47 state parks and historic sites in Kentucky
Camping, trails, fees and current alerts are on each park’s page.
Things to do
Camping & facilities
Parks & natural areas 37
- Barren River Lake State Resort ParkA lake resort in cave country with an award-winning 18-hole course and a marina running 100 open slips. Fish…
- Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort ParkSalt springs that drew prehistoric animals, Native Americans and Daniel Boone, and the site of the last…
- Breaks Interstate ParkFerns, galax, coltsfoot and tea berries carpet the wilderness around this gorge park, and Swainson's warblers…
- Buckhorn Lake State Resort ParkA hill-country hideaway where the lodge lobby looks out on nesting winter eagles and handcrafted replicas of…
- Carr Creek State ParkThe longest sand beach in the Kentucky state park system, on a 750-acre lake in the eastern mountains…
- Carter Caves State Resort ParkTwisting caverns beneath forested hills, five natural bridges above them, and guided tours through scenic…
- Columbus-Belmont State ParkHigh on a bluff over the Mississippi, this park recalls the Battle of Belmont of November 7, 1861. The…
- Cumberland Falls State Resort ParkThe 'Niagara of the South' drops 125 feet into a boulder-strewn gorge, and on a full moon throws a moonbow…
- Dale Hollow Lake State Resort ParkA 28,000-acre lake that became Kentucky's premier scuba destination, overlooked by a lodge, cabins and a golf…
- E.P. Tom Sawyer State ParkA 554-acre green space on the edge of Louisville, on former farmland and the grounds of the Old Central State…
- Fort Boonesborough State ParkKentucky's second settlement, rebuilt as a working fort of cabins and blockhouses where resident artisans…
- General Burnside Island State ParkA 400-acre island surrounded by Lake Cumberland, named for the sideburn-whiskered Civil War general who…
- General Butler State Resort ParkA hillside resort above the meeting of the Ohio and Kentucky rivers, with an overlook made for sunsets. Tour…
- Grayson Lake State ParkSheer sandstone canyons wall 1,512 acres that the Shawnee and Cherokee once camped in. Kayak to Grotto Falls…
- Green River Lake State Park1,331 acres of shoreline on an 8,210-acre lake, opened in 1969 after the Corps of Engineers dammed the Green…
- Greenbo Lake State Resort ParkA 225-acre lake, sixteen miles of moderate to difficult bike trail, and a reading room devoted to poet…
- Jenny Wiley State Resort ParkAn Appalachian resort on Dewey Lake named for a legendary pioneer woman, with lodge rooms, cottages and a…
- John James Audubon State ParkThe woodlands where Audubon studied birds from 1810 to 1819, with a museum of his art and personal…
- Kenlake State Resort ParkOn the mid-west shore of Kentucky Lake, with a full-service marina, a lodge, cottages and camping. Rent a…
- Kentucky Dam Village State Resort ParkKentucky Lake's 160,000 acres at the doorstep, reachable by road, boat or airplane. Play the championship 18…
- Kincaid Lake State ParkOpen woodland shelters a quiet campground with modern conveniences, beside a lake made for fishing and…
- Kingdom Come State ParkAt 2,700 feet on the crest of Pine Mountain, the highest state park in Kentucky, with eight overlooks and a…
- Lake Barkley State Resort ParkBarkley Lodge's grand post-and-beam hall carries three and a half acres of glass facing the lake. Cottages…
- Lake Cumberland State Resort ParkMore than 60,000 acres of water and 1,225 miles of shoreline make this one of the finest fishing and boating…
- Lake Malone State ParkSandstone rock walls and a waterfall line easy wooded trails along the lake. Look for Big Twigs, a family of…
- Lincoln Homestead State ParkThe original home of Abraham Lincoln's mother, among the rolling hills of central Kentucky. Tour replicas of…
- Mineral Mound State ParkA quiet shoreline on Lake Barkley with a historical link to F. Scott Fitzgerald, given over largely to 'The…
- My Old Kentucky Home State ParkFederal Hill, one of the inspirations for Stephen Foster's ballad, shown by costumed guides through the…
- Natural Bridge State Resort ParkA sandstone arch spanning 78 feet and standing 65 feet high, near the Red River Gorge. Hike up or ride the…
- Nolin Lake State Park155 acres along the northern edge of Mammoth Cave National Park, on a 5,795-acre lake impounded from the…
- Old Fort Harrod State ParkA full-scale replica of the fort James Harrod raised in 1774, its cabins and blockhouses furnished with…
- Paintsville Lake State ParkSteep cliffs and wooded coves ring 1,140 acres of eastern Kentucky water. Rent a kayak — there is an ADA…
- Pennyrile Forest State Resort ParkA back-to-nature hideaway with a sandy swimming beach and three good trails: Lake Trail, Clifty Creek and…
- Pine Mountain State Resort ParkOne of Kentucky's first four state parks, opened in 1926 on a mountaintop above Kentucky Ridge State Forest…
- Rough River Dam State Resort ParkA 5,000-acre lake with some of the finest fishing in the state — largemouth, white and Kentucky bass…
- Taylorsville Lake State ParkTwenty-four miles of multi-use trail shared by hikers, mountain bikers and riders, with equestrian-friendly…
- Yatesville Lake State ParkA 2,300-acre mountain reservoir with what the park calls the best bluegill fishing in eastern Kentucky, plus…
Historic sites & museums 8
- Big Bone Lick State Historic SiteStill-active salt springs, a re-created Pleistocene marsh with life-sized mammoth and mastodon, and a living…
- Dr. Thomas Walker State Historic SiteA replica of the first cabin built in Kentucky, raised by the frontiersman who preceded Daniel Boone here by…
- Isaac Shelby Cemetery State Historic SiteThe smallest park in the Kentucky system: a half-acre stone-walled burial ground in the Lincoln County…
- Jefferson Davis State Historic SiteThe birthplace of the Confederate president, marked by a 351-foot obelisk set on a bed of Kentucky limestone…
- Old Mulkey Meetinghouse State Historic SiteThe oldest freestanding log meetinghouse in Kentucky, built in 1804 during a religious revival, its twelve…
- Perryville Battlefield State Historic SiteThe site of the most destructive Civil War battle fought in Kentucky, on October 8, 1862, and one of the…
- Waveland State Historic SiteA Greek revival house completed in 1848 by Joseph Bryan, a grandnephew of Daniel Boone, with tours focused on…
- Wickliffe Mounds State Historic SiteA Mississippian archaeological site dating to A.D. 1100-1350, near where the Ohio meets the Mississippi. The…
Trails & scenic stops 2
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