Lost River Cave’s Underground Boat Tour is well-worth the trip to the Bowling Green area! The guided tour leads you to the very large
cave entrance. Ripley's believe it or not once claimed that Lost River was the shortest, deepest in the
world. Several primitive measurements gauged it at over 400 feet deep. Modern sonar technology deems it to be only 15
feet. It seems the strong current pulled the measuring ropes down and under.
There are a lot of wild claims in the area about Jesse James having hidden out
in caves in this part of Kentucky. There is no way to verify that. Prehistoric Native Americans have been documented using
area caves. There was also a Mill at the cave's entrance. Visitors can still visit the dance floor of the popular underground
nightclub that attracted big name bands during the 1930’s and 1940’s. Free Air-conditioning was a huge draw to
the club.
Lost River Cave Valley is the result of a collapsed cave. Blue holes springs
bubble up and create an incredible river that disappears into the cave. The boat tour takes you into that cave. The boats
are the same ones that Mammoth Cave used on their old Echo River tour.
As late as the 90's the cave was an ecological disaster. The mindset of some
of the locals was "Hey it's a hole…let's fill er up". A dedicated crew hauled several tons of debris up the valley.
Today it is a beautiful MUST SEE attraction. The next time you visit Mammoth Cave, take an extra 30 minute trip to Bowling Green and visit Lost
River Cave .