2020-01-02 12:17:57
Do you hear the siren song of sunshine and sunsets glinting off clear blue waters? That’s the great lakes of the Bluegrass State – Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley – beckoning sun-seekers to vacation paradise.
MAKE A SPLASH
With boating, fishing, swimming, elk and bison safaris, and lakeside dining with family and friends – not to mention three state parks on the shores of these two popular lakes – Kentucky’s Western Waterlands region is a vacation waiting for you to arrive, experience and add memories to the family scrapbook.
Find your perfect spot along more than 2,000 miles of shoreline at Kentucky Lake. Launch a boat onto the nearly 58,000-acre Lake Barkley. Drop a fishing line to catch bluegill, crappie, largemouth bass and more. Explore the night sky at the Golden Pond Planetarium or go horseback riding into Kentucky backcountry at adventure playground Land Between The Lakes.
EXPLORE DIVERSE TREASURES
“Tell me a story of deep delight,” wrote poet Robert Penn Warren, whose Birthplace Museum is in Elkton. The narrative would surely meander from the sun-warmed lakes inland to an Amish community, gold-panning and gardens. From theatre playhouses and nature preserves to arts districts, distilled spirits and sublime wines. From wilderness wonderlands and wooded parks – great places to explore history and wildlife – to scuba diving for sunken treasures, tackling zip lines sky high and hiking a portion of the Trail of Tears.
Each page in the story of your Western Waterlands adventure brings a new delight.
Regional Highlights
Land Between The Lakes: This vast peninsula playground offers plenty of land adventures and access to the water worlds of Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley.
The National Quilt Museum, Paducah: Known as Quilt City USA®, this UNESCO Creative City’s fiber art forte is a foundation for cultural experiences in visual, performing and culinary arts.
Trail of Tears Commemorative Park, Hopkinsville: This hallowed ground contains two of only three marked burial sites along the brutal “Trail Where They Cried.”
Wooldridge Monuments, Mayfield: See 18 spectacular life-size sandstone and marble statues, commissioned by American folk figure Henry Wooldridge, that form “The Strange Procession That Never Moves.”
Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park, Dawson Springs: Nestled amidst the hardwoods of the forest, this paradise offers boating, swimming, fishing, horse camping, horseback riding, hiking, mini-golf and more.
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