Hidden River Cave & American Cave Museum

Or call (270) 786-1466 for more information.

• Tara
  Sep 4, 2023
  Great activity to do with your pup!

  We love going to the caves and we’re excited to discover this one was dog friendly! Very interesting Cave and great staff! There are a couple places in the cave where the floor grates may be too wide for small dog feet, but we were able to carry our little dogs in those places. Just a heads up, dog feet will get wet and a bit muddy, but they have a hose at the gift shop to wash pup feet (or you feet lol). Great activity to do with your pup!

• Theresa
  Aug 3, 2023
  Museum, gift store, cave, dogs are welcome!

  Great staff, beautiful, adventurous cave with lots of steps and a very long swinging bridge.

• Jennifer
  Jul 2, 2023
  Very thoughtful

  This was a last minute stop when we realized it was dog friendly. We have an 11 month old gsp. He did very well until the end when the tour guide let everyone scream. The guide checked in with me after to make sure he was ok. Tour itself is very beautiful. Like others have said it is very wet in places. Fresh rain had made the levels pretty high while we were there.

• John/Anne
  Sep 2, 2022
  Great stop

  Very hospitable folks. Was a nice visit. I agree with the reviews above. Smaller dogs will have trouble with the grates and some of the walkways. Some of gaps are rather large where dogs feet go through. Also keep in mind if you have a longer haired doggo… (we have a cocker spaniel) there’s lots of wet and grit. my dogs feet were covered top and bottoms with mud and her ears. Fortunately the guide allowed me to rinse her off some with a hose near the entrance. Besides the mud and having to carry our girl a good bit it was still a nice tour. Being able to have your pup join you was great. Kudos to the staff. They are super nice!

• Kelsey
  Jun 25, 2022
  The perfect adventure for a fearless pup

  The tour was absolutely incredible. The cave was gorgeous and had so much history. Honestly I enjoyed the cave and our tour guide, Dylan, better than our Mammoth Cave tour. They are all incredibly friendly and our pup was welcomed everywhere. Our boy is pretty fearless and navigated the swinging bridge in the cave with no problem, but it is open grated flooring on the bridge that may bother some pups. That is the only part that may bother your pup. There were a lot of steps and the cave is very damp so please keep that in mind for you and your pup’s safety. By far our favorite place we took our pup this trip.

• Paula
  Oct 30, 2021
  Excellent Pet Friendly Excursion

  We took our crew of four on the cave tour and it was a great experience for us and them. The tour guide was awesome and it was extremely pet friendly. A very nice gem in the area and the only dog friendly underground cave we have ever found.

  There are lots of steps and even a suspension bridge with a rubberized wire grate. Our beagles handled it like champs but some dogs might be a bit nervous with this part.

  We will be back again!

• Heidi
  Aug 22, 2021
  Very pet friendly! My dog loved it!

  My husband discovered this dog friendly site on this app, I never would have known about it. The staff loved my poodle and he enjoyed going through the museum and cave. There are many steps, some open which my pup froze at at first since he had never seen steps like that before, but he did great once he started following me up. The swinging bridge is a grate with 1" x 1/2" openings so if you have a smaller dog you may need to carry them across, larger dogs should be fine, although you can see through it so they may get scared. Our guide told us of shepherds that refused to cross. Overall a great experience, I was so proud of my pup, he did great and loved all the attention from the staff and other tourists.

• Bonnie
  Jul 11, 2021
  Hidden gem for people and pups

  Horse Cave Kentucky might deceive you as another little town, but don’t be fooled. It sits on a cave once visited by John Muir and has a terrific museum with multiple tours, far more intimate than its more famous cousin Mammoth, and even better, very dog friendly unlike its cousin!. We had a very enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide in Linda who grew up nearby which added lots of local color. The tour descends into the cave entrance which is, honestly, in the middle of town. If your four legged companion has a problem with steps cave touring will be difficult, but if not then take this tour. At one point there is some metal grates and so we carried our 40 pound dog the 150 feet to be safe, but otherwise this is an excellent tour and very dog friendly. The museum is very well done as well and overall more informative than other cave attractions nearby.

• Kelsey
  Jun 14, 2021
  Dog-Friendly Cave Tour

  We were surprised to find a dog-friendly cave tour on our trip, and were excited that we didn’t have to leave him in a kennel at our campground while we were on the tour. The staff loved our dog and he got lots of pets and attention throughout our visit, which he absolutely loved!

  Be warned - there are LOTS of stairs and some are a bit steep. The second half of the tour was mostly on metal grates that had a grippy coating, and a long suspension bridge of the same material. Our 25-pound dog handled that surprisingly well, but I might suggest a backpack or bag for smaller dogs as the holes in the grates were pretty big (maybe an inch square).

  The tour itself was a little over an hour in and out, so make sure you’ve given your dog every opportunity to go to the bathroom beforehand.

We dug up 8 pictures of dogs at Hidden River Cave & American Cave Museum.

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