Kentucky Travel Guide
Kentucky is one of only four American states that is designated a commonwealth: back in 1792 when Kentucky was incorporated as the 15th State of the Union the people chose to be a commonwealth, governed on the common consent of the people. The natural wonders of Kentucky are punctuated with two metropolitan cities. Lexington, the heart of Bluegrass Country, is rich with state history and heritage. Louisville hosts the Kentucky Derby with two weeks of festivals and entertainment. Treasures such as grand mansions, historic sites and legendary horse farms are spread throughout the Bluegrass State. Experience sports and recreation in the natural settings of Western Kentucky. Hike, golf, bike, climb, sight see, explore underground caves, ride horses, canoe, raft, swim, or visit historical sights—the opportunities for adventure and relaxation are endless.
The state has the longest recorded cave system in the world with more than 336 miles explored and mapped, in Mammoth Cave, the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, near Hodgenville, a big chunk of the Big South Fork - an excellent area for recreational activities and the Cumberland Gap, located where the borders of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia meet. Thomas Edison lived in Louisville before he invented the light bulb, and the State contains the world's longest cave, Mammoth Cave, which is 350 miles (563km) long. Carved by wind and water, Cumberland Gap forms a major break in the formidable Appalachian Mountain chain and it was the first and best avenue for the settlement of the interior of the United States.