When most people talk about traveling to Kentucky to go site seeing or for a vacation places like Lexington, Louisville, Frankfort, Churchill Downs, and even Renfro Valley comes to mind. Most of Kentucky is known for horses and bluegrass music as well as shopping and the home of Daniel Boone. However, there are some really quirky and unique sites in Kentucky that visitors really should take the time to wander some back roads and go off the beaten track to see. Places like Pineville , KY, Rabbit Hash General Store, Vent Haven Museum, and Big Mike’s Mystery House are not well known to outsiders but these are great attractions for anyone visiting Kentucky should see.
Pineville, Kentucky has a lot of history behind the reason that traveler’s should see it. Pineville is home to the “Chained Rock”. The “Chained Rock” is a large boulder that looks as though it hangs over the town and could fall at any moment. In the 1930’s the townspeople thought that the rock would fall in the middle of the night and flatten the town so they used a 101 foot steam shovel chain to “secure” the rock and keep it from falling. The rock is still chained and there is a state park ( Pine Mountain State Resort Park) that offers a short, moderately strenuous trail up to the overlook. Admission to the overlook is free and open from dusk to dark. If you are driving through Pineville during the day and know about where to look you can see the “Chained Rock” from the road below. The rock is really not dangerous as it is part of the cliff’s face and just gives the illusion that it is “dangling” over the town. Another interesting thing about Pineville is that the entire town is surrounded by a wall and has flood gates at both ends of town that can be closed in case of an emergency flood.
Vent Haven Museum is located in Fort Mitchell, Ky and open by appointment. Inside the museum you will find 750 figures used by ventriloquists along with other memorabilia. Most people do not realize that there is even such a museum and that is why this museum is so unique and a must see if you are in the area. Admission to the museum is $5.00 and the tourist season is from May 1- September 30. If you are there in July, you might even witness a ventriloquist convention taking place on the grounds.
The Rabbit Hash General Store is off of Interstate 75 at exit 78. This store has been a working general store since 1831 and finds that visitors are always stopping in to see the historic store and buy sorghum, homemade syrup and other items as they find many locals here too. Most of the locals will be around the wood-burning stove talking about life in the town of Rabbit Hash. Think of the mercantile owned by The Olsen’s on “Little House on the Prairie” and you will know what the Rabbit Hash General Store is. The country roads around this area of Kentucky make for some beautiful road trips and it is nice to have the store here for visitors to stop in.
The final stop is in a town that is a little more well-known than some of the others, but the actual attraction isn’t. Located in Cave City, KY is Big Mike’s Mystery House. It is a fun house that a family can visit for $1 or less. There are 4 rooms of tilting floors and kooky mirrors. It is a crazy house for adults and children and even though it only takes about 15 minutes to tour the entire house, it provides the children with memories that they may never forget. Admission is 50 cents for kids and $1 for adults.
Make sure that the next trip that you take to or through Kentucky, you take some back roads and see some of these quirky, off beat attractions. You and your family will enjoy them and they will make for a memorable trip.
