Kentucky State Resort Parks | Genuine Kentucky

10 More Random Facts About Kentucky State Parks

July 18, 2012 by Joi Sigers Leave a Comment

Barren River Lake State Resort Park (Lucas) hosts Glasgow Highland Games on the first weekend in June. The festival celebrates Scottish heritage and attracts thousands each year.
World famous Mammoth National Cave Park (with the longest recorded cave system in the world) is located just 27 miles north of Barren River Lake State Resort Park (Lucas).
In 1991, the Historic Boone Station Site (established by Daniel Boone and his family) was willed to the Kentucky Park System by Robert C. Straden. It was his wish for the site to become part of the Kentucky Park System. In 1992, his wish was granted as Boone Station State Historic Site became a reality.
Nolin Lake State Park (Bee Spring) is located along the edge of Mammoth Cave National Park. Bass, catfish, crappie, and walleye are in Nolin Lake. The park is about 30 minutes north of Mammoth Cave National Park.
Lake Barkley State Resort Park (Cadiz) has one of the most beautiful lodges in the entire Kentucky State Park System. Lake Barkley Lodge was designed by Edward Durell Stone, the same man who designed Busch Stadium, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team from 1966-2005 and the St. Louis Cardinals football team from 1966-1987. Read more about Lake Barkley Lodge, Lake Barkley State Resort Park, and even Edward Durell Stone by clicking the link!
Fort Harrod was the first permanent white settlement in Kentucky, established by James Harrod in 1774. Harrod actually created a settlement before Daniel Boone – although Boone (and Fort Boonesborough) get all of the recognition? What’s up with that?? One reason may be the fact that Harrod lived a particularly tragic life and had a great deal of mystery surrounding his death. Several members of his family were killed in American Indian raids. Harrod actually knew several Indian languages (in addition to French) which enhanced his leadership qualities. Harrod acquired a lot of land and became quite wealthy. He began to go off on long hunting trips and his whereabouts were often unknown. When his stepson was abducted by Indians and burned at the stake (can’t believe I just typed those words), Harrod became almost entirely unhinged. Soon after (1792) he went on one of his infamous, long hunting expeditions and never returned. He was never seen or heard from again. At Old Fort Harrod State Park (Harrodsburg), you can see a full-scale replica of the fort James Harrod built in 1774.
Lake Cumberland State Resort Park (Jamestown) is situated on beautiful Lake Cumberland. This lake has a certain distinction that it wears like a badge of honor: Lake Cumberland is the Houseboat Capital of the World.
Lake Cumberland State Resort Park (Jamestown) has the only Disc Golf Course in the Kentucky State Park System. The 18-hole Disc Golf Course, set on beautiful rolling hills, is a converted 9-hole golf course.
General Burnside State Park (Burnside) is the only island park in the Kentucky State Park system. Like the rest of our state parks, General Burnside has a fascinating history. Read about it here!
You can see the majestic beauty of eagles as they make a comeback in numbers at Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park (Gilbertsville)! KY Department of Parks holds three Eagle Weekends during the year. Click here for more information.

A Kentucky State Park You Have to Visit This Year: Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park

June 19, 2012 by Joi Sigers Leave a Comment

Inside the beautiful Pennyrile Forest State Park lodge. Look at all the stone and wood!

I just finished the Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park page in the Kentucky State Park’s section of Genuine Kentucky, so when you finish here, I hope you’ll go read more about this lovely and very special park. You’ll see pictures of the charming lodge, learn the many things to do at Pennyrile Forest State Park, and even find out what makes one of their lodge rooms extra, extra, extra special. Can you say tree house effect?

As you know, my husband Michael and I are huge supporters of all things Kentucky, including our amazingly beautiful, fun, relaxing, and historically rich state parks. That’s why I’m always encouraging you to get out to our state parks as soon and as often as possible. You don’t have to go far for a fun family vacation on the water or a relaxing retreat in the woods. You don’t have to pay scads of money on gas for a great golf getaway. Heck, you never even have to leave the state line!

Our Kentucky State Parks have everything you’re looking for and then some. As a bonus, you’re keeping your dollars in your state – supporting local businesses and helping your own neighbors. Come on, it doesn’t get any better than that!

Whatever you and your family have in mind… Kentucky State Parks have in reach.

Visit Kentucky State Parks official homepage for information on each of the state parks.
Visit Genuine Kentucky’s Kentucky State Park section for our own personal spin on each of the parks. Also, in the navigation bar above, you’ll find even more posts, pictures, and reviews of the different parks.
E-mail me! If you have questions about any of the state parks or are looking for personal recommendations, e-mail me (Joi – pronounced “Joy”) joisigers @ aim.com
Contact either my husband (@MikeSigers) or me (@JoiTaniaSigers) on Twitter! If you have any golf or fishing related questions, you’ll save yourself a huge headache if you contact him instead of me. With me, you’ll just get details on which golf courses have lovely flowers… and where you might be able to see some adorable deer or pretty birds. That’s just so me.

When Michael and I want a mini vacation or even just a day on the golf course (he plays, I ride and drink sweet tea – we each have our clearly defined roles), more times than not, we head to a Kentucky State Park. Recently we visited the lovely, secluded, and peaceful Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park. Located on the lake, withing a forest (Pennyrile Forest), this is one beautiful park. And, I’m not sure what they do with it or to it, but their catfish is some of the best in the world.

Below are a few pictures of the golf course (“the back 9”). A storm was brewing, leaving us without a lot of time for a round, so Michael just played the back 9. This animal lover was totally impressed with Pennyrile’s golf course. Within 10 minutes, I saw A LOT of Canadian Geese, a beautiful deer, countless songbirds, and a very entertaining turkey. See, that’s my version of a golf course review. “Wow, it’s a great course! All the wild berry plants and trees set the tone for deer and turkey sightings as well as hundreds of beautiful birds….” – Golf Course review by Joi.

And golfers everywhere die a little inside.

Okay. How’s this? When we leave a golf course, 9 times out of 10, my avid golfer husband talks a little about the holes, then looks forward to supper or the next course he’ll play. This time, one of the first things he said was, “I can’t wait to play those holes again.”

Bam! Perfect golf course review summed up in one sentence.

Plus, the wildlife….

On the day we visited Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park, it rained cats and dogs just as I was trying to get pictures of the park. That’s why there aren’t as many here as I’d like. As I always say – watch for more pictures to be added soon… better yet, go see the park for yourself.

A few words about the pictures:

Check out the little waterfall by the swimming pool (the pool’s available for lodge or cottage guests) – when I saw the waterfall, I thought, “Wow! Kids would love that!” Then I immediately thought, “Wow! I would love that!”
The pictures can’t possibly convey just how lovely the stone lodge is. Inside and out, it’s like something out of a fairy tale. Any time we’ve ever been to the lodge, I’ve noticed that the inside is always immaculate and charming and the outside is always perfectly landscaped with beautiful flowers setting the tone for the season.
Yes. Yes, as a matter of fact, that’s a picture of a wooden floor you see. Yep, I took a picture of the floor. When I take pictures of a particular place, I try to capture the things that make it extra special – to sort of give my readers a “feel” of the place. The beautiful stone and wood in this lodge are extra special – so, yes, your’s truly photographed the floor. You should have seen the face on an older gentleman when I did so. He grinned at me and I said, “Nice floor.” He replied with, “Very nice floor.” I left it at that.
See more pictures of Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park!

Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park Golf Course

Wood Floor in the Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park Lodge

Turkey at Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park

Pond at Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park

Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park Swimming Pool

Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park Lodge Rooms

Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park's Lodge

Flowers in Front of the Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park Lodge

Deer at Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park

Inside the Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park Lodge

More Pennyrile State Resort Park on Genuine Kentucky:

Ham and Red-Eye Gravy With a View of Kentucky Lake on the Side!

September 7, 2011 by Joi Sigers Leave a Comment

Kenlake State Resort Park’s Aurora Landing Restaurant recently knocked our socks off… yet again.

I’m always on my soap box telling everyone to eat at Kentucky State Resort Parks. If someone tells me they go once a month, I tell them to go more. If they tell me they’ve never eaten at one of Kentucky’s State Resort Parks, I tell them to come back when they have.. then I’ll talk to them.

Okay, just kidding, I don’t actually do that. I’m not saying I don’t think about it though.

In the vein of practicing what you preach (but more importantly in the vein of loving good food), my husband Michael and I ate at TWO Kentucky State Resort Park restaurants Saturday. We had lunch at the gorgeous Lake Barkley State Resort Park’s restaurant, Windows on the Water. As I told the adorable hostess who seated us, the view never, ever gets old. Just beautiful. You know me…. of course I had the fried catfish sandwich and onion rings. Delicious!!!

Even the iced tea is perfection in Kentucky State Parks.

After lunch, we went to Kenlake State Resort Park where my husband played a round of golf while I caddied… if, that is, caddying means riding along, sipping Diet Coke, taking pictures, and bonding with every bird and squirrel in site. If that’s the definition of being a caddie I might just be the greatest one of all time. The golf course was beautiful – I’ll add the pictures to the Kentucky Pictures album soon. [EDIT: Unfortunately, the Kenlake Golf Course is now closed.]

We ate supper at Kenlake State Resort Park’s restaurant, Aurora Landing. I ordered the Fried Ham with Red Eye Gravy and a baked potato and pinto beans. While we waited, the server (beautiful face, but I didn’t catch the name that went with it) brought us a basket of HEAVENLY rolls and butter. Man, were they good.

The ham was beyond great – very, very, very flavorful. I normally love red eye gravy, but I didn’t want to intrude upon the flavor the ham had going on all by itself! The baked potato and pinto beans were also excellent.

Michael also had a baked potato and pinto beans but he ordered grilled chicken. It must have been outstanding, it disappeared awfully fast.

We always order a dessert to share at Kentucky State Resort Park restaurants and I order a cup of coffee…. which I don’t share. They use John Conti coffee beans and you can smell and taste the distinction. It’s one of the best cups of coffee you can get out, anywhere. It’s about 5 times better than coffee you get in coffeehouses.

We ordered cheesecake this time and it was great. My husband asked the lovely server if she could put some strawberries on top for us, and of course she did.

Having an outstanding meal while looking out at the gorgeous lake is always a special treat. For butterfly and bird lovers, like us, it’s an even bigger treat at Kenlake because, right outside the windows, they have bird feeders, beautiful trees, and gardens filled with flowers that draw these beautiful lovelies.

I work with words all day long but they fail me when I’m trying to convey just how special it is to enjoy a great view, great food, great company, and great coffee all at the same time. I’m always struck by how friendly the staff is at Aurora Landing Restaurant, too.

Please make a point to start supporting our Kentucky State Parks and Kentucky State Resort Parks more often. You’ll be surprised just how great the restaurants are.

Avoid the lines, avoid the hassle, avoid the noise, and avoid views that look out into parking lots. Kind of sounds like a no-brainer, doesn’t it?!?!