Kentucky: Caves, Hiking Trails, History and Culinary Delights

If you want to choose Kentucky based on a clear travel theme, you will find a combination of nature, history, horse culture and regional culinary delights here. The focus you want can therefore be the deciding factor: cave tours, hiking trails, waterfalls, historic sites or culinary specialties.

Nature Destinations with Different Experiences

Mammoth Cave National Park offers cave tours throughout the year; reservations are recommended. Mammoth Cave is also the longest known cave system in the world, with 412 miles surveyed so far. For your planning, it is important to distinguish between a cave tour and time spent on the surface: the experience is clearly focused on the cave and should therefore be considered as a separate item in your itinerary.

Cumberland Falls combines a distinctive natural attraction with opportunities for hiking. The waterfall is 125 feet high and is known as the Niagara of the South. A moonbow can be seen at Cumberland Falls during a full moon; no other phenomenon like it exists anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere. In Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, 17 miles of hiking trails lead to scenic areas. You can focus your visit on the waterfall or combine it with a longer hike.

Natural Bridge State Resort Park also offers different options for an active day. There are ten hiking trails ranging from half a mile to seven and a half miles in length. Visitors can hike to Natural Bridge or take the Skylift. The natural sandstone arch spans 78 feet and is 65 feet high; the park is located near the Red River Gorge Geological Area.

Other nature destinations each have their own focus. Log Rock in Kingdom Come State Park is a natural sandstone bridge. In Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, you can explore 85 miles of hiking trails and 14,000 acres of wilderness. One hike also leads through the historic Cumberland Gap Pass. At Carter Caves State Resort Park in Olive Hill, the cave system includes 20 caves; four are used for guided tours, and two can be explored independently with a permit. Saltpetre Cave was operated as a saltpeter mine during the War of 1812.

History, Horses and Craftsmanship

Kentucky’s history can be experienced at several different sites. Fort Boonesborough, the site of Kentucky’s second settlement, was reconstructed as a working fort with cabins, log buildings and furnishings. At Fort Boonesborough State Park, resident craftspeople demonstrate traditional crafts, giving visitors an impression of pioneer life in Kentucky.

At Waveland State Historic Site, guided tours focus on the everyday lives of the family and the enslaved people who lived and worked there in the 1850s.

The Kentucky Horse Park focuses on the special role of the horse. The International Museum of the Horse covers more than 64,000 square feet and explores the history of the horse and its special relationship with humans over time. At Kentucky Horse Park, visitors can also meet the residents of the Hall of Champions featured on that particular day. Trail rides and pony rides can be reserved at the Visitor Center on the day of your visit.

The Kentucky Artisan Center showcases works by more than 800 Kentucky artisans in galleries and exhibitions.

Bourbon, Regional Cuisine and Scenic Routes

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail® extends across the entire state of Kentucky. Kentucky’s well-known foods include Hot Browns, Bourbon Balls, beer cheese and West Kentucky barbecue.

The Country Music Highway is a scenic road through seven counties in the far eastern part of Kentucky. It runs along the border with West Virginia and passes by some of Kentucky’s most beautiful state parks.

For a closer regional perspective, you can include Boone County.

For the broader travel overview: USA.

More Destinations

More places within the same destination:

Pennsylvania, Washington, Montana, South Dakota, New York, Vermont, Minnesota.