Surrounded by buffalo close enough for me to touch, I felt like I had entered the Wild West instead of Land Between The Lakes, an 170,000 acre national recreation area in western Kentucky. Our day began with a driving tour of the Elk and Bison Prairie. We had been informed the best time to visit to find the animals active was early in the morning or at dusk. We were informed correctly because as we rounded a curve what seemed to be the entire herd stood in the middle of the road. We would probably still be waiting for them to move out of the road, but a park worker came by and told us we could drive through the herd if we went very slowly. I couldn’t believe how close we were to the buffalo! The elk were more elusive; standing far from us in the middle of a field.
We continued our animal exploration at the Woodlands Nature Station, where we observed native gardens and animals. As we entered the building one of the workers asked if we wanted to watch as he feed the red wolves. “Since we are having a heat wave I like to give them a treat. It’s ice cream day!” Having been outside in the heat myself, I asked if we were allowed to share the ice cream. “It’s rat flavored!” he said. I quickly declined any tempting treats and watched the happy wolves devour their ratsicles. John stayed to chat with the visitors, giving indepth information about the wolf species and answering any questions we had about the wildlife area.
Our next stop was at the Homeplace, a living history exhibit of life the way settlers would have lived in the 1850’s. Our first stop was at the kitchens where two reinactors had just finished making a walnut cake “because walnuts were in season and that’s what they would have used in the 1850’s.” They graciously offered us a piece and we quickly accepted. I brought the recipe home and plan to make it in my own kitchen. Naturally we could not miss an opportunity to stop by the tool barn and ask the farmers about the sheep grazing in the pasture. It turns out they have all hertiage breeds at the Homeplace, including two of the biggest oxen I have ever seen!
We ended our day with a stroll through the Golden Pond Visitor’s Center and a visit to the Golden Pond Planetarium. We were treated to a National Geographic film about extreme weather on other planets and then shown a panarama of the night’s sky. Our host pointed out planets and constellations visible that evening, along with tips on how to