Kentucky Travel Guide

Kentucky is a mideastern state of the United States. Its state capital is Frankfort. Attractions include horse racing and beautiful lakes.

Kentucky Travel Guide - Regions

* Central Kentucky
* Eastern Kentucky
* Northern Kentucky
* North Central Kentucky
* South Central Kentucky
* Western Kentucky

Kentucky Travel Guide - Cities

* Ashland (Home of The Judds)
* Bowling Green (Home of Western Kentucky University)
* Cave City (Gateway to Mammoth Cave)
* Covington (South side of Cincinnati)
* Elizabethtown (Popularized by the movie)
* Fort Knox (Home of gold and armor)
* Frankfort (State Capitol)
* Hopkinsville (Gateway to Fort Campbell)
* Jeffersontown (Home of the Gaslight Festival)
* Lexington (Horse capital of the world)
* London (Where Kentucky Fried Chicken was born)
* Louisville (Derby City)
* Maysville (Home of Rosemary Clooney)
* Milton (On Ohio River)
* Murray (Home of Murray State University)
* Owensboro (Barbeque Capital of the World)
* Paducah (Quilt City)
* Richmond (Home of Eastern Kentucky University)

Kentucky Travel Guide - Other Destinations

* Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area
* Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
* Mammoth Cave National Park
* Breaks Interstate Park
* Red River Gorge
* Natural Bridge State Park

Kentucky Travel Guide - Getting There

Kentucky is accessible by five interstates; I-71 and I-75 coming from Cincinnati going to Louisville and Lexington, respectively, I-64 going from Ashland to Louisville, I-65 from Louisville to Bowling Green and I-24 from Paducah to Hopkinsville. The state is also served by major parkways administered by the state. The Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway connects I-64 in Winchester to eastern Kentucky near Prestonsburg. The Bluegrass Parkway connects I-65 and the Western Kentucky Pkwy near Elizabethtown with the Lexington area near Versailles. The Western Kentucky Parkway links I-65 in Elizabethtown with I-24 near Lake Barkley. The Purchase Pkwy links Fulton and southwest Kentucky with I-24 at Calvert City. The Pennyrile Pkwy connects the Henderson-Evansville area with I-24 at Hopkinsville, while the Natcher Pkwy connects Owensboro with Bowling Green. And the Cumberland Pkwy crosses southern Kentucky between I-65 and Somerset.

There are three airports in the state. Louisville International Airport is served by several major airlines, including Southwest, Delta, USAir and American Airlines. Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport, located off of I-275 near Hebron, is a major hub for Delta. Lexington's Blue Grass Field offers flights to several cities. Forty miles from southern Kentucky is Nashville International Airport.

Kentucky Travel Guide - Getting There

Along with the interstates and parkways, Kentucky is served by many state and US routes:

* KY 80 crosses the southern part of the state, linking Mayfield, Hopkinsville, Bowling Green, London and Pikeville.
* US 27 runs from Covington south to Somerset.
* US 127, also from Covington, runs through Frankfort, Danville and the Lake Cumberland area.
* US 150 offers a connection between Louisville and I-75 between Lexington and Tennessee.
* US 23 (Country Music Highway) connects Ashland with Virginia south of Pikeville.
* US 60 bisects the state from the Mississippi River to Ashland, passing through Paducah, Henderson, Owensboro and Louisville before following I-64 the rest of its route.

Kentucky Travel Guide - Significant Natural Attractions

* Cumberland Gap, chief passageway through the Appalachian Mountains in early American history.
* Cumberland Falls State Park, one of the only places in the Western Hemisphere where a "moon-bow" may be seen.
* Mammoth Cave National Park, featuring the world's longest cave system.
* Red River Gorge Geological Area, part of the Daniel Boone National Forest.
* Land Between the Lakes, a National Recreation Area managed by the United States Forest Service.
* Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest a 14,000 acre (57 km²) arboretum, forest and nature preserve located in Clermont.
* Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville.
* Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area near Whitley City.
* Trail of Tears National Historic Trail also passes through Kentucky.
* Black Mountain, state's highest point. Runs along the border of Harlan and Letcher counties.
* Bad Branch Falls State Nature Preserve, 2,639-acre state nature preserve on southern slope of Pine Mountain in Letcher County. Includes one of the largest concentrations of rare and endangered species in the state, as well as a 60-foot waterfall and a Kentucky Wild River.
* Jefferson Memorial Forest, located south of Louisville in the Knobs region, the largest municipally run forest in the United States.
* Green River State Park, located in Taylor County.
* Lake Cumberland, 1255 miles of shoreline located in South Central Kentucky.

