Mega Cavern facts for kids

The Mega Cavern is a huge underground space in Louisville, Kentucky. It used to be a limestone mine. This amazing cave is so big it goes under parts of the Watterson Expressway and even the Louisville Zoo! Because of how it's built, it's actually called the largest building in Kentucky.

Today, the Mega Cavern is a busy place. It's used for businesses, storage, and even recycling. But the most exciting part for many is the tourism! You can go on tram tours, zoom on ziplines, try a ropes course, or ride bikes in an underground park. Every year, it also hosts a giant holiday lights display.

Exploring the Mega Cavern

The Mega Cavern is a massive underground structure. It covers about 4,000,000 square feet (370,000 square meters)! You can find its entrance at 1841 Taylor Ave. in Louisville, Kentucky.

This incredible cave is located about 75 to 100 feet underground. It stretches out beneath parts of the Watterson Expressway and the Louisville Zoo. Because of its strong support structures, it's officially known as a building. In fact, it's the largest building in the entire state of Kentucky!

History and Uses

How the Cavern Started

The Mega Cavern began as a place called Louisville Crushed Stone. It was created by a huge limestone quarry. Miners worked for over 42 years in the middle of the 20th century. They blasted out rock to get the limestone.

In 1989, some private investors bought the cavern. They saw a great chance to turn part of it into something new. They wanted to create a secure storage place that was also good for the environment.

What It's Used For Now

Underground Business Park

After all the limestone was mined, the property was bought by Jim Lowry, Tom Tyler, and Don Tyler in 1989. Their goal was to make it a "high-security business park." By February 2015, the cavern was home to 12 different businesses. These businesses used about 700,000 square feet of space.

Storing Things Underground

The cavern has a very stable temperature. It stays around 50-60°F (10-16°C) and has steady humidity. This makes it perfect for storage. To make it useful, parts of the mine floor were raised. This was done by filling them with recycled materials. A special fire-resistant safety path was also built. This serves as an emergency exit.

Many different items are stored throughout the cavern. These include things like road salt and vehicles. You might even find pretzels or amusement park rides stored there!

Fun for Visitors

In 2009, the Mega Cavern started offering tours. Visitors could ride in a Jeep to see the areas where the floor had been raised.

Around Christmas time, the cavern hosts "Lights Under Louisville." During this event, people can drive through the cavern. They see amazing lighted holiday decorations. It's the biggest underground light display in the world! A few years later, a zipline tour and a ropes course were added. These gave visitors even more exciting things to do.

With attention from all over the world, an underground mountain bike park opened in February 2015. It was designed by Joe Prisel. The park was built for riders of all skill levels, including families. It took over 3 months to build.

This bike park is the world's largest indoor bicycle park. It has 45 trails in 350,000 square feet of the cavern. There are 12 miles of trails in total, with over 5 miles connected. You can find different types of trails. These include "jump lines, pump tracks, dual slalom, BMX, cross country, and singletrack." Signs help riders know how difficult each trail is. The trails are built in layers. They have a rough bottom, a sticky red clay middle, and "good stuff" on top. This is partly thanks to the Mega Cavern's recycling business, which helped fill the cave.