BOAT TOURS

Reserve Your Tour In Advance

• Guarantees your spots are secured for the tour of your choosing!
• Recommended for large groups.
• A good option for avoiding lines and potential wait times during peak visitation periods.

For travel agencies, tour groups and parties of 25 or more, please submit the form below.  Note: Reply emails can sometimes land in one’s spam folder or junk email.

For educators (including homeschoolers) and scout groups interested in booking field trips, please click here.

Explore Underground

• 45 minute tour: The tour begins with a 20-minute guided walk along the river’s edge. When you arrive at the massive cave entrance, board the boat for a 25-minute ride through the cave.
• The boat tour is appropriate for all ages.
• Please dress for your comfort and for outdoor weather conditions.
• Comfortable, sturdy shoes are recommended.
• Personal flotation devices (PFD’s) are provided for infant to adult.
• No pets allowed on boat tour.
• Tour is not handicap accessible.

Have more questions?

Feel free to call 270.393.0077 or click here to visit our FAQ webpage.

Walk-ins welcomed, but reservations are highly recommended.

• Simply check-in at the front desk located in our Visitor Center during business hours.
• Tours are offered on a first-come, first-served basis unless advance reservations are made.

Lost River Cave Boat Tour Safety and Accessibility Policy

Due to the natural, unalterable features of the cave, individuals who rely on wheelchairs or scooters for transport cannot be accommodated on the tour.  Guests with walkers and canes must be able to navigate the stairs, ramp, and boarding process.  Park staff will not transport or aid visitors using assistive equipment.

 Be Aware:

• The cave tour is 45 minutes which includes a 20-minute guided walk to the cave entrance and a 25-minute ride on the boat through the cave.
• The path to the cave’s entrance is on a 30-degree slope descending towards the cave. One must ascend the same 30-degree slope upon completion of the tour.
• The tour will negotiate 15 steps, with as many as 12 in a single staircase along the guided walk.
• When the tour arrives at the cave entrance, guests navigate 6 steps to the pre-boarding area for instructions and a flotation device. One additional step follows.
• Guests then descend a 40-degree ramp leading them to the steel-grated boat dock.
• Boarding the boat requires that visitors step down into the well of the boat; it will rock and sway as the balance is upset by the movement of passengers and the river current.
• The water depth is 4 and 5 feet along the tour route.
• On the boat tour, there is an area where the ceiling of the cave is very low. At this point, individuals in the boat bend forward (neck to knee) as the boat passes into AND out of the cave.
• In the extremely rare event that a person finds their self out of the boat, it will be necessary to maneuver through the water to the exit.
• Upon request, vehicles will be allowed to drive to the cave’s entrance at certain times of the day.
• For individuals with or without disabilities who would prefer to experience the cave tour above ground, there is a free video of the tour available at the Visitors Center.