Lake Cumberland Kentucky - Accent on Tampa Bay Magazine

On and Around
Lake Cumberland, Kentucky
Photos by Melissa unless otherwise noted
W
hen it was suggested we experience
houseboating on a lake in Kentucky, we
were thinking along the lines of, maybe, a step up
from the African Queen. Being game souls, we
packed our high-water boots and mosquito
repellent and headed up to Lake Cumberland, KY.
Were we ever in for a big surprise.
W
e flew from Tampa into Memphis by
Northwest Airlines, and on to
Lexington, where we had a 2 hour drive to
Lake Cumberland. Lexington Blue Grass
Airport is located smack dab in the middle
of gorgeous horse country, so the ride from
the airport is quite pleasant — very tranquil
and bucolic.
Grider Hill Dock and Indian Creek
Lodge are located on the west side of the
huge lake. The lodge is very rustic, having
been built in the 50’s as “fishing resort,” by
Bruce Sloan. In the design of the place, he
used native stone and wood mined and cut
from his own land, and an architectural nod
to Frank Lloyd Wright. Set on a hill, guests
have a panoramic view of the lake and
dock below.
Grider Hill Dock has 700 boat slips,
and has primarily a summer houseboat
rental business, but September is also quite
busy. They have 4 different sizes of rental
houseboats with different sophistications.
We stayed a few nights in the lodge
and enjoyed some really good home cooking with fresh fish caught by some of the
guests and served in the dining room
nightly.
Houseboat at Grider Dock
B
Picturesque barns dot the landscape
L
ake Cumberland is considered the houseboat capital of the world — Over 1,500
and counting. Since the lake is over 100 miles
long and 1 mile across at its widest point, you
don’t see that many watercraft once you’re
underway. The marinas are quite full of them,
however, which gives rise to a community
of friendly boaters and a relaxed lifestyle.
Starting out in the 1950s as a floating
cabin for weekend fishermen, houseboating has blossomed into a luxurious way
of life for some, and an incredible vacation for others. You can find houseboats
ranging in price from about $25,000 to
well over $1M — not an African Queen
to be found anywhere. Indeed, many are
like lavish condos on the water with over
2,000 square feet of living space and
posh amenities such as big-screen TVs,
fireplaces, hottubs, etc.
oaters can dock anywhere on Lake
Cumberland except by the dam. The
dam was built in 1952, and the lake was
created off the Cumberland River. It is the
biggest flood control project east of
Mississippi. The dam controls the height of
the river to control the floods during different times of the year, and can fluctuate 88
feet total. You can see the lines of the large
variant of water levels on the rocks along
the lake. The lake is surprisingly deep,
averaging around 150 feet, which may be
responsible for some great fishing. Indeed,
the lake is stocked with striper, crappie,
smallmouth and walleye. It is not uncommon to pull in a 30 lb. striper. There are no
fishing restrictions, but a license is needed
for 16 years or older.
We took a late afternoon houseboat
cruise along the lake and relaxed on the
upper deck, taking in the gorgeous vistas,
waterfalls and many secluded coves along
the way.
T
his area of Kentucky (Southeast) is not just about the lake and river,
there is history to explore and local culture to absorb as well.
We enjoyed touring the Metcalfe County area and photographing
some of the interesting old barns sprinkled around. They are distinctive,
different and definitely picturesque. Even today, building plans for barns
are ones that have been handed down by previous generations.
T
he only state park dedicated to a religious group can be found in
Tompkinsville, home of
the Old Mulkey Meeting
House. John Mulkey was a
preacher in the late 1700s, and
held services in peoples’
homes. Eventually this simple
church was built in 1804, and
is still used for weddings and
funerals. It has 12 corners to
acknowledge the 12 apostles.
The oldest building of it’s type
Old Mulkey Meeting House built in 1804.
in the state, it was built with
poplar wood, and apparently,
insects don’t seem to like it, so it’s still in very good shape. Daniel
Boone’s sister Sarah is buried in the old cemetery on the grounds.
A
bit of Americana you’d be hard pressed to find very easily elsewhere is the Marble Super Dome in Tompkinsville. When we went
there, we expected to see a dome. Made out of marble. Instead, we
found a slightly ramshackle building affectionately called the Marble
Super Dome. This is where grown men play a serious game of marbles.
They even have international competitions. It is a “Gentleman’s Game” — no
money awards. Rolley-hole is a game
that requires skill and teamwork,
crouching on the dirt floor, and trying to
get the marbles into holes in sequence.
The moves are similar to croquet, and
the hand-made marbles are flint or granite. It seems to be a dying sport as there
are only 20 members now, where there
used to be 60 years ago. The core group
shows up at 4:00 PM every day, and
twice on Sunday. The Marble Dome
group are proud of being crowned
Handmade
world champions in England in 1990
marbles used
against 26 other countries.
at the Marble
Along with the Super Dome,
Super Dome.
Tompkinsville is known for it’s
Barbecue restaurants. We tried out
Backyard Bar-Be-Q, which was downhome delicious. The restaurant is so popular (and portions so generous)
it goes through 1,600 lbs. of pork shoulder a week.
W
e took a short ferry ride (really short — about 2 minutes) across
the river from Tompkinsville, and drove to Dale Hollow State
Resort Park, a 3,400 acre park with a 10 years-new lodge, campgrounds,
golf course and a marina (yes, houseboats too). The surrounding oak and
maple forest is home to the bald eagle, whitetail deer, bobcat and black
bear. Campers can bring their own horses and use the great horse trails.
View from Dale Hollow State Resort
O
f course Kentucky is synonymous with coal mining, so checking
out of the Grider Hill Lodge, we drove to Sterns (an early 1900’s
“company town”) to catch the Big South Fork Railway train for a scenic
ride through the gorge of the Big South Fork National Park to the Blue
Heron Historic Outdoor Museum. We enjoyed a “coal miner’s
lunch” when we arrived at the museum, as part of the visitor’s
experience. At the museum, the stories of
Scenic train ride through
the coal miners lives are told through
“ghost structures” (open air pavilions with Big South Fork Gorge.
glass cases containing artifacts) and
recorded voices of real people relaying
their memories of what coal mining life
was like long ago. The structures use the
same footprint as the original, and the
unique presentations make the stories
really come alive. There are 122,000 acres
in the Big South Fork Park, and several
hundred miles of hiking and riding trails.
Eighty miles of navigable white water river
appeals to canoeists and rafters.
I
t was time for us to check into our houseboat at Burnside Marina on
the east end of Lake Cumberland. It turned out to be a very modern,
spacious and well-appointed boat. Since houseboats accommodate up to
15 or more people, it’s very common to split the cost of a houseboat
vacation up between multiple families or groups. Since it was just the
two of us on our 64’ houseboat, we had almost too much space.
In the afternoon, a group of us took a leisurely cruise along the lake
and learned how easy it is to navigate these boats. It is hard to imagine
sea-sickness ever playing a part in houseboating on the lake — it is such
a smooth ride. We returned to the dock and enjoyed a dinner prepared in
the fully-equipped full size kitchen. Our first night aboard the boat was
delightful — the beds are comfortable and bathrooms are bigger than
our experiences on large cruise ships. With complete AC and heat, you
can create your own comfortable temperature, or just throw open the
doors and windows for some lovely fresh air.
T
he “Niagara Falls of the South” is
located in Cumberland Falls State,
about an hour’s ride from the marina.
Second only to Niagara in water flow east
of the Rockies, Cumberland Falls is magnificent and powerful. The falls are 68 feet
high and 125 feet across, with an average
flow of about 3,400 cubic feet per second.
And it is the only place in the Western
Hemisphere where you can see a “moonbow” under a full moon and clear sky.
There are also good hiking trails to several
falls in the park.
Sheltowee Trace Outfitters provides
rafts for a close encounter with the falls,
paddling from the beach below up into the
mist and back again. We found it exhilarat-
Magnificent Cumberland Falls
Over 6,000 travel related videos to the world
Great resource for vacation planning
1-800-288-5123
on Tampa Bay
They even advertise events for campers with horses. There are caves
and waterfalls in the park as well. As a matter of fact, KY has the largest
known cave system in the world.
Roomy kitchen/dining area on the houseboat.
Please visit our website and get started on your travel plans!
on Tampa Bay
ing (and wet)! You can really feel the true
power of the falls when you’re right next to
them. Sheltowee is an “adventure provider”
and will take folks canoeing, whitewater rafting, riverboating and more.
T
he Civil War was particularly devastating
for Kentucky, since it’s sympathies were
split down the middle and literally tore families apart — brother against brother, father
against son. A visit to the Mill Springs
Battlefield in Nancy, KY, brings it’s tragic history to life. It was called the Battle of Fishing
Creek to southerners, and the Battle of Mill
Spring to northerners. Whatever it’s title, the
hotly contested 1862 battle became a Union
victory and the beginning of the end for the
Confederates. Fifty Union soldiers and their
wives are buried in the cemetery, and 150
Confederates are buried in a mass grave. The
Mill Springs Battlefield Association has monuments dedicated to the valor of both sides. A
Battle of Mill Springs reenactment is planned
for the weekend of September 29-30, 2007 in
Nancy. Visit their website below for more
information.
Photo courtesy of
Chris Ramsey
Y
ou will see lots of arts and crafts by
Kentucky artisans throughout the state,
but one of the most interesting has to be worldclass woodturner, Chris “Knot-Head” Ramsey.
He creates the most amazing pieces of art from
single pieces of wood. Best known for his hats,
he also designs wonderful bowls and vases. He
uses the knots and
natural grain of the
wood to dictate his
design. The hats
are what really set
him apart, though.
They are real hats
made to be worn,
Chris Ramsey’s wood hat.
and are surprisingly lightweight and comfortable. President
Bush was gifted with one, and was so
impressed he ordered more as gifts for other
people. Chris has a list of celebrities waiting
for one of his special order hats. Custom hats
run $600 and up. Chris also makes a “mini” hat
as an art piece, which we snapped up for $100.
Some of his pieces are in the 5 figure range.
Have a look at his website (listed below) to see
his incredible and unique work.
R
estaurants in Kentucky tend to be more
“Mom & Pop” than chains, so the food is
mostly good ol’ country home cooking.
Kentucky is dry, so the big chains aren’t interested in setting up shop when they can’t sell
liquor. Around 30% of a restaurant’s profits
come from sales of alcohol, that’s why family
owned restaurants are being pushed out by
chains everywhere else.
The Harbor Restaurant at Lee’s Ford
Marina Resort in Nancy is known for their
tasty crabcakes and fresh fish dinners. We
enjoyed dining there and the picturesque view
of Lake Cumberland before heading back to
our houseboat.
The next morning we opted for breakfast at
Amon’s Sugar Shack in Somerset, as we just
had to try some
of their homemade donuts
(over 70 varieThe best donuts are ties)! In busiat Sugar Shack! ness since 1951,
they were
named for having one of the top 5 Best Donuts
in the country. They lived up to their reputation
— we even got some to go.
O
n our return trip to Blue Grass Airport, we
stopped at the Kentucky Music Hall of
Fame in Renfro Valley. The museum is dedicated to the many singers and musicians that
hailed from Kentucky. The list is impressive to
say the least — over 300 significant artists.
The exhibits range from old artifacts to memorabilia of today’s artists, with some interactive
exhibits as well.
Bill Monroe is the acknowledged founder
of Blue Grass music.” My Kentucky Bluegrass
Home” written by Monroe, was covered by
Elvis Presley and also Paul McCartney. When
asked how he felt about Paul doing his song,
he asked, “who did he play with?” Answer
“The Beatles”. He said “I’ve heard of them.”
Bluegrass developed out of Celtic
music and Delta blues.
It has improvisation,
which was missing in
old time country music.
It was started around
the 1920’s when jazz
and classical musicians
passing along on riverboats influenced the
local music styles.
N
ext door to the KY
Music Hall of Fame is the BitterSweet
Cabin Museum, which we found very interesting. Its a little enclave of different original
Kentucky cabins that have been moved there
from surrounding counties. It’s a self-guided
tour and covers Kentucky history with furnishings, tools and artifacts dating back to the
1700s.
It is often assumed that the log cabin was
the home of America’s first settlers from
Europe, but, in
Peek into the life of early
fact, these set- Kentuckians at the BitterSweet
tlers built
Cabin Museum.
houses in
styles of their
homeland. The
first known
log cabins in
America were
built by the
Swedes in
1638, since
they had been used in Scandinavian countries
since 800 A.D. As the frontier advanced southward and westward the log cabin was recognized as the perfect structure for settlers.
W
ith the rapid homogenization of our
USA, true Americana is disappearing.
Take the family to Kentucky, rent a houseboat,
kick back and get in touch with our great land
and history. The kids will think it’s the best
vacation they ever had, and you will have
some meaningful family time. You might even
catch one of those 30 lb. stripers.
If You Go...
- 606-678-4392
- 270-487-9271.
- 423-569-9778;
www.nps.gov
- 606376-5330; www.bsfsry.com
- 800-2526685;
www.rockcastlecokytourism.com
- 606-561-4223;
www.burnsidemarina.com
- 606-6772466; www.knot-head.com
606-528-4121; http://parks.ky.gov
- 270433-7431;
www.dalehollowlakepark.com
on Tampa Bay
KY Music Hall of
Fame displays The
Judds memorabilia.
- 606-387-5501; www.griderhilldock.com
- 606-636-6426
- 877356-3263;
www.KyMusicHallofFame.com
- 270-487-1314
- 270-432-3222;
www.metcalfechamber.com
- 606679-1859; www.millsprings.net
- www.nwa.com
- 270-487-8481; www.oldmulkeymeetinghouse.com
- 800-5417238; www.ky-rafting.com
- 877-TOUR-SEKY; www.tourseky.com