Here are 5 must-visit places in Kentucky to see beautiful fall foliage

Gege Reed, Louisville Courier Journal
·3 min read
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Fall is here. The days are getting shorter, the night is becoming cooler and the trees are turning shades of bright yellow, burnt orange and red.

Kentucky is rich in forests populated by trees known for their bright fall colors. Under the right conditions, dogwoods and sumacs can turn red and purple, sugar maples turn orange and red, oaks, sourwoods and sweet gums take on red hues, and poplars and hickories turn yellow and gold. Leaves typically turn colors in October through the beginning of November.

Here’s are 5 locations to watch the fall foliage in Kentucky.

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Bernheim Forest

2075 Clermont Road, Clermont, Kentucky

Bernheim has 16,140 acres of lush green landscapes and tall trees as far as the eye can see in Bullitt and Nelson counties. It has has more than 40 miles of trails open to walkers and bikers and a canopy tree walk that takes you up into the trees themselves. See the colorful fall displays that include maples, dogwoods, magnolias, conifers, cypresses, hollies, beeches and buckeyes. Walk, hike or bike the trails and see the mature trees in a natural setting. bernheim.org.

Land Between the Lakes

238 Visitor Center Drive, Golden Pond, Kentucky

Land Between the Lakes has approximately 110,000 acres in Kentucky and 60,000 acres in Tennessee with more than 500 miles of trails with opportunities to hike, bike and take a driving tour. On the Woodlands Trace National Scenic Byway enjoy a 43-mile drive through Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in Western Kentucky and Tennessee. Fall is an ideal time to take the scenic Bluegrass Country Driving Tour, which winds past horse farms with their wooden and stone fences underneath a canopy of many-colored leaves. 800-525-7077; landbetweenthelakes.us

Daniel Boone National Forest

1700 Bypass Road, London, Kentucky

Explore the byways, Red River Gorge and trails. The byways pass through heavily wooded and mountainous terrain that shows off fall foliage colors. The forest contains around 40 commercial species of trees, and as many non-commercial species of trees and shrubs including hardwoods such as oaks and hickories and white and yellow pine. Hike, bike, climb and more. 606-713-3688; fs.usda.gov/dbnf.

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Lake Cumberland State Resort Park

5465 State Park Road, Jamestown, Kentucky

The park has 17 miles of hiking trails winding through the park’s scenic areas. The Overlook at Wolf Creek Dam is a great spot to get a panoramic view of Kentucky fall foliage along the Cumberland River. The dam is located by the Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery in Jamestown, Kentucky. There are two park hiking trails, a four-mile loop trail around the Lure Lodge area, and a 1.5-mile trail (one way, 3 miles total distance including return) with a lake overlook near the park entrance (parking available). 270-343-3111; parks.ky.gov/jamestown/parks/resort/lake-cumberland-state-resort-park.

The Parklands

The Parklands is made up of four parks and the Strand, a collection of land that links the two northern and the two southern parks. Each park has its own personality. theparklands.org.

They include:

  • Beckley Creek Park: 1411 Beckley Creek Parkway. Traditional urban park.

  • Pope Lick Park: 4002 S. Pope Lick Road. Formerly known as Floyds Fork Park, it lies south of Beckley Creek Park, includes the John Floyd Fields and offers access to Floyds Fork and the Louisville Loop. Hike the Big Beech Woods, an old-growth forest of mossy logs and understory trees and centuries-old canopies.

  • The Strand: Louisville Loop. The Palisades, Walnut Grove, Mussel Bend. These are some of the areas of beauty within the Strand, the central puzzle-piece of The Parklands connecting its northern and southern parks.

  • Turkey Run Park: Seatonville Road. An 800-acre greenspace once home to dairy farms and golf courses and now converted back into meadows and forests where deer and wild turkey roam.

  • Broad Run Park: 11551 Bardstown Road. There are 600 acres of waterfalls, hardwood forests, lookout points, tree-lined trails and paths.

Reach features news clerk Gege Reed at greed@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: 5 best places to see fall foliage and fall colors in Kentucky