Pioneer Daniel Boone, who knew Kentucky about as well as anyone, is credited with saying, “Heaven must be a Kentucky kind of place.” Let’s pray he’s right. There are so many reasons to love Kentucky that no list is ever complete. It’s a losing proposition. Here are the Top 200 Reasons to Love Kentucky.
In celebration of our 200th issue, we thought we’d give it a try. We compiled a list of 200 reasons, presented here in no particular order, and we reached out to some well-known friends of Kentucky Monthly asking them to sum up their love of the Commonwealth in 200 words. Of others, we asked for the things they love most about the 15th state.
We were flooded with responses. Many are contained here, and others will appear on our website or in future issues, so don’t be disappointed if yours isn’t included. Sit yourself down and write us a finely crafted letter, a well-reasoned treatise, or a witty email. We’ll comb through them and publish the worthy ones between now and our 300th issue in 2026.
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200. Mint Juleps, Iconic bourbon cocktails best served in sterling silver cups
199. Modjeskas, Irresistable caramel/marshmellow confections produced for four generations by Bauer’s Candies in Lawrenceburg
198. Kentucky Artists and Artisans, Painters, sculptors, potters, weavers, woodcrafters and more
197. Our Commonwealth’s strikingly scenic horse farms
196. Frazier History Museum
195. Boone Tavern, Berea
194. Pine Mountain State Resort Park
193. Great hunting and fishing
192. Kentucky Downs
191. Ellis Park
190. Roebling Bridge
189. Old Louisville, America’s largest Victorian preservation district
188. Squinting to see the images of the champ hidden in the mural of the Muhammad Ali Center
187. My Old Kentucky Dinner Train
186. Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site
185. Stone fences
184. Kentucky Speedway
183. Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History
182. Devouring a Hot Brown at the historic Brown Hotel
181. Enjoying an ice-cold Ale-8-One, Kentucky’s own soft drink, bottled in Winchester for
90 years
180. Cave Hill National Cemetery, George Rogers Clark and Colonel Harland Sanders are among the notables whose final resting place is this stunningly beautiful setting
179. The fragrance of roasting peanuts wafting through the air from the Jif Plant near downtown Lexington
178. Hearing the story of 84-year-old Cassius Clay chasing away the family of his 15-year-old bride at White Hall State Historic Site
177. ROMPfest, Owensboro’s premier Bluegrass roots and branches music festival
176. Hummel Planetarium
175. Spotting brand new Thoroughbred foals with their moms in the fields beginning in early January
174. Benedictine
173. High Bridge
172. Kentucky Reptile Zoo
171. The sight of the Waddy-Peytona sign on I-64
170. Kentucky Derby Museum
169. Mill Springs Battlefield Visitors Center & Museum
168. Henry Bain sauce
167. Berea Pinnacles
166. Watching strangers to our Commonwealth weeping during the singing of “My Old Kentucky Home”
165. Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park, Nicholasville
164. Green River Lake State Park
163. Four distinct seasons—sometimes all in one day
162. Kentucky Music Hall of Fame in Renfro Valley
161. Churchill Downs
160. Salato Wildlife Reserve
159. Henry Clay’s Ashland Estate
158. American Saddlebred Museum
157. Watching your kids climbing in the Osage orange tree at Old Fort Harrod State Park
156. Historic Railpark and Train Museum
155. Country Music Highway
154. Aviation Museum of Kentucky
153. Mother Goose House, Hazard
152. Riverview at Hobson Grove
151. Behringer-Crawford Museum
150. Appalshop
149. Knowing the nation’s gold and possibly an alien or two are safe in the gold depository at Fort Knox
148. Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement
147. Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park
146. Mary Todd Lincoln House
145. Nattily dressed frat boys at Keeneland meets