Kentucky Travel Guide - Unbridled Spirit

To "boost Kentucky’s image, make it consistent through all the ways we reach people, and help Kentucky stand out from the crowd" the Fletcher administration launched a comprehensive branding campaign with the hope of making its $12 - $14 million advertising budget more effective. The "Unbridled Spirit" brand was the result of a $500,000 contract with New West, a Kentucky-based public relations, advertising and marketing firm to develop a viable brand and tagline. The administration has been aggressively marketing the brand in both the public and private sectors. The "Welcome to Kentucky" signs at border areas have Unbridled Spirit's symbol on them.

Kentucky Travel Guide - Transportation

Roads

Five major interstate highways service Kentucky.

* Interstate 24 crosses from Illinois at Paducah and exits at Oak Grove for Tennessee.
* Interstate 64 enters the state from Indiana at Louisville and exits the state at Catlettsburg for West Virginia.
* Interstate 65 enters from Tennessee near Franklin and exits for Indiana at Louisville.
* Interstate 71 begins at the junction of Interstate 64 at the Kennedy Interchange in Louisville and exits the state for Ohio with Interstate 75 at Covington.
* Interstate 75 enters from Tennessee near Williamsburg and exits for Ohio at Covington. It is Kentucky's longest interstate highway.

Three bypasses and spurs also serve the state.

* Interstate 264, also known as the Shawnee Expressway and the Henry Watterson Expressway, is an inner-loop of Louisville.
* Interstate 265 is an outer-loop of Louisville.
* Interstate 471 is a spur from Interstate 275 at Highland Heights and leaves the state for Cincinnati, Ohio where it ends at Interstate 71.

There are nine parkways that serve Kentucky.

* Audubon Parkway (Henderson to Owensboro)
* Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway (Clark County to Magoffin County)
* Edward T. Breathitt Pennyrile Parkway (Henderson to Hopkinsville)
* Hal Rogers Parkway (London to Hazard)
* Julian M. Carroll Purchase Parkway (Fulton to Calvert City)
* Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway (Barren County to Somerset)
* Martha Layne Collins Bluegrass Parkway (Elizabethtown to Versailles)
* Wendell H. Ford Western Kentucky Parkway (Elizabethtown to Eddyville)
* William H. Natcher Parkway (Bowling Green to Owensboro)

Kentucky and Missouri are the only two states to share a boundary with no road directly connecting the two states. This is a result of the multiplexing of US Highways 51, 60, and 62 crossing the Ohio River between Illinois and Kentucky, and the multiplexing of US Highways 60 and 62 crossing the Mississippi River between Illinois and Missouri, rather than US Highways 60 and 62 crossing the Mississippi River directly from Kentucky to Missouri.
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Rails

As of 2004, there were approximately 2,640 miles (4,250.4 km) of railways in Kentucky, with about 65% of those being operated by CSX Transportation. Coal was by far the most common cargo, accounting for 76% of cargo loaded and 61% of cargo delivered.

Bardstown, Kentucky features a tourist attraction known as My Old Kentucky Dinner Train. Run along a 20-mile stretch of rail purchased from CSX in 1987, guests enjoy a four-course meal as they make a scenic two-and-a-half hour round trip between Bardstown and Limestone Springs. The Kentucky Railway Museum is located in nearby New Haven.

