The Official Kentucky Visitor's Guide - The Official Kentucky Visitor's Guide 2023
Bluegrass, Blues & BBQ
2022-12-22 12:35:21
Birds, Bill, botanicals, brews and barbecue. There’s a whole lotta fun brewing here, from taking a pilgrimage to sites connected to the Father of Bluegrass – Bill Monroe Homeplace, Uncle Pen’s Cabin and Rosine Barn Jamboree – to spending a few hours at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum.
The slogan at Muhlenberg Music & History Museum could be, “Local musicians make it big!” This fascinating spot tells the stories of local legends Merle Travis, the Everly Brothers, country folk singer/songwriter John Prine and other homegrown talents.
Roses, conifers, quilts and Bill Monroe enrich the layer cake of color and fragrance at Western Kentucky Botanical Garden, whose soundtrack of wind chimes tinkles in the background.
At John James Audubon State Park in Henderson, see the masterwork of the ornithologist/artist of “The Birds of Prey.” Kentucky’s first designated Important Bird Area, Sloughs Wildlife Management Area, is home to the most prolific bald eagle nests east of the Mississippi River.
Ride along eight miles of Grapevine Bike Trails, then put your money and your bets down at Henderson’s Ellis Park Racing & Gaming, a thoroughbred racetrack and casino.
Sip suds, collect swag. It’s as simple as that on the West Kentucky Brew Hop Trail, featuring 13 breweries in nine different cities. For eats, it’s barbecue treats on the Western Kentucky Barbecue Trail, stretching from Owensboro to Louisville for slowcooked classics including mutton, pork and chicken.
Spend the day hiking, biking, canoeing and kayaking in Kentucky’s first Trail Town, Dawson Springs. The perfect chaser? A homecooked meat-and-three at Miss Becky’s.
REGIONAL ART HIGHLIGHTS
Level up your walk to scavenger hunt fun on Henderson’s Audubon Sculpture Tour, seeking out the hidden details on some of its 16 bronze statues. Spoiler alert! Is that a tree frog hanging out with John James Audubon?
Meet Happy, Bobber and Oakley, the Malone Family of “Big Twigs” (make that ginormous!) that hike, fish and roast marshmallows at Lake Malone State Park in Dunmor. They are sassy, whimsical and always ready for your selfie.
Celebrating unity and the Black community is the Black history mural in Owensboro’s Kendall Perkins Park, a dramatic work splashed over a 626-foot wall. The theme, according to Owensboro artist Aaron Kizer? “Ancient Africa and early, early, early America.”
Painted by Owensboro muralist Steve Lane, the Hopkins County timeline mural stretching across Elmer Kelley Stadium in Madisonville City Park is the county’s largest outdoor art display. Meet key people, places and events in Hopkins County’s history.
REGIONAL ITINERARY
DAY 1
1 Tradewater River Wildlife Management Area, Dawson Springs
Put in at this lowland stream meandering along the Pennyrile Forest for paddling Kentucky’s hinterlands. Back-to-nature lovers gravitate to the hiking-birding trail with its rock overhangs, steep bluffs and small caves. Primitive campers love pitching their tents on a patch of its 729 acres.
2 The Crystal Gallery by House of Onyx, Greenville
The world’s original artist – Mother Nature – shows her handiwork in fossils, minerals, gemstone formations and more catching the light in glass cases: carved spearheads, copper ore specimens, crystal birthstones and citrine geodes.
3 Bill Monroe Homeplace, Beaver Dam
The childhood home, restored on the site of the family farm, is where “bluegrass was born.” The museum, just 2 miles down the road in Rosine, is filled with memorabilia honoring the life and career of this country music legend.
DAY 2
4 Green River Distilling Co., Owensboro
Go behind the scenes, inside and outside, up and down stairs, over uneven ground and into active production areas. Worth it? For a full distillery tour and tasting of this heritage member of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®? Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes!
5 Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum, Owensboro
The story of bluegrass music is told through the people, instruments and music that influenced and shaped the genre. Drift on down the “River of Sound,” traveling from the dawn of bluegrass music to the acoustic-driven folk music of contemporary artists.
6 Farmer & Frenchman Winery, Robards
Three words: eat, drink, taste. European-style recipes with Kentucky ingredients. Small-farm vineyard co-mingling Kentucky wines with European imports. Uniquely designed solar-powered cabins. Three more words: come, stay, indulge.
TRAVEL INFORMATION
Beaver Dam 270-274-7106, beaverdamtourism.com
Central City 270-754-9603, cityofcentralcity.com
Greenville 270-338-1895, tourgreenville.com
Hancock County hancockky.us
Henderson 270-826-3128, hendersonky.org
Madisonville/Hopkins County 270-821-4171, visitmadisonvilleky.com
McLean County 270-273-9760
Muhlenberg County 270-641-0276, visitmuhlenberg.com
Ohio County 270-298-0036, ohiocounty.com
Owensboro/Daviess County 270-926-1100, visitowensboro.com
Union County 270-997-1007, unioncountyky.org/things-to-do
Webster County 270-639-5042, webstercountyky.com
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