From beautiful caves and rugged mountains to rushing waterfalls and historic sites, Kentucky State Resort Parks offer meeting planners a perfect opportunity to get out of the city and enjoy all nature has to offer. Here are five state parks that can host meetings set in beautiful natural surroundings.
Pine Mountain State Resort Park
Pineville
Overlooking the Kentucky Ridge State Forest, Pine Mountain State Resort Park is Kentucky’s first state park, founded in 1924. The park is an outdoor enthusiast’s dream with 10 different trails to choose from that take visitors to beautiful vistas, across rocky mountain terrain, past a beautiful natural sandstone rock shelter called Longhunter Cave and through large-leaved magnolia trees, tulip poplars, rhododendron and mountain laurel.
Groups can visit the park’s Laurel Cove Amphitheater, hike Chained Rock Trail, enjoy a meal or beverage at Mountain View Restaurant or Mountain Top Tavern, play the nine-hole miniature golf course, swim in the pool or play 18 holes of championship golf at Wasioto Winds Golf Course. Birding is also a popular activity in the area because the Cumberland Plateau is home to bird species that aren’t found anywhere else in Kentucky, including breeding warblers, ruffed grouse and ravens.
Herndon J. Evans Lodge has 30 rooms with either private patios or balconies to enjoy the mountain scenery. The park also has 11 cottages and nine cabins available.
The C.V. Whitney Convention Center offers 3,900 square feet of meeting space that can host groups of up to 250 for a banquet or 300 for a reception. Three smaller rooms can accommodate between 75 and 125 guests for a banquet. Smaller meeting groups of 20 to 25 people can reserve the Sassafras Dining Room or Hemlock Meeting Room for meetings or dinners.
Laurel Cove Amphitheater is also available for rent for large gatherings or public performances.
Lake Cumberland State Resort Park
Jamestown
Lake Cumberland State Resort Park is a prime boating and fishing destination. The reservoir is considered the houseboat capital of the world, with the largest fleet of rental houseboats in the country. The marina has 100 open boat slips, rental fishing boats, pontoon boats, houseboats and ski boats.
The lake’s shoreline measures 1,255 miles, and the water covers 65,530 acres, providing plenty of opportunity for visitors to explore the many wooded coves and rocky cliffs ringing the reservoir. On land, groups can explore 7 miles of hiking trails.
The 63-room Lure Lodge overlooks the lake, and there are 29 cottages and 75 campsites available. The lodge has five meeting rooms that can host groups of 10 to 280. The activity center offers 3,397 square feet of meeting space that can accommodate 200 for a banquet or 230 theater style. Three smaller meeting rooms make great spots for breakout sessions, and the patio, which is 1,659 square feet, can host 100 for a dinner.
Pumpkin Creek Lodge works well for smaller gatherings or executive retreats. It has 13 lodge rooms and four meeting spaces that can accommodate groups of up to 60 for a banquet.
For fun, attendees can take advantage of the swimming pool and game room or play a round of disc golf or miniature golf. Rowena Landing Restaurant is lakeside, offering scenic views of the reservoir.
Carter Caves State Resort Park
Olive Hill
Carter Caves State Resort Park is an area with the highest concentration of caves in Kentucky. Groups hosting events at the park can organize a tour or flashlight tour of Cascade Cave or X-Cave, take a self-guided tour of the Horn Hollow Cave System or hike through the park to take in its rich geological beauty. Groups can also take walking tours of Saltpeter Cave.
Carter Caves features 33 miles of nature trails that take visitors past natural bridges, arches, caves, sinkholes, cliffs and a box canyon. There are 15 miles of multiuse trails for horseback riders, hikers and mountain bikers.
Lewis Caveland Lodge offers 28 guest rooms with private balconies or patios overlooking the surrounding woods. The park also has cottages and a campground that is open year-round.
The resort has an 18-hole miniature golf course, and groups can rent kayaks, paddleboards or canoes to paddle on the 45-acre Smoky Lake or nearby Tygarts Creek. Those who love to fish can purchase a fishing license at the front desk of the lodge and angle for largemouth bass, bluegill, catfish and crappie. The resort provides fishing equipment for those who are interested.
The resort has three meeting rooms that can accommodate groups of up to 320 theater style and 225 for a banquet. Tierney’s Cavern Restaurant sources all its meat and produce locally when available.
Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
Corbin
Cumberland Falls State Resort Park is home to Cumberland Falls, a large curtain waterfall on the Cumberland River that measures 125 feet wide and 68 feet tall. The pounding sheet of water pours into the river gorge below at 3,600 cubic feet of water per second. Considered the “Niagara of the South,” Cumberland Falls is also known as the only waterfall in the Western Hemisphere where moonbows appear during a full moon. The rainbow phenomenon is caused by the moon’s light hitting the mist from the falls. The 10.8-mile Moonbow Trail offers the best opportunity to witness the nighttime rainbow.
Groups visiting the park can tour the 1937 Pinnacle Knob Fire Tower with a naturalist, hike the Eagle Falls Trail, gem mine for gemstones and fossils, or take a guided 45-minute horseback ride through the surrounding forest. Guided rafting and canoe trips are also seasonally available on the Cumberland River.
The historic DuPont Lodge features solid hemlock beams, knotty pine paneling and a large stone fireplace. It has 51 guest rooms with beautiful views, a large observation deck overlooking the Cumberland River, 25 cabins and cottages, and 49 campsites.
The lodge has a multipurpose building adjacent to it that is perfect for meetings and can host groups of up to 350. Two smaller meeting spaces can accommodate groups of 75 and 30, respectively.
Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park
Carlisle
Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park is in northeastern Kentucky, about an hour from Lexington. The park celebrates the region’s pioneer, prehistoric and Native American history, along with the area’s natural beauty.
Meeting planners wanting to host events at the park have their pick of 32 guest rooms with full amenities, including two suites that can be used as a hospitality center for meetings and family reunions. There are also two, two-bedroom executive cottages available right on the Licking River. The resort is open year-round.
The resort has three meeting rooms that can host groups of up to 300. The Arlington Room features ample windows and wood beams and is next to the Hidden Waters Restaurant. The Daniel Boone Room has a stone fireplace and a private patio with scenic views of the woods. The Pavilion Room is next to the Daniel Boone Room.
Groups visiting the park can participate in team-building activities, like playing a round of miniature golf, hiking the park’s 5 miles of trails, canoeing on the Licking River or taking part in planned recreation and naturalist activities. The 2-mile Heritage Trail gives visitors a taste of what the area was like during prehistoric times. It takes hikers through a nature reserve and a reconstructed trade fort that was known to be in the area as early as 1784.
