Things to do / Travel Guide
Stretching like a spread-out horse saddle from Louisville, Kentucky, over the Kentucky-Tennessee border, past Nashville, Tennessee, along the Cumberland Plateau, and right on down to Chattanooga, Central Kentucky and Tennessee will mesmerize you with its multiplicity. Travel-savvy Northerners and Southerners alike hoot and holler praises for this bastion of just about everything that satiates a searching soul. And we're not just talking about the folks who like country music, bluegrass, bourbon, baseball, and horses.
Kayakers test their hand-paddle coordination on Kentucky's Rockcastle River and the Big South Fork National River, which snakes across the Kentucky-Tennessee state line. Whitewater rafters relish Big South Fork's top-class whitewaters, rated among the best in the United States. Those wishing to watch whitewater without actually facing its wrath take a pleasant paddle up to the plunging plume that is Tennessee's 130-foot Burgess Falls. With reason anglers spout pure praises for the bass fishing at Dale Hollow Lake on the Kentucky-Tennessee border - the record-holding smallmouth was snagged in these waters. Architecture admirers enjoy touring Central Kentucky and Tennessee's fine and famous collection of antebellum estates; they visit Old Louisville, the nation's largest Victorian district in Louisville, and lay their eyes on the world's only full-size replica of the Greek Parthenon in Nashville. Those looking to probe the dark and mysterious depths of our planet spelunk Central Kentucky and Tennessee's subterranean secrets; Kentucky's aptly-named Mammoth Cave National Park is home to the longest cave system in the world. Open since the early 1800s, Mammoth Cave is the nation's second-oldest tourist spot (Niagara Falls is the oldest) and tourists still flock there by the hundreds of thousands. Tennessee's more than 3,000 caverns call out to cavers; travelers can take their sleeping bags along for an overnight stay at Cumberland Caverns in McMinnville, Tennessee.
But if you are more inclined to seek elevation of some sort, take the Lookout Mountain Railway Incline along the world's steepest tracks up Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga, head to Rock City Gardens to stroll amidst sandstone formations and savor the overlook historically advertised as the “See 7 States View.” Of course, if you are afraid of heights you can always lift your spirits on a tour at Jim Beam, Jack Daniels, or one of Central Kentucky and Tennessee's other bourbon and whiskey distilleries. Every year millions of honky tonkers hail Nashville's music scene like spiritual seekers on a pilgrimage. You can get yourself stepping in time with the best of 'em at the Wild Horse Salooon's line dancing lessons, hear the up-and-coming (and up-and-staying-up) country crooners at the Grand Ole Opry and Bluebird Café's Writer's Night, and commune with the country industry's colorful and glitzy past at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Horse lovers will hallow Lexington, Kentucky, the “Horse Capital of the World.” Nearly 1 million visitors head to Kentucky Horse Park for an up-close and personal encounter with more than 50 of the finest thoroughbred breeds (and the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event is one of the most highly-rated affairs in the world). If the excitement of equestrian events has you chompin' at the proverbial bit, join millions of others in scheduling a trip around the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville to witness some of the most hair-raising minutes in horseracing history.
If baseball is a passion of yours, then an afternoon at the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory will hit a home run. Join the more than 2 million visitors who have made their own pilgrimage to get close to the official (and legendary) Major League Baseball bat makers, to swing an exact-weight Babe Ruth replica bat, and to watch craftsmen fashion their slender white ash sensations.
If you plan a weekend in Central Kentucky and Tennessee, you will want to spend a week. If you plan a week, you will wish to stay two. And if you just can't manage to stretch your stay another day, you will plant a tiny promise to return in the region's rich Southern soil. Not only do the locals go out of their way to be pleasant and polite, kind and considerate, and not only do Central Kentucky and Tennessee's down-home barbecue and Southern cooking treat the taste buds. The region is that rare and righteous mix of refined and raucous, rowdy, and restrained - Central Kentucky and Tennessee is downright remarkable.
Time Zone
Both Kentucky and Tennessee are bisected by both the eastern and central time zone boundaries. Eastern Time is three hours ahead of Pacific Time, whereas Central Time is only two hours ahead of Pacific Time. Most of the central Kentucky part of the region is on Eastern Time and most of the central Tennessee part is on Central Time.
In general, all locations east of Louisville and Lexington in Kentucky are on Eastern Time, while Glasgow and Bowling Green are on Central Time. In Tennessee, McMinnville and Nashville are on Central time, and Chattanooga and Oak Ridge are on Eastern Time. Central Kentucky and Tennessee communities may fall into either time zone, therefore it is always best to clarify time zones before your arrival.
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