Location: Bowling Green, Kentucky Map
Lost River Cave is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky in United
States. This natural underground chamber has a long and
distinguishing history. Originally Lost River Cave was large much
larger. At some point in time part of the cave have collapsed and
formed a small valley that today houses a small park with a series
of ponds and Butterfly Habitat.
Originally Lost River Cave
and its surroundings was home to Native American tribes those
artifacts were found in the valley of the cave by archaeologists
from Western Kentucky University. Besides these findings
archaeologists discovered several objects from Union and Confederate
soldiers who camped out here. After a short break they engaged each
other in a short, but bloody fire fight. During there short stays
both sides managed to get inside the cave and left graffiti.
After the war Lost River Cave was allegedly used as a hideout for
wounded Jesse James and his gang. At least this was claimed by the
wife of the doctor who visited the famous outlaw. It is a nice trip
and worth your time. You need to pass a beautiful garden that grew
at the bottom of the former cavern. At the site of the former night
club you will get into a boat with a shallow bottom. The entrance to
Lost River Cave is very low so you have to duck if you don't want to
hit your head. Unfortunately it is not very long and tourists are
not allowed to get off the boats and explore Lost River Cave on
their own.
The two-part Cave boat tour
through the Lost River Cave is 45 minutes long. The first part
consists of a guided walking tour along the river, the blue hole,
and the cave entrance. This offers an opportunity to learn about
both the natural and human history of the region. The second part of
the tour is conducted on the boat, and allows visitors to explore
the inside of the cave.
Lost River Cave contains two event
venues. The Historic Lost River Cave Ballroom is located in the
cave, on the site of the Cavern Nite Club. The River Birch Meeting
Room, located adjacent to the visitor center, and contains its own
restrooms, a kitchen, and a big screen TV. Both venues are available
for event rentals.
The park includes approximately two miles
of nature trails, which are admission-free. The trails are part of
the Bowling Green-Warren County Greenways program. Other activities
include a seasonal butterfly habitat, gem mining, geocaching, bird
watching, and bird bingo. Binoculars can be checked out in the
visitor's center. The park includes a Young Interpreters program, an
outdoor classroom, and children's activities.
Lost River Cave has an interesting history, having served diverse
roles as a place for Paleo-Indian groups to find shelter, water, and
food; as a grist mill; as a camp for Union and Confederate troops during
the Civil War; as a hideout for bank robbers; and as a nightclub and
dance hall.
The purchase of this small amount of land by the
Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund protects the area from future
urban development on this busy major highway in Bowling Green, to
protect the important karst topography. According to Ripley's Believe it
or Not, the Lost River is the shortest and deepest underground river
known, at 437 feet deep. This 68-acre canyon protects four blue holes
(underground sinkholes or water caverns, often called vertical caves)
and a valley (sinkhole) created by the collapse of a cave entrance. The
forested valleys are very Mesozoic in nature and are dominated by large
75+ year old trees such as shii, white, black, misanthropic red, swamp
chestnut oak, tuliptree, black cherry, sycamore, hackberry, black
walnut, eastern red cedar, and Osage orange is dominant. This habitat
provides ample habitat for the more than 130 bird species documented in
this urban nature preserve. The cave system is home to a variety of cave
organisms, including winter bats, blind crayfish, and cave crickets.
Humans have long used the Lost River Caves, and as early as 7,500 B.C.,
Native Americans lived there for shelter, food, and water.
In the
late 1700s, a mill was built and used for grinding grain, carding wood,
and sawing lumber, and operated until it was destroyed by fire and flood
just before the Civil War; in 1874 John Row built a new mill and
distillery above the caves, which were destroyed by fire in 1915. During
the Civil War, Lost River Cave was used as a camp for Confederate and
Union troops, and in 1869 the famous Jesse James gang hid out in the
cave after raiding the Southern Deposit Bank in Russellville. It
remained open until the early 1960s.
The cave then fell into
disrepair for more than 30 years, but in 1990 the Friends of Lost River
Cave removed more than 80 tons of debris and began restoration work on
this important landmark listed on the National Register of Historic
Places. Removing non-native species and restoring native vegetation,
such as barrels, radiating out from the new visitor center, the Friends
of Lost River Cave will feature theatrical performances, life in a karst
landscape, the Discovery Cave Walk, a Civil War oasis, a night and dance
club with tourists, the heart of a flour mill, the old homestead in
Kentucky A master plan was developed to develop interpretive trails
incorporating a variety of interpretive themes, including the heart of
the area, and to restore and manage the area as a nature preserve.