144. The steam rising off freshly washed racehorses on the backside at Churchill Downs
143. Kentucky’s 12 Covered Bridges
142. The look on visitors’ faces when you drive them by the Castle between Lexington and Versailles
141. The Carnegie, Covington
140. Lexington Cemetery, especially in the spring
139. Red Mile Harness Track
138. Red River Gorge
137. Working off the effects of the mile-high merengue pie Patti’s 1880’s Settlement with a bike ride through the Land Between the Lakes
136. Maysville’s Kentucky Gateway Museum Center
135. Turfway Park
134. Big Bone Lick State Historic Site
133. Bluegrass Railway Museum
132. Scenic Hills of Eastern Kentucky
131. Louisville Mega Cavern
130. John James Audubon State Park
129. Dogwoods in the spring
128. Great American Dollhouse Museum
127. Vent Haven Museum
126. E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park
125. Kentucky wine
124. Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft
123. Wigwam Village
122. Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park
121. Lake Barkley State Resort Park
120. Portal 31 Mine Tour
119. Wondering why the Centre College football team no longer plays Harvard
118. Lexington Legends
117. Paducah Railroad Museum
116. Old Mulkey Meeting House State Historic Site
115. Kentucky Railroad Museum
114. Toyota Kentucky
113. Flying Saucer House, Covington
112. The view of Frankfort and the Capitol from Daniel Boone’s gravesite at the Frankfort Cemetery
111. Rolling land of the Bluegrass Region
110. Burgoo
109. Waveland State Historic Site
108. Cumberland Falls, one of only two places in the world where you can view a moonbow
107. Conrad-Caldwell House Museum
106. Louisville Waterfront Park
105. KFC, Creator and provider of the world’s most famous chicken
104. Derby Pie, Kern’s Kitchen’s delectable chocolatey, nutty concoction
103. Bluegrass Music, Genre of music developed in the Kentucky hills and derived from traditional Irish, Scottish and English tunes
102. The squeak of sneakers on the hardwood and the sound of a basketball going though a nylon net
101. Waverly Hills Sanitorium, Former tuberculosis hospital, shuttered in 1961 and alleged to be one of the most haunted places on earth
100. The comfort in knowing you’re never more than 10 miles from a Walmart and a few hundred yards from a Baptist Church
99. Although it’s discouraged, rubbing the foot of Abraham Lincoln’s statue in the Capitol Rotunda for good luck
98. Ruth Hunt Candy Company, Mt. Sterling-based producer of scrumptious bourbon balls and its exclusive Blue Mondays, among other tasty treats
97. The Kentucky Theater, Ornately designed and lovingly restored venue touted as a “palatial new photoplay house” when it opened in 1921, still showing movies today
96. Mammoth Cave, The world’s longest cave system and Kentucky’s only National Park
95. Mingua Brothers Beef Jerky, The purchase of a Ronco food dehydrator led to the creation of this premium beef jerky produced in Bourbon County
94. Kentucky Derby, The most exciting two minutes in sports
93. Louisville Slugger, The official bat of Major League Baseball, made by the same family that began producing bats in 1884
92. Feeling better during allergy season knowing that goldenrod is the state flower
91. Our native spirit: Bourbon, Kentucky’s signature adult beverage, beloved the world over
90. Speed Art Museum, Started from a private collection, the museum now houses the most extensive treasure trove of art in Kentucky
89. Kentucky Capitol, The classically designed structure housing our state’s government opened in 1910
88. A slaw burger, fries and a bottle of Ski at any one of Kentucky’s six remaining drive-ins
87. Natural Bridge State Resort Park, One of many examples in Kentucky of Mother Nature at her finest
86. Kentucky State Fair, First held in 1816, the entertainment and educational extravaganza attracts 600,000-plus attendees
85. Carter Caves State Resort Park
84. Kentucky Folk Art Center
83. Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site
82. Big South Fork Scenic Railroad
81. Fancy Farm Picnic
80. Lilley Cornett Woods
79. Jenny Wiley State Resort Park
78. Kentucky Museum, Bowling Green
77. Kentucky Horse Park
76. Fort Boonesborough State Park
75. Brown-Pusey House
74. Louisville Bats
73. The sun shining through the world’s largest hand-blown stained glass window, in Covington’s Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption
72. Kentucky barbecue
71. Keeneland
70. University of Kentucky Art Musuem
69. 76 Falls
68. Rupp Arena
67. House Made of Coal, Middlesboro
66. International Bluegrass Music Museum
65. Redbuds
64. The serenity of the Abbey of Gethsemani
63. Newport Aquarium
62. Meeting the eclectic mass of creative people at Penn’s Store on Kentucky Writers Day (Robert Penn Warren’s birthday)
61. Big Sandy Heritage Center
60. Kenlake State Resort Park
59. Wooden board fences
58. Rebecca Ruth Candies
57. Headley-Whitney Museum
56. Kentucky River Palisades
55. Enjoying outdoor theater in Danville or outdoor music in Bardstown
54. Kentuckians, the friendliest people on Earth
53. My Old Kentucky Home (Federal Hill)
52. Knowing that Paintville’s Chris Stapleton sings about Tennessee whiskey, because it’s harder to find a rhyme for “Kentucky bourbon”
51. MainStrasse Village
50. Lost River Cave
49. Owensboro Museum of Fine Art
48. Land Between the Lakes
47. Learning the history of why American horses run counterclockwise at a visit to William Whitley House State Historic Site
46. Intriguing signs such as “Welcome to Hartford, Home of 2,000 Happy People & a Few Soreheads”
45. Rabbit Hash General Store, Open since 1831, the store was ravaged by fire in February, but Rabbit Hash has vowed to rebuild
44. Bibb lettuce, A petite, delicate, premium lettuce variety first cultivated in Frankfort by John J. Bibb
43. Belle of Louisville, Constructed in 1914, the beloved Belle is the oldest operating steamboat in the country
42. Barn Quilts, Open air art is everywhere in the Bluegrass State
41. Thunder Over Louisville, The official start of the Kentucky Derby Festival and a fireworks/air show wonder to behold
40. Taking a selfie with the Colonel at the Harland Sanders Café and Museum or the Louisville International Airport
39. Gotta, Savory northern Kentucky specialty that pays homage to our German roots
38. ’Tis a gift to be simple at Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill
37. Beer cheese
36. Basketball fans—the most ardent in the world
35. Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center
34. Girls in dresses of UK blue at Commonwealth Stadium on a Saturday afternoon
33. Louisville Water Tower Park and the finest water in the world
32. Kentucky Military History Museum
31. KFC Yum! Center
30. “Kentucky Rain”
29. Kenton County Farm Tour
28. Lake Cumberland State Resort Park
27. Pennyroyal Area Museum
26. Kentucky’s motto: “United We Stand, Divided We Fall”
25. Knowing Rabbit Hash’s mayor is a dog
24. Daniel Boone statue at Eastern Kentucky University
23. Raven Run Nature Sanctuary
22. Devou Park in Covington
21. Interesting place names, such as Monkey’s Eyebrow and Possum Trot
20. The first time you hear “On, on, U of K” in the fall
19. Kentucky Coal Mining Museum
18. Wickland, Home of Three Governors
17. Floral Clock, Frankfort
16. Rosemary Clooney Museum in Augusta
15. New Madrid Bend
14. Kentucky agate
13. Kentucky craft beers
12. National Underground Railroad Museum
11. Kentucky’s awesome authors and magnificent musicians
10. The Louisville Palace Theater
9. The Gideon Shryock staircase in the Old State Capitol
8. South Union Shaker Village
7. The Florence Y’all water tower
6. National Quilt Museum in Paducah
5. The sight of blue, red and yellow Corvettes on the streets of Bowling Green
4. Feeling secure enough to build a Stonehenge replica in your yard, like the one in Munfordville, and not worry about being hauled away to the psych ward
3. Louisville Zoo, Features more than 1,500 animals and a mission to “Better the Bond Between People and Our Planet”
2. The previous 199 issues of Kentucky Monthly
1. It’s home!