Other areas in Kentucky are reclaiming old railways in rail trail projects. One such project is Louisville's Big Four Bridge. When completed in 2007, the Big Four Bridge rail trail will contain the second longest pedestrian-only bridge in the world. The longest pedestrian-only bridge is also found in Kentucky –- the Purple People Bridge connecting Newport to Cincinnati, Ohio. These two Kentucky bridges will also be the only two in the United States connecting two states.

Air

* Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
* Louisville International Airport
* Blue Grass Airport (Lexington)
* Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport
* Barkley Regional Airport (Paducah)

Kentucky Travel Guide - Cities and Towns

The largest city in Kentucky is Louisville Metro, with a 2005 census estimated population of 556,429. The Louisville Combined Statistical Area (CSA) has a population of 1,342,918 (with 1,120,039 within Kentucky). The second largest city is Lexington with a 2005 census estimated population of 268,080 and its CSA having a population of 635,547. The Northern Kentucky area (the seven Kentucky counties in the Cincinnati CSA) had an estimated population of 403,727 in 2005. The metropolitan areas of Louisville, Lexington, and Northern Kentucky have a combined population of 2,159,313 as of 2005, which is 51.7% of the state's total population.

The two other fast growing urban areas in Kentucky are the Bowling Green area and the "Tri Cities Region" of southeastern Kentucky, comprised of Somerset, London, and Corbin.

Although only one town in the "Tri Cities", namely Somerset, currently has more than 10,000 people, the area has been experiencing heightened population and job growth since the 1990s. Growth has been especially rapid in Laurel County, which outgrew areas such as Scott and Jessamine counties around Lexington or Shelby and Nelson Counties around Louisville. London is currently on pace to double its population in the 2000s from 5,692 in 2000 to 10,879 in 2010. London also landed a Wal-Mart distribution center in 1997, bringing thousands of jobs to the community.

In northeast Kentucky, the greater Ashland area is an important transportation and manufacturing center. Iron and petroleum production, as well as the transport of coal by rail and barge, have been historical pillars of the region's economy. Due to a decline in the area's industrial base, Ashland has seen a sizable reduction in its population since 1990. The population of the area has since stabilized, however, with the medical service industry taking a greater role in the local economy. The Ashland area, including the Kentucky counties of Boyd and Greenup, is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649. About 20,000 of those people reside within the city limits of Ashland.

Kentucky Travel Guide - State Places and Events

* State arboretum: Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest
* State botanical garden: University of Kentucky-Fayette County Arboretum
* State Science Center: Louisville Science Center
* State outdoor musical: "Stephen Foster -- The Musical"
* State center for celebration of African American heritage: Kentucky Center for African American Heritage
* State honey festival: Clarkson Honeyfest
* State amphitheater: Iroquois Amphitheater (Louisville)
* State tug-o-war championship: The Fordsville Tug-of-War Championship
* Covered Bridge Capital of Kentucky: Fleming County
* Official Covered Bridge of Kentucky: Switzer Covered Bridge (Franklin County)
* Official steam locomotive of Kentucky: "Old 152" (located in the Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven)
* Official pipe band: Louisville Pipe Band
* State bourbon festival: Kentucky Bourbon Festival, Incorporated, of Bardstown, Kentucky

Kentucky Travel Guide - Places Nearby

To the west of Kentucky, Missouri can boast of having St Louis, home of the Gateway Arch and Union Station, a festive marketplace.

Riverboat casinos cruise the Ohio River north of Kentucky in Illinois and Indiana. Illinois is also the later day home of Abraham Lincoln (Springfield) and the fictional home of Superman (Metropolis). Indiana has several caves to visit and is rich in covered bridges. Ohio, also to the north, has no casinos, but does have the city of Cincinnati, home of Kings Island and the Bengals (NFL) and Reds (MLB).

To the east are the Virginias. West Virginia is the closest state with dog racing. It also has the New River Gorge Bridge one of the highest in the eastern US. Virginia has the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah National Park.

Tennessee shares Kentucky's southern border. Here you'll find the Great Smoky Mountains, the music city of Nashville and Elvis' home in Memphis

Article Source: Wikipedia