Fun things to do in Kentucky

Blanton Forest is located on Pine Mountain in Harlan County and is the largest old-growth forest known in Kentucky. Trees that tower 100 feet above the forest floor are the same ones the settlers saw as they came through the Cumberland Gap and moved westward into Kentucky in the 1700sThe Blanton Forest Preserve design includes a total of 6,700 acres. This plan includes buffer lands necessary to protect the 2,350 acres of old growth forest. Our fundraising efforts, in partnership with funds from the Commonwealth, have allowed us to protect around 3,100 acres, most of which has been dedicated as the Blanton Forest State Nature Preserve. Nearly 3,600 acres of the Blanton Forest Preserve design are still in need of protection. Blanton Forest is named in honor of former owners Grover and Oxie Blanton.

The Chicken festival is each year in Corbin, Kentucky around the 3 to 4th week in September. The streets of downtown are closed off and makes room for the festivities. There is all kinds of live music and entertainment...(Now about the Colonel)...Colonel Harland Sanders, born September 9, 1890, actively began franchising his chicken business at the age of 65. Now, the KFC business he started has grown to be one of the largest quick service food service systems in the world. And Colonel Sanders, a quick service restaurant pioneer, has become a symbol of entrepreneurial spirit. (Colonel Sanders Grave: 4 mi. W of KFC HQ, 701 Baxter Ave.) (More Festival pictures on my Kentucky travel logs)

Cumberland Gap is located at the border of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. The gap itself is spectacular, and the history behind it is fascinating. The path was first walked by Indian hunters in search of buffalo and later by Daniel Boone in a quest of westward expansion. You can learn all about the history and view the gap from overlooks or by hiking some of the trails in the area, including the historic Wilderness Trail, otherwise known as "The Road to Kaintuck."

For more information, feel free to visit my Cumberland Gap National Historic Park page.

Ale 8 is a soda beverage similar to a ginger ale. It comes in a green glass bottle (It also comes in a plastic bottle or in an aluminum can But I don't suggest them) and about any gas station in Central Ky will carry Ale 8 as well keep a bottle opener on hand. I will warn you however this drink is loaded with caffine but light in calories. There is a diet version also avalible.It is only made in a factory in Winchester Ky, (east of Lexington on i-64) It is a family owned and locally operated buisness which has been around for quite a while. I hear that you can get tours of the factory but I have never tried it. But even if you are not a tour person you should try a ice cold Ale 8 (in a glass bottle) just once. Wise tales say it will calm jittered nerves or cure sick tummys. Some people such as my husband loves it so much they make icecream shakes out of it, and make there wives (ME) buy it by the case whenever possible to drag across country, While others like me refur to it as swamp water. But what ever you decide it is worth a swallow just to say you did

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Near Shakertown is a pier where you can board a small excursion boat named the Dixie Belle. Here is one of the most spectacular and colorful riverboat trips in the US. The Kentucky River has cut a deep, beautiful canyon through the limestone hills of central Kentucky; this is the best way to see it. This is from April to October.

For tickets, visit Shakertown in Pleasant Hill, at their website:

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This is the Jim Beam Distillery in Clermont, home of the most famous bourbon in the world. Learn about what bourbon whiskey is, how it's made, and the people who have been crafting it for over a century and a half. This is a true American art form. And as a patron of the arts, I go out of my way to support it.

You must be at least 21 to enter the website below.

The Kentucky Horse Park would be of interest to people that love horses. The park museum has hosted special exhibits such as Horses in the Brittish Empire and Horses in Imperial China. The park also brings in special horse shows such as the Rolex 3 Day Event pictured below.

A visitor to Kentucky traveling Interstate 65 south to Bowling Green that enjoys caving should visit the Mammoth Cave National Park and take one of the cave tours. The most popular tours are booked in advance. Call ahead for reservations. The park also encompasses almost 53,000 acres which has surface activity including hiking, camping, and horseback riding.
This is the largest documented cave in the world with 350 known miles of passageways, and they find new passages all the time. The National Park Service does a good job explaining the history of the cave, and how it was formed. Multiple tours are available depending on the physical condition and interest of the vistors.