Our View: With highway map, enjoy Kentucky ‘staycation’

With spring break just around the corner and summer on its heels, many Kentuckians will be exploring their options for vacation during the warmer months.

While everyone deserves a little getaway, and there’s nothing quit like experiencing new exciting places, we encourage you to do some exploring of the Bluegrass State as well.

With a new highway map released by the state, you can learn about the various tourism draws right here in your home state.

“The 2018-2019 Kentucky Official Highway Map – now available at rest areas, welcome centers, local convention and tourism offices and all Kentucky state parks – invites travelers to create memories as they navigate along Kentucky’s highways, byways and parkways,” according to a release issued Monday.

There are sites for history buffs, foodies, outdoorsmen, and more.

“For the avid history buff, discover Kentucky’s remarkable African-American heritage: Maysville’s National Underground Railroad Museum, Nicholasville’s Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park, LaGrange’s Oldham County History Center, Louisville’s Muhammad Ali Center, Russellville’s West Kentucky African American Heritage Center and Paducah’s Hotel Metropolitan,” the release states.

And those seeking some of Kentucky’s heavenly tastes can try the award-winning barbecue in Western Kentucky, the iconic hot brown at Louisville’s Brown Hotel, visit the Sugar and Spice Trail in Northern Kentucky or discover small-batch, high-quality beer on Lexington’s Brewgrass Trail. But, don’t forget to “delight in a regional appetizer — beer cheese —made famous in the 1940s” right here in Winchester.

If that isn’t enough, take a trip some of Kentucky’s music events featured in the map: Owensboro’s Bluegrass Roots and Branches Music Festival, Louisville’s Forecastle Festival, Somerset’s Master Musicians Festival, Henderson’s WC Handy Blues Festival and Bardstown’s Stephen Foster Story outdoor musical.

And that’s not all.

Find the complete map or download an electronic version at transportation.ky.gov/Planning/Pages/Official-Highway-Map.aspx.

Kentucky has so much to offer.

Gov. Matt Bevin said it best in his welcome message included with the map: “When Daniel Boone blazed his first Kentucky trail over two centuries ago, he marveled, ‘Heaven must be a Kentucky kind of place.’ We welcome and invite you to experience the boundless beauty of the Bluegrass, our piece of heaven.”

Make sure to fit a little slice of Kentucky “heaven” into your travel plans this summer.

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