Bernheim Forest, Cumberland Falls & the Green River Valley

A 16,000-acre privately protected forest and arboretum in Clermont, KY — established in 1929 by Isaac Wolfe Bernheim, a Louisville bourbon magnate, as a gift to the people of Kentucky. The Forest Giants trail connects three large-scale sculptures by Danish artist Thomas Dambo built from reclaimed wood and hidden in the old-growth forest: Mama Lucky, Papa Timber, and Little Nis Nissen, each standing 15-20 feet tall among the trees. The arboretum's curated garden areas and the natural forest sections can fill an entire morning without repetition.

Use the afternoon to explore a different side of Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest — Forest Giants Trail — there's more to discover beyond the morning highlights.

A brief stop in Elizabethtown before the evening hotel — the Lincoln Heritage House preserves the log cabin where Thomas Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's father, built two of the earliest structures in the region. The town square has several dinner options within walking distance.

A comfortable overnight in Elizabethtown — centrally positioned between Bernheim (30 min north) and Cumberland Falls (50 min south). Tomorrow's drive to the falls is an easy morning start through the Knobs country south of town.

Cumberland Falls drops 68 feet across a 125-foot-wide curtain on the Cumberland River — often called the Niagara of the South for its volume and sheer face. One of only two places in the Western Hemisphere (the other being in South America) where a moonbow — a rainbow formed by moonlight — consistently appears on clear full-moon nights. The main overlook platform puts visitors directly in front of the falls; the mist is heavy enough to be felt on calm days.

A 2.0-mile round trip from the Cumberland Falls parking area downstream along the Cumberland River gorge to Eagle Falls — a 44-foot waterfall on a tributary creek that drops into a deep plunge pool accessible via stepping stones across the river. The trail crosses exposed riverbank bedrock and passes through old hemlock forest above the gorge. A natural complement to the main falls — quieter and less visited, with a different character.

Use the afternoon to explore a different side of Cumberland Falls — Main Overlook — there's more to discover beyond the morning highlights.

The state resort lodge at Cumberland Falls — a classic Kentucky state park lodge built in 1931 with a dining room overlooking the gorge. On full-moon nights, the moonbow appears from the observation deck near the lodge. The falls are lit for viewing after dark; staying in the park means you can watch the moonbow without a crowd.

The site of Lincoln's birth on February 12, 1809, in a one-room log cabin on the Sinking Spring Farm in LaRue County, Kentucky. The early 20th-century Memorial Building — a granite and marble neoclassical structure commissioned by a public fundraising campaign — houses the symbolic birth cabin. The Sinking Spring below the memorial supplied water to the Lincoln family; the surrounding farm has been preserved with original boundary trees. The site grounds and visitor center are quiet and take about 90 minutes.

The farm where Abraham Lincoln spent ages 2 through 7 — the Knob Creek farm on the Old Cumberland Road, 10 miles northeast of the birthplace. Lincoln later wrote that his earliest memories were from Knob Creek, where he watched boats on the creek and helped his father in the fields. The site preserves the original land with a reconstructed cabin and interprets the Lincoln family's daily life before they moved to Indiana. A brief stop — 30-45 minutes — between the birthplace and Hodgenville's town square lunch options.

The Hodgenville town square has a bronze statue of a seated young Lincoln — a quiet end to the Lincoln heritage circuit before the drive home. The square has a handful of lunch cafés; the drive back to Louisville on US-31E through the Knobs hills is straightforward and takes about an hour.