WESTERN WATERLANDS Lazy-crazy days at Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake are as easy-breezy as the interconnecting canal that flows between these two freshwater recreational playgrounds on either side of Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area near Golden Pond. A Civil War Earthworks Trail. Civil War Museum. Giant anchor and chain. Columbus-Belmont State Park presents a history lesson about the 1861 Battle of Belmont and General Ulysses S. Grant’s Union Army invasion. Within the vast Pennyrile State Forest near Dawson Springs are Pennyrile State Resort Park and Pennyrile Lake — all named for a tiny lavender-hued fluff of a flower called pennyroyal. Golf, boat, bike, swim, sun, stroll a path encircling the lake, play horseshoes, spread a picnic — and relish every peaceful minute. Take a respite from the workaday world at Murray’s Arboretum at Murray State University , a burgeoning collection of primarily native plants, trees and flowers, a butterfly garden, a walking path, a Play Pocket and water cascading down rocky steps. Black buggies rolling along rural roads near Marion signal Kentucky Amish Country , where visitors can buy handcrafted furniture and home-baked goods directly from individual Amish families, plus cross the Ohio River via the free Cave-In-Rock Ferry. #TravelKY It’s all quilts all the time during Paducah’s AQS QuiltWeek ® in April, a week of quilts, quilt workshops, quilt lectures, quilt shopping and quilt exhibits. Pencil in a pilgrimage to the National Quilt Museum to see its special quilt exhibits and permanent collection. High energy and high-caliber talent headline an ambitious lineup at the Badgett Playhouse in Grand Rivers. Fifteen family-friendly variety shows are staged each year, filling the seats of this state-of-the-art theater known for outstanding acoustics. Drop by Hopkinsville’s Casey Jones Distillery for a tour and tasting, with a side of family history involving a visionary copper pot stillmaker ancestor, gangster Al Capone and axewielding revenuers. Catch live music and food truck nights, too. Play and stay at Oak Grove Gaming , home to live horse racing, simulcast betting, over 1,200 games, rocking entertainment at the Moonshine Amphitheater, a sports bar, a classic steakhouse and an onsite RV park. Banana Capital of the World ? That would be Fulton, whose annual September Banana Festival — marking its 62nd year in 2024 — culminates with a one-ton banana pudding, the largest in the world. 90
The Official Kentucky Visitor's Guide The Official Kentucky Visitor's Guide 2024: Page 90
