With an abundance of lakes, rivers and waterways, the Bluegrass state has scenic setting around almost every corner. Here are several destinations where meeting planners can take advantage of waterfront views and aquatic activities.
Newport
Founded in 1795, Newport sits at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking rivers. The city’s riverfront offers spectacular views of the Cincinnati skyline, and the Purple People Bridge allows visitors to easily walk between the two cities.
The area was once known for its mobsters and gambling halls. Today, visitors flock to Newport on the Levee, a mixed-use destination on the south bank of the Ohio River that offers dining, shopping and entertainment, including the Newport Aquarium and 200,000 square feet of community gathering space.
Visitors can learn more about the area’s history by taking a Newport Gangster walking tour that delves into the area’s scandalous past. Meeting groups can rent out the Newport Aquarium for after-hours events of up to 1,000 guests. The Shark Ray Bay Theater provides a wonderful backdrop for dining, dancing, food stations or presentations. Groups that rent space in the aquarium can add on special activities such as dive shows or animal encounters.
Meeting groups can book a dinner cruise on one of BB Riverboats’ three vessels or host an event at River’s Edge, an event center on the river that can accommodate up to 225 guests. Other meeting venues include MegaCorp Pavilion, a live music venue with indoor and outdoor spaces; Hofbrauhaus Newport, a German restaurant that can host private events; and Carnegie Hall at Newport. Top hotels include Aloft Newport on the Levee with 144 rooms, Fairfield Inn and Suites with 125 rooms, and Hampton Inn and Suites with 122 rooms.
Frankfort
The capital of Kentucky, Frankfort sits on an S-bend of the Kentucky River in the Kentucky River valley. Centrally located between Lexington and Louisville, Frankfort is an excellent location for meeting groups that want access to city amenities while also tapping into the great outdoors. Water lovers have their pick of marinas, boat rentals, swimming, fishing, kayaking and canoeing. Between late May and October, groups can rent out the Bourbon Belle riverboat for a two-hour narrated tour that gives the history of the river and its impact on the local bourbon industry. The boat can host groups of 45.
Cove Spring Park and Nature Preserve offers 240 acres of wetlands, streams, springs, waterfalls and forested ravines located at the northern city limits of Frankfort. In their free time, attendees can enjoy the preserve’s many walking and hiking trails and scenic overlooks.
The Capital Plaza Hotel Frankfort is the largest meeting hotel in the city, with 10,000 square feet of event space that can serve groups of up to 450. The Foundry on Broadway is a 4,500-square-foot event space with exposed brick walls and a wood beam ceiling that can host up to 200 guests. The Elizabeth Event Space and Garden is a decommissioned Catholic church turned event venue that also can host 200 for a wedding or event.
Frankfort has 864 guest rooms currently, with an additional 60 to 100 coming online in the next six months, including a Springhill Suites and two boutique hotels, the Delegate and the Ashbrook. Kentucky State University offers several meeting venues on campus, as well as a research farm on the outskirts of town with a large facility that can host groups of 500.
Grand Rivers
The village of Grand Rivers sits between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley at the north entrance to Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. The town itself is about two miles wide, and visitors can walk from one lake to the other. Grand Rivers is a golf cart community, meaning the only way to get around without walking is to rent a golf cart.
Green Turtle Bay Resort and Marina on Lake Barkley offer individual freestanding condo vacation homes from one to four bedrooms. On-site are a full-service spa, two restaurants, a boutique, a health club and boat rentals. Lighthouse Landing Resort and Marina on Kentucky Lake has one- to three-bedroom Kentucky Lake cottages, a marina that offers kayak and sailboat rentals, and sailboat cruises. There is a swimming beach, and both marinas have meeting space for 100 to 150 people with a lake view.
The Grand Rivers Community Center can hold up to 350 for meetings with a full A/V setup.
One of the top attractions in town is Patti’s 1880 Settlement, a restaurant that began in 1977. It can accommodate 400 people, which is larger than the village’s population. Patti’s Inn and Suites has 58 guest rooms. For fun, meeting attendees can visit the planetarium and Elk and Bison Prairie at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area or walk or bicycle along the lakes. The Badgett Playhouse offers live variety shows.
Corbin
Corbin and Laurel River Lake are in the Daniel Boone National Forest. The lake is one of the top attractions in the area, with its hidden coves and cliff-lined shore. Thousands of people visit the area for boating, fishing, water skiing and scuba diving.
The area is also home to Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, which features the largest waterfall south of Niagara Falls. Cumberland Falls is one of very few waterfalls that features a moonbow, or a rainbow created from the light of a full moon.
Colonel Harland Sanders founded his famous restaurant, Kentucky Fried Chicken, in Corbin. Back then it was called Sanders Cafe. Today, Sanders Cafe and Museum is a major tourist attraction in the city.
Corbin has more than 130,000 square feet of meeting space across seven venues. The Corbin Arena can seat up to 7,000 attendees. It also has a large meeting room. The Corbin Center features 19,744 square feet of space that can accommodate 691 guests. It has a large lobby and seven meeting rooms.
The Pennington, located in downtown Corbin, boasts 10,000 square feet of meeting space for 350. The Sheltowee Trace Adventure Resort is located five miles from Cumberland Falls and near Big South National River and Recreation area. It offers lodging, river adventures, riverboat cruises and land adventures. Cumberland Star Riverboat plies the headwaters of Lake Cumberland. Groups can charter it for breakfast, lunch or dinner cruises. Sightseeing cruises can be paired with rafting trips. Top hotels in the area include Holiday Inn Express and Suites Corbin and Hampton Inn Corbin.
Murray
Located in Calloway County, Murray is surrounded by the outdoors and is the largest community close to Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area and Kentucky Lake. Meeting planners can easily incorporate water activities, including canoeing, kayaking, sailing and paddleboarding, into their events.
Murray is known for its historic downtown, which used to be the place where residents traded livestock and goods, bought groceries, boarded the train or watched a movie. The court square is home to specialty shops, a coffee shop and a boutique grocery store. Rudy’s has been cooking homestyle meals for more than 80 years, and the Downtown Farmers Market, which takes place every Saturday from May to October, offers certified Kentucky Proud goods.
Meeting planners have their pick of seven hotels, a couple with meeting space. Springhill Suites Marriott Conference Center has 4,008 square feet of event space and 86 guest rooms.
The CFSB Center on the campus of Murray State University is a top meeting venue in the town, with several event spaces that can accommodate between 40 and 250 guests. The Dennis Jackson Racer Room at Roy Stewart Stadium can host up to 200. The Curris Center is MSU’s student union. The third floor of the facility has four meeting rooms that can seat up to 50 guests depending on the setup, as well as a theater that can seat 325. The ballroom can host 900 for a lecture and 800 for a banquet. It also can be divided into two smaller banquet rooms.
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