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Halfway between Louisville and Nashville, the Mammoth Cave National Park offers tours of one of the largest cave systems known, formed by underground rivers that left a dramatic landscape of stalactites and stalagmites. According to experts, evidence suggests that the cave had been inhabited as far back as 4,000 years ago. The Green River runs its course above Mammoth Cave, an area that is crisscrossed by several hiking trails.
To continue on the trail of the natural beauty, when visiting Kentucky, one must stop in the Daniel Boone National Forest. Named after the legendary pioneer and fur trapper David Boone, who lived in Kentucky, this National Forest protects some of the most dramatic scenery in Kentucky. The dense forest provides shelter to over 35 endangered species, including red-cockaded woodpeckers, big-eared bears, and bald eagles.
As the Mississippi Delta is to blues music, so the stretch of eastern Kentucky is home to the greatest proportion of country music artists of America. British, Irish and Scottish immigrants brought Elizabethan ballads, rhythms, and instruments to the area, which they forged into a distinctly American style known as "country". It was characterized by fast fiddling, occasional yodeling, and laments on the hardscrabble life of the American Southeast.
Lexington, the state's largest city, is also the capital of the state's bucolic horse country. The surrounding bluegrass-covered countryside is lined with hundreds of thoroughbred stud farms, where many Kentucky Derby winners are bred, reared, and trained. Most farms are open to visitors, who are welcome either on their own with advance reservations or as part of an organized tour.
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There is almost no way not to enjoy a vacation in Kentucky. No matter whether it's winter, spring, summer, or fall there's always plenty to do in the outdoors of Southern and Eastern Kentucky. Whether it's taking a stroll along a tree-lined country lane, rafting through churning waters, or sunbathing on the deck of a pontoon boat an outdoor adventure will get your blood pumping and raise your spirits. So, come on out to Kentucky and let the good times chase your blues away.
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