Kentucky Links

Places To Go and Things To Do

The state’s official Kentucky tourism site lets you search by interests, from antiques to wine.
We’re a festive state! Kentucky Festivals lets you find celebrations of everything from balloons to burgoo by location or by date.
A less official guide to some of Kentucky’s interesting spots is at Roadside America, a self-described “opinionated” guide to attractions like the World’s Largest Crucifix (in Bardstown) and the medieval-style castle on U.S. 60 between Lexington and Versailles.
Kentucky State Parks lists addresses, phone numbers, scenic highlights, and facilities available in every park and includes a calendar of events.
Kentucky’s only National Park, of course, is Mammoth Cave. The Cumberland Gap National Historical Park is headquartered in Middlesboro, and the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site is in Hodgenville. (Park trivia: Generally speaking, National Parks protect natural or scenic wonders; National Historical Parks and National Historic Sites commemorate the lives and deeds of humans. The exception is Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, which does both.)
National Register of Historic Places—Kentucky
National Wildlife Refuges located completely or partly in Kentucky:
Kentucky State Nature Preserves
Nature Conservancy preserves in Kentucky

Kentucky Historical Society
Kentucky Oral History Commission
Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives
Kentucky Archives and Special Collections—a round-up of links from the University of Louisville’s Ekstrom Library
KyGenWeb is a volunteer-edited site dedicated to genealogical resources to help you trace your Kentucky roots. The project covers all the other states now, too, but started with Kentucky.
If you’re trying to locate a specific family member, try the Kentucky Vital Records Index, where you can search by name through decades of Kentucky birth, death, marriage, and divorce records.
The Kentucky Biography Project isn’t fancy, but it certainly is fascinating. Volunteers entered bios of Kentuckians from every walk of life, from every public-domain source they can find. Search or browse by name or county.

Kentucky State Government Home Page
Kentucky’s listing at 50states.com is a round-up of vital statistics, with facts and links on everything from the state flag to the current weather.
Kentucky Quick Facts from the U.S. Census Bureau lists state and national figures side-by-side for comparison.
The University of Kentucky’s online Kentucky Atlas has geographic facts about the counties, accessible via a clickable map, plus relief maps of the state.
Kentucky.com has news, sports headlines, and lots of links to Kentucky businesses and media outlets.