Kentucky Down Under Bird and Snake Show February 2025

We enjoyed an animal show while we were at Kentucky Down Under!

Kentucky Down Under 2025

We had another great time at Kentucky Down Under again!

FLOODED Hidden River Cave Kentucky February 2025

I have other videos of Hidden River Cave up, but here is one of the cave while it is flooded!

Horse Cave Kentucky January 2021

 We've been on a Mammoth Cave area kick again for awhile.  Here is a short youtube video I put up driving through the Horse Cave Kentucky area......  near Mammoth Cave.

Mammoth Onyx Cave at Kentucky Down Under 2018

 Check out our cave tour at Mammoth Onyx Cave in 2018, at Kentucky Down Under!

Kentucky Down Under Animal Show September 2018

 Here is another fun video from our visit in 2018 to Kentucky Down Under!

Kentucky Down Under Down Under Kangaroos September 2018

 And here is another video from Kentucky Down Under in the Mammoth Cave area!  You can play with Kangaroos!

Hidden River Cave in Horse Cave KY 09 2018

 I just put up this video from September of 2018 of us exploring Hidden River Cave in Horse Cave Kentucky!  I mentioned this before in 2018, but I JUST got around to editing and putting the video together from that trip!

Mammoth Onyx Cave in Horse Cave Kentucky

Mammoth Onyx Cave is on the same property as Kentucky Down Under.  There is no additional charge to visit it or anything....  it is kind of a bonus attraction.

The tours are at specific times.  AND, inside of the gift shop near the cave is a very nice and roomy waiting area.  There are rocking chairs.  I could see a family using this room to rest for a few moments during a full day at Kentucky Down Under. 

Beside one of the gift shop buildings is a stone structure leading down into the cave.  This might be the tightest show cave we have ever been inside, but it is still very doable.  There are some tricky steps in this wet cave, and some low ceilings....  You have to be aware of what's around you while you walk through the cave!

This is also one of the shorter cave tours in the area.  I think it was around half an hour.  Still, it was packed, and we felt like we got a lot out of the trip.

 

Kentucky Down Under in Horse Cave Kentucky

We went to Kentucky Down Under mostly because there is a historic cave on the property.  I guess my impression of Kentucky Down Under was that it was a cave with a small petting zoo above it.

Well, its a lot more than that.

We got there early on a Saturday...  a rainy Saturday.  we still went in and bought our tickets.  For $30, you can rent a golf cart, which we did.  This was actually very nice because there is some uphill walking.  Plus, it was just nice to have a cart to drive around with a covering over it to help with the rain.  On a nice fall day, I might pass on the cart.

There are several areas with animals that you can see.  You kind of just drive around or walk to each of them.

The park (and animals) generally have an Australian vibe.  Of course, the main draw here is kangaroos!  AND, you can go into their enclosure and interact with them!

I thought this would be fun and cool....  but it was EXTREMELY fun and cool!

When you get to the gated kangaroo area, there are some friendly staff there to tell you about the kangaroos and other animals.  It is really some very basic stuff.  They ask that you don't touch the kangaroos' faces.  They also have small cups of food for $1 a cup, or 6 for 5.  We stocked up and went in.

Some of them were a bit standoffish....  some were very social.  Many would take their paws and cup your hands to pull the food towards them.  My own Chihuahua often does this when we give her treats.  There is something very sweet about this.

There was an adorable little 10 month old roo that was the star of the show.  This one seemed very tame and appreciative of the food offered.

There was an impressive bird enclosure too.  Cups of food were available here too.


We watched an interesting animal show at one point as the rain came down.  A very nice young lady showed us a tortoise.  She also brought out a python!  I forget the type it was, but there are only 500 of this particular type in the wild!  She then invited anyone that wanted to come up, and they could hold the snake!  I declined.

A couple of dogs that roam the area were there for the presentation too.  One, a sheep dog, would limp.  We were told that this is a way for the dogs to get sympathy...  When they see humans, they often do this for attention.  Their paws are just fine.

We were also told that the dog and the python at the zoo were good friends!

Kentucky Down Under is a great place to visit and I am sure we will be back soon!

Hidden River Cave & The American Karst Center in Horse Cave Kentucky

We have been through the city of Horse Cave many times.  I remember going there a couple of times with my drama class in high school to see plays at the theater!  Anybody else remember doing that?

But, I realized that I had never actually been to Hidden River Cave in Horse Cave.

We arrived early one morning and bought our tickets.  There is a VERY nice cave museum here that is included with your ticket.  I really like this, because you can check things out before your cave tour.  In fact, if you were going to spend several days in this area exploring caves, this might be a great starting point!

AND, the museum gives a lot of information about caves in Central Kentucky.  Floyd Collins and the cave wars (two historic stories that are just as much a part of the Kentucky cave legends as the caves themselves) are covered here.

Our tour guide Anthony talked some about sinkholes in the area...  and he discussed how garbage had been dumped in the holes and caves in the region.  Also, there is a stream in the cave....  and sewage leaked into it at one point.  The cave in Horse Cave was problematic, and unexplorable for some time.

It has had its good days too though.  Tennis courts were built beside it at one time.  With the sewage issue resolved now, the cave is open again for tourists!  Now, the museum, zip-lining, and nice downtown shops surround the cave.

Even though a small town has built up around the cave....  There is something very cool about seeing the cave entrance under the downtown buildings (see my top photo).  If I was unfamiliar with this place, I would see a photo like that and instantly add the place to my bucket list!

Our cave tour was relatively short and strenuous.  My legs were wobbly afterwards, as there is a good amount of stair climbing here.  They are building a bridge in the cave, Anthony showed us, so that tours can go a bit farther in.  I will have to go back once that is finished!