10 Small Towns In Kentucky With Big Charm
Charming towns can come in all shapes and sizes. Kentucky is a prime example of this fact, as its most charming towns are all very different from each other. By traveling across the Bluegrass state, you'll find an old railroad town with a train that goes down its main street, the birthplace of KFC, historic sites of an old American feud, a museum dedicated to Bourbon whiskey, and several places of deep significance to the life of President Abraham Lincoln. Once you learn about these 10 small towns in Kentucky with big charm, you'll want to stop by and see them for yourself!
La Grange
You don't have to travel far to find charming small towns in Kentucky. For example, the cute town of La Grange sits a few minutes east of Louisville in Oldham County. It's an old-timey railway town that was a hub for the Nashville-Louisville Railway line. It will transport you back to the past with its Trains on Main, which features freight trains passing through Main Street multiple times a day. Visitors can also enjoy a charming dinner train ride at the La Grange Railroad Museum, which also hosts lovingly crafted model train tracks. La Grange also keeps up with the times with its Cheeky Museum of Contemporary Art + Culture while offering relaxing outdoor recreation at the FRP La Grange Quarry. It's known for having remarkably clear water in the quarry, so it's great for going scuba diving.
Paducah
Paducah stands out in this list for its creativity. The global organization UNESCO honored it as a Creative City for its art scene, which not only celebrates theater and painting, but also quilting. While many consider it a hobby, Paducah honors it as an art form at the National Quilt Museum. At this center, one can find modern and traditional quilting styles or learn how to quilt from experts. For other artistic experiences, go to a show at The Carson Center for the Performing Arts or see murals honoring the area's history with the Paducah Wall to Wall Murals along the floodwall. Paducah is a great place to stay for those traveling to the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, a Kentucky goldmine for water sports, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, and other activities.
Winchester
Winchester knows how to throw a good party. After all, it has its own drink and condiment: Ale-8 and beer cheese. Ale-8 is a soft drink that's common to Kentucky but hard to find in other places. The factory that makes them, the Ale-8 One bottling company, has been in operation since the 1920s and is open for tours and souvenirs. Visitors can try out beer cheese on the Beer Cheese Trail, which goes by multiple breweries, bars, and restaurants. Winchester also has a rich past from Native American times to the Civil War. You can visit the remains of a Civil War Fort at Boonsboro or learn about Native American and settler stories and history at the Bluegrass Heritage Museum.
Corbin
Other than the Kentucky Derby, the Bluegrass state is also well known for its fried chicken fast food franchise: KFC. Its quirky founder, the white suit-wearing Colonel Sanders, first debuted his fried chicken recipe at a cafe in Corbin. He later sold that cafe, and today it is a part of the Harland Sanders Cafe & Museum. You can see an old-timey kitchen and take home a souvenir from this tasty piece of Kentucky history. Corbin has another quirky museum at the Pinball Museum of Corbin, home to machines from the 1960s to the modern era. Corbin is a hidden natural gem as well, with the clean Laurel Lake in the Daniel Boone National Forest and the nearby Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. This park has been called the Niagara of the South because of its 68-foot-high and 125-foot-long waterfall. This natural wonder creates so much mist that you can sometimes see a rainbow formed by the light of a full moon, known as a moonbow.
Bardstown
Bardstown is one of the best towns in Kentucky for a 3-day weekend thanks to its welcoming distilleries, Civil War era museums, and fun forest adventures. It earns its title of Bourbon Capital of the World with its distilleries that offer tours and tastes of the famous drink, such as the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience and Circa 1856 Bardstown. Bardstown is so proud of its distilling that it even preserves centuries-old bottles as the Oscar Getz Museum of Bourbon. That isn't the only history one will find in Bardstown. You can also see one of the largest collections of Western Front Civil War artifacts at the Old Bardstown Village & Civil War Museum and Women's Civil War Museum. While there are many places you can see in Bardstown, you definitely don't want to miss the nearby Bernstein Forest & Arboretum, as it is home to several forest giants made by Danish artist Thomas Darbo out of recycled wood.
Harrodsburg
The most charming towns in Kentucky tend to have deep history and traditions. There's no town in Kentucky as historic as Harrodsburg. Founded in 1774, Harrodsburg is the oldest-founded town in Kentucky. It was named after Fort Harrod, which was restored to its former specifications at the Fort Harrod State Park. Here, one can see blockhouses and 18th-century artifacts, peruse the various eras of Kentucky's history at the Mansion Museum, or see the Lincoln Marriage Temple, where Abraham Lincoln's parents exchanged vows in a simple ceremony. The most charming historic attraction in Harrodsburg is the old Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. The Shakers were an unorthodox religious community known for their celibate lifestyles and lively worship services. The Shaker Village is a serene place with wooded trails, historic Shaker buildings, and a farm-to-table restaurant.
London
Mountain towns are often great places for cyclists, but London goes above and beyond. With its vast network of rural and off-road cycling trails, it's been called the Cycling Capital of Kentucky. The downtown Redbud Ride is one of the most significant ones, named after the redbud trees that line the route. Cyclists and hikers can also get out into nature via the Levi Jackson Wilderness Road Park. You can also explore the grounds of an early Civil War battlefield nearby at the Battle of Camp Wildcat Mountain. If you come during a reenactment, you can see for yourself how this chaotic battle played out.
Slade
Sometimes the most charming towns are also the quirkiest. Slade is certainly a quirky destination. This community sits within the Red River Gorge Geological Area, a Kentucky canyon that's visited by climbers from across the country to tackle its steep cliffs. You don't have to be a climbing expert to see Slade's natural landscape, like the 75-foot-long and 65-foot-high sandstone natural bridge arch at the Natural Bridge State Resort Park. Visitors can either hike up the arch or take a skylight up it. Once at the park, visitors can go fishing on the Red River or explore Henson's Arch, a natural arch with a cave at its base. Slade is also home to a few quirky places like the Kentucky Reptile Zoo, which specializes in venomous snakes, and Miguel's Pizza, a fun pizza joint right next to the park for climbers, campers, and hikers to grab a slice.
Hodgenville
Many states have Presidential homes, but only Kentucky can lay claim to the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln. The president was born in Hodgenville in a humble family home and lived there for a few years before his family moved to Indiana. Although he didn't recall much of his time in Kentucky, this town has a lot of information about his family and life at Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park. This park contains Sinking Spring and Knob Creek Farm, along with a Memorial Building. Inside Hodgenville, you can find the Lincoln Museum with wax figures, artifacts, and information on his entire life story from boyhood to his assassination at the Ford Theatre. Speaking of theater, the Lincoln Jamboree in Hodgenville is a regular hoot to visit with its variety shows and comedy acts.
Pikeville
There are many mountain towns in Kentucky, each with its own flair. Pikeville is the best mountain town for true crime buffs, as it was the site of the infamous Hatfield and McCoy feud. These two families struggled for dominance on the Kentucky-Virginia border for land, livestock, and respect. Pikeville offers tours of several places of significance during the feud, such as the Hog Trial Cabin, where the feud began, the Randolph McCoy Homeplace, and the Historic County Courthouse, where several of the feuders were put on trial for murder. In addition to this history, Pikeville is a dramatic city. So dramatic in fact, it has two theaters: The Appalachian Center for the Arts and the Appalachian Wireless Arena for theatrical performances, music, visual arts, and other performances.
Deep History and Dazzling Charm
The charm you'll find in Kentucky isn't fake or surface-level. It comes from the deep history and traditions of these communities. Bardstown has a long tradition of crafting whisky, while Paducah is dedicated to the arts and quilting. This dedication doesn't take away from their big charm, but rather enhances it. Much of this charm is hidden away in lesser-known attractions and places like the Reptile Zoo in Slade or the Pinball Museum of Corbin. Maybe you'll come back with a few new traditions of your own after staying in these Kentucky towns.
