2023-12-29 09:37:13
You know you’ve entered Kentucky’s Country Music Capital when you spot the Old Barn Theatre and New Barn Theatre at Mount Vernon’s Renfro Valley Entertainment Center. It’s where country music magic happens.
Next door, see tributes to over 60 inductees representing all musical genres at the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame & Museum (also the Mount Vernon-Rockcastle County Tourism Visitor Center). Located along the U.S. 21 Bike Route, the museum is also near hidden fishing and boating haven Lake Linville.
Spend Labor Day weekend in downtown Manchester steeped in music, from Appalachian folk to outlaw country, during the free Manchester Music Fest. Ice-cold beer on tap, food truck faves, fireworks and a parade add to the fun.
Hike miles of wilderness trails once trekked by bison, Native Americans and pioneers at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park in Middlesboro, the first Gateway to the West. Stand in three states at once: Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Follow along a stretch of the Wilderness Road and Boone Trace in London’s Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park.
Hike a historic train tunnel at Tanglewood Trail near Whitesburg River Park that will connect to Pine Mountain State Scenic Trail — especially striking during fall foliage forays into Letcher County and the scenic overlooks near the trail.
Drive the narrow, twisty and heavily forested Little Shepherd Trail from the top of Pine Mountain to Kingdom Come State Park. Are the indescribably beautiful vistas at the overlooks worth braving the relentless curves of this roadway? Oh yes. Yes, they are.
Crunch into KFC at the one place it is acceptable to lick your fingers — the Sanders Museum & Café in Corbin. See the kitchen where Colonel Sanders first blended his secret 11 herbs and spices into culinary history.
Secret garden? Garden of Eden? Livingston’s picture-perfect Rockcastle River Trading Company gardens, tucked on the banks of Rockcastle River, are both. The grounds include a gift shop, walking path and koi pond.
Named for the poisonous but edible pokeweed, Harlan’s Poke Sallet Festival is all about the live music entertainment, including Poke Sallet Idol, plus local artisans and crafters, a car show and more.
Calling All Scuba Divers
Water babies, too. London’s Laurel River Lake is an enchanted enclave of deep, clean water lapping a crescent of sandy beach and sheltered by dramatic cliffs. Boating, fishing (day and night), wildlife viewing, sunning lazily by the shoreline and quietly contemplating nature are the order of the day.
Pack Your Hiking Boots
Streams, woodlands, rock formations, bridges — hike over, through, along and onward to the main attraction: Vanhook Falls. Located near London on the Sheltowee Trace National Recreational Trail in the Daniel Boone National Forest, it is a column of water plunging 40 feet down and splashing the boulders below.
Rockin’ The Red
Red River Gorge Geological Area: Travel the winding Red River Gorge National Scenic Byway. See spectacular views of historic Nada Tunnel, sandstone arches, towering cliffs and the Wild and Scenic Red River. Hike the Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail. Chase waterfalls. Climb, camp, fish and whitewater raft.
Adventure from Path to Peak
Chew through miles of rugged terrain at Black Mountain Off-Road Adventure Area in Evarts. Beginner, intermediate and extreme ATV trails are joined by Kentucky’s highest, fastest and longest zipline at Black Mountain Thunder Zipline. No wonder — the mountain is Kentucky’s highest peak. Hike Kingdom Come’s Raven Rock Trail or Knobby Rock Trail in Blanton Forest for mountain views.
Art of Appalachia
At Hindman’s Appalachian Artisan Center, experience Kentucky Appalachia through art exhibitions, hands-on workshops like stringed instrument-making, handcrafted items from jewelry and pottery to quilts and furniture in the shop and displays of Kentucky’s state instrument in the Dulcimer Museum.
Schooled in Coal Mining History
Lessons on Appalachian history are served at the century-old Benham Schoolhouse Inn, where original hardwood floors gleam in guest rooms and old student lockers line the hallways. Nearby in Lynch, Portal No. 31 offers tours of a once active mine by authentic rail car on the Underground Mine Tour.
Barbourville/Knox County: 606-545-9674, barbourvilletourism.com
Beattyville/Lee County: 606-464-5038, visitleecountyky.com
Breathitt County: 606-666-4159
Corbin: 606-528-8860, corbinkytourism.com
Cumberland/Benham/Lynch: 606-573-4156, harlancountytrails.com/explore/tri-cities
Evarts: 606-837-0609, evartskentucky.com
Harlan: 606-573-4156, harlancountytourism.com
Hazard/Perry County: 606-487-1580, hazardperrytourism.com
Irvine/Estill County: 606-723-2450, exploreestill.com
London/Laurel County: 606-878-6900, visitlondonky.com
Middlesboro/Pineville/Bell County: 606-248-2482, bellcountytourism.com
Mount Vernon/Rockcastle County: 606-256-9814, rockcastletourism.com
Slade/Red River Gorge/Powell County: 606-663-1161, gopoco.org
Whitesburg/Letcher County: 606-634-1814, discoverletcher.com
Whitley County: 606-549-6000, whitleycountytourism.com
Williamsburg: 606-549-0530, williamsburgky.com
Wolfe County: 606-668-7979, visitwolfecounty.com
Plan your regional road trip!
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