fill of suspension bridges lately. But, this was really cool!
Thanks! It’s not the prettiest cave we’ve ever been in but it was a cool cave to see. 😊
Very cool. I'd have enjoyed that tour. :)
It was enjoyable for us except all the stairs 😂🤣
Love this cave....1st time seeing it and it is awesome
It was an amazing cave and we loved learning about the history! We love caves 😊
I'm intrigued by caves but not sure I'm brave enough to explore them.
It’s truly like a whole different world underground. Have a great weekend 😊
That was a lot of stairs to climb down and backup. The suspension bridge looked spectacular.
True! You can tell by my breathing that it was quite a workout!
That's wild right in town. Way to go Terri first across the bridge.
It was a bit scary but I did it! 😊 have a great weekend guys
The only one and longest 😂 bridge in a cave. Neat cave 😊
😂🤣😂 yep longest AND shortest AND only 🤣😂🤣😂
Very interesting. We've been to Luray caverns and the caverns at Natural Bridge both in Virginia. Very much enjoyed them both. If Y'all get a chance someday maybe try Grandfathers Mountain near Linville NC they have a great swinging bridge across a gorge. Spent a couple vacations in the area in the past lots to see and do. Great video. Thanks. Steve
Thanks Steve! Thanks for the suggestion! That sounds like a very interesting place to go!
This has been the summer of the cave for you guys. Nice. I can see how flooding would be an issue. WOW! A suspension bridge. That’s amazing. That would be scary in a cave. Did y’all cross one at a time? This one was pretty deep too. Y’all have gotten your steps in in those caves this year. The last one you visited had a lot of steps too.
So true….so many caves….so many steps! We did NOT cross one at a time & it bounced and swayed a lot! 🙃😊
Yeah, I would struggle with that.
That was really cool to see. Thanks for taking us along. One question, what were those stairs at the top of the entrance of the cave that just ended?
I asked the same question & the guide said that is where they rappel from 😳 too scary for us
We would’ve zip lined though if it was open
1.48 - he was a very engaing speaker.
He was!
this looks awesome. i will be staying in cave city. looking to see as much as i can in 4 days with mammoth caves and biking. did you have to order tickets online or did you get them same day?
We got them the same day
Diamond Cave is also a great tour & beautiful as well