Page 272 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

270  THE SOUTHEAST

Kentucky k Mammoth Cave

With its Appalachian Mountain landscapes and rolling National Park
rural pasturelands, where horses run on acres and acres of I-65 exit 53. n (270) 758-2180. Open
Mar–Oct: 8am–6pm daily, Nov–Feb:
bluegrass, Kentucky is easily one of the most picturesque 8:30am–4:30pm. Closed Dec 25. 8
states in the country. The lands west of the mountains were
once inhabited by Native American tribes who strenuously Halfway between Louisville
opposed the encroachment of white settlers. Today, Kentucky (see p273) and Nashville (see
is widely known for its horses, and many thoroughbred stud p266), this park offers guided
farms are centered around Lexington. One of the most tours of one of the largest cave
prestigious horse races, the Kentucky Derby, takes place in systems known, formed by
Louisville. This state is also famous for its downhome style underground rivers that left a
dramatic landscape of stalac-
of country music, and Hwy 23 along its eastern border has tites and stalagmites. Guests are
been designated the Country Music Highway. free to choose from tours with
names such as “Frozen Niagara”
or “Wild Cave Tour” (helmets
provided). Evidence suggests
that the cave had been
inhabited as far back as 4,000
years ago. The Green River runs
its course above Mammoth
Cave, an area that is crisscrossed
by several hiking trails.

l Berea
* 14,200. n (800) 598-5263.
_ Berea Crafts Festival (Jul).
∑ berea.com
A cannon at Fort McCook, Cumberland Gap National Historic Park
Home to Berea College,
j Cumberland Gap trails. The hardwood and soft- dedicated to educating disad-
National Historic wood forests shelter wild vantaged Appalachian youth,
Park turkeys, white-tailed deer, and Berea is known as a highlands
many varieties of songbirds.
crafts center. Typical crafts
US Hwy 25 E, Middlesboro. n (606) The Gap was also a strategic include woodworking, pottery,
248-2817. Open 8am–5pm daily. location in the Civil War. It was and textiles. The town hosts the
Closed Dec 25. 7 ∑ nps.gov/cuga held alternately by Confed erate Kentucky Guild of Artists Fair,
and Union forces, and the the Craftmen’s Fair, as well as
Situated in the southeastern fortifications can still be seen the Berea Crafts Festival. Year-
corner where Kentucky meets throughout the park. Today, a round, there are public tours of
the states of Virginia and four-lane Interstate Highway artisans’ studios, such as Weaver’s
Tennessee, the Cumberland and a railroad tunnel run Bottom, founded in 1989.
Gap is a natural pass through through the Gap. A drive up
the Cumberland Mountains, to Pinnacle Overlook leads P Weaver’s Bottom
once used by migrating deer to a short trail for a view of 140 N Broadway. Tel (859) 986-8661.
and bison. It was first explored three states, most dramatic Open 9am–5pm Mon–Sat.
by Dr. Thomas Walker in 1750 during fall. Closed public hols. &
on behalf of a land company.
Some five years later, the
legendary fur trapper and
explorer Daniel Boone ran his
Wilderness Road through the
Gap, thus opening the way for
some 200,000 pioneers to
establish homesteads in the
interior wilderness.
This rugged area is thickly
forested, and many sights, such as
the Sand Cave sandstone over-
hang and White Rocks out crop,
are accessible only by hiking The path leading into the interior of Mammoth Cave
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp276–8 and pp279–81

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.6)
Date 12th July 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm