Kentucky is filled with adorable small towns with cute communities spanning its borders. With a rich and beautiful history and picturesque locales promising top adventures to visitors, the Bluegrass State has plenty to offer.
Below are some of the best small towns in Kentucky to visit if you’re looking to spoil yourself over a brief holiday in a crowd-free summer. Whether you want to explore inspiring parks, scintillating caves, or charming waterfalls, you want to check these out.
- Corbin
Located next to two of Kentucky’s unique attractions, Corbin is rich with plenty of top crowd-free spots to explore. It prides itself on being the birthplace of the renowned Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) recipe.
Feel free to visit the site of the original cafe, where Colonel Harland Sanders first introduced the dish at the Harland Sanders Café & Museum, for your Kentucky Fried souvenir.
Elsewhere, Corbin is home to the magnificent Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. The Park hosts 27 miles of hiking trails and a 125-foot curtain of water, which makes it worth exploring for anyone.
- Georgetown
Georgetown is one of Kentucky’s fastest-growing towns, thanks to its array of amazing landmarks and brewing industry. Perhaps its first big landmark has to be the Toyota Factory, which offers classic mint condition car shows on your visit to the Toyota Kentucky Experience Center.
Other top-notch attractions in Georgetown include the whimsical Ward Hall and the 19th-century Greek Revival mansion. Then, you can take out a few minutes to grab some locally squeezed apple cider from the Evans Orchard and Cider Mill.
- Elizabethtown
Fondly called Etown, Elizabethtown boasts one of the most charming small towns in Kentucky, thanks to its blend of historical landmarks and cutesy restaurants. One intriguing attraction is an old cannonball embedded in a building during the Civil War, still in its original site. Meanwhile, visitors can learn more about this Civil War history at the Hardin County History Museum.
Tourists can also visit the splendid 1825 Georgian mansion, the Brown-Pusey House, which also hosts well-maintained gardens and a genealogical library. Or take on a leisurely stroll at the Elizabethtown Nature Park close to Freeman Lake. Feel free to retire after a day’s tour with gelato made from locally sourced milk at The Dreamery or get a souvenir from the Denizen shop.
- Pikeville
Here’s another top little town in Kentucky to see. Based in the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern part of the state, Pikeville is close to one of the prettiest parks in Kentucky, the Breaks Interstate Park, which hosts one of the deepest gorges east of the Mississippi River.
Then there is the Appalachian Center for the Arts, where visitors can experience the best of Appalachian-style plays and performances. However, Pikeville still hosts a dark secret, being the center of the Hatfield-McCoy Feud.
The feud saw two families struggle in a murderous strife over livestock, land, and honor. By touring the historic site, visitors can explore many of the feud’s landmarks, like the Hog Trial Cabin and the Historic Pike County Courthouse.
- Hodgenville
Hodgenville is a beautiful town that preserves the birthplace of one of America’s most popular presidents, Abraham Lincoln. That makes it a hub for lots of Lincoln-themed activities.
First, you have the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace, which includes the Boyhood Home Unit and the Birthplace Unit. Then, there’s the Lincoln Museum, which catalogues the President’s entire life from his birth in Kentucky to his demise at Ford’s Theater.
Plus, visitors can attend entertaining events around the town alone or with friends at the Lincoln Jamboree. Other top places to see in Hodgenville include McDougal Lake and the trails of Knob Creek Conservancy.
- Cave City
Cave City hosts one of Kentucky’s biggest natural treasures: the Mammoth Cave National Park. The center hosts majestic canes with a series of passages to tour and explore.
Feel free to take the River Styx Tour to learn about how the caves formed, or turn to the Frozen Niagara Tour to see a unique frozen waterfall. Other intriguing attractions in and around Cave City include the Kentucky Stonehenge and Dinosaur World. Then you have a handful of locally owned restaurants like the Cave City’s Bucky Bees BBQ.
Conclusion
These exciting small towns can keep you excited and enraptured by their cascade of adventurous experiences. Whether it’s the gapping dinosaurs of Cave City, the magnificent Cumberland Falls, or multiple culinary delights, Kentucky has loads to offer.
