Dining facilities at Mammoth Cave National Park are located inside the Mammoth Cave Lodge, the building on the other side of the pedestrian bridge from the Visitor Center. The Lodge has a full-service restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as a café for faster service and a Starbucks coffee shop.
I ate at both the full-service restaurant, the Green River Grill, and the café, the Lantern Café. The food in the Green River Grill was average. The portions are tiny—I didn’t know they made chickens that small—and might be a shock to many Americans used to getting enough food to fatten them up for slaughter. The house salad, which was actually large, took me longer to eat than my meal and a dessert. However, I actually felt good about leaving the table without feeling awful. My bill came to $38 plus tip for salad, entree, and dessert, but no drinks other than water. So don’t expect to get out for less than $50 / person with tip, and even more if you have an alcoholic drink (2024 prices).
The Lantern Café is a restaurant where you order at the counter. The menu is limited, and many people came in, took a look, and left. Foods include sandwiches, hamburgers, and pizza. Ice cream is also served, and it is of excellent quality. However, the selection is mainly basic flavors—vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, coffee, etc. The scoop size was much larger than I expected given the tiny meals at the Green River Grill. I was very happy with the ice cream, and the pizza was decent as well. The entrées are around $10, so if you have your own water, it’s not bad. Ice cream was $7 for two scoops. If you have an entrée, ice cream, and a soft drink, plan to spend $20 / person (2024 prices).
There is also a Starbucks coffee shop and a gift store. I did not purchase anything from either.
Caver’s Camp Store located by the Mammoth Cave Campground serves fast food such as sandwiches and pizza. You can also buy snacks and drinks to go. The store is open from 8 AM to 7 PM.
With a few exceptions, use of any photograph on the National Park Planner website requires a paid Royalty Free Editorial Use License or Commercial Use License. See the Photo Usage page for details.
Last updated on September 17, 2024