7 Best Towns In Kentucky For A Two-Day Recharge

When picking a town for a two-day recharge in Kentucky, you can break it down by region. Western Kentucky has the best creative community in the state and a vast inland peninsula between two rivers. Central Kentucky offers the best of the state's industry through thoroughbred horse racing and bourbon. Eastern Kentucky is a lesser-known region with mountain views, one of the largest waterfalls in the eastern United States, and natural sandstone arches. These seven towns will make anyone feel recharged. This story moves west to east to show the full range of what Kentucky has to offer.

Paducah

Sitting on the Ohio River in Western Kentucky, Paducah isn't just an artistic community; it's a destination for all creative people. That's why it's earned the title of UNESCO Creative City with a focus on often overlooked creative endeavours, such as quilting. The National Quilt Museum has a collection of quilts from around the world, cataloguing many beautiful scenes and patterns. Paducah also encourages smaller musical and drama performances via its Market House Theatre and travelling art galleries and shows at the Clemens Fine Arts Centre. In addition to the arts, Paducah was the home of Confederate General Lloyd Tilghman, whose house is now a Civil War Museum that displays the complicated role Kentucky played in the Civil War. Speaking of history, Paducah has several historic homes available for a two-day stay, such as the 1895 Washington Hotel.

Grand Rivers

Grand Rivers is the closest community to a unique park that borders Kentucky and Tennessee: the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. This area sits between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley as a 170,000-acre inland peninsula, one of the largest blocks of public land in the southeastern U.S. Throughout this area, one can find beaches, historic graveyards, and hiking trails such as the Central Hardwoods Scenic Trail that links Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. Grand Rivers itself sits at the northern entrance to the park and offers great American food at Patti's 1880's Settlement and regional information at the Kentucky Dam Visitors Centre. Guests can rent a stay with lakeside views at the Lighthouse Landing Resort and Marina.

Bardstown

Bardstown is one of the most popular communities in Kentucky for a two-day or long weekend trip, as visitors can pick between bourbon experiences, historical sites, or both. Bardstown is known as the Bourbon Capital of the World for its large number of distilleries, such as the Kentucky Bourbon Experience and Barton 1792 Distillery. It also catalogues the long heritage of bourbon at the Oscar Getz Museum of Bourbon. On the community's historical side, one can see the mansion that inspired Kentucky's state anthem at the My Old Kentucky Home State Park. The park's primary feature is the 1818 Federal Hill mansion, one of the best Federal-style homes in Kentucky. It regularly hosts tours, along with mint julep, bourbon, and lemonade drinking tours. Guests can book a stay at the 1913 Talbott Inn, which sits right next to the Old Talbott Tavern, the oldest bourbon bar in the world, first built in 1779.

Georgetown

Georgetown is one of the fastest-growing towns in both central Kentucky and the entire state. This growth is born out of its attractions and career opportunities at its Toyota plant. The plant gives back to the community through its Toyota Biodiversity Trail, which showcases the natural beauty of Kentucky plants, and its Toyota Kentucky Experience Center tram tour, which takes visitors on a tour of the facilities. One of the best places to tour in Georgetown is the Old Friends farm, a beautiful place where thoroughbred horses retire in comfort. The tour offers visitors a chance to get up close with these horses, including several horses that raced in the Kentucky Derby. For outdoor activities, Georgetown sits next to Elkhorn Creek, the most paddled stream in the state, with its scenery, smallmouth bass, and water willows. For lodging, Georgetown has several chain hotels, including Home2Suites by Hilton.

Slade

Slade is a lesser-known unincorporated community that sits in the center of the Red River Gorge Geological Area. This canyon is part of the larger Daniel Boone National Forest and is widely considered the best place to go by climbers to ascend several routes on the steep canyon walls. Those who like a good walk with great views also come to Slade to visit the Natural Bridge State Resort Park, which is named after the 78-foot-long by 65-foot-high sandstone arch bridge, which visitors can walk across by hiking up to it or taking a Skylift. The park allows guests to take a two-day recharge by booking the Hemlock Lodge and cottages. Around the park, one can enjoy a pizza with campers at Miguel's Pizza or visit a fascinating reptile and venom research lab at the Kentucky Reptile Zoo.

Berea

Berea is a college town that has never been afraid to stand out. Berea College was the first racially integrated university in Kentucky, and today it supports its students through free tuition in exchange for the students doing work around town. Some of this work includes maintaining the beautiful trails in the Berea College Forest, such as the Pinnacles, an Appalachian overlook that has regularly ranked highly on lists of Kentucky hikes. Another way the students and residents support Berea is by making beautiful folk arts and crafts and displaying them at the Kentucky Artisan Centre or in locally owned galleries like the Log House Craft Gallery. That's why Berea is known as the Folk Arts & Crafts Capital of Kentucky. Berea welcomes guests with its luxurious Historic Boone Tavern, built in 1909 by the college.

Corbin

Corbin sits on the eastern border between Kentucky and Tennessee in the Appalachian Mountains. What makes this town special is its incredible waterfall and its culinary history. At the Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, one can marvel at this 125-foot-wide by 68-foot-tall waterfall, often called the Niagara of the South. Visitors during the evening have seen moonbows at this waterfall, formed by the light of a full moon. The other big attraction in Corbin is the Harland Sanders Cafe & Museum. This was the first cafe opened by Harland Sanders to sell his fried chicken, before he took the concept global with the KFC brand. Today, the museum is a fully functional KFC, along with artifacts and souvenirs from KFC's history. Another fun hands-on museum in town is the Pinball Museum of Corbin, featuring dozens of machines dating back to the 1960s that visitors can play. Visitors can book a stay right at the Cumberland Falls State Resort Park by reserving a lodge or cottage.

All Of These Towns Have Something Unique

What sets these communities apart is their unique features that can't be found anywhere else in the state. Corbin, for example, can claim the title of best waterfall community and the birthplace of KFC, while Bardstown is the king of Bourbon, and Georgetown offers much-needed relaxation for racing thoroughbred horses. Thankfully, all of these communities have great accommodations as well, whether a cottage in Slade or turn-of-the-century historic inns in Berea and Bardstown, to make any two-day recharge a comfortable stay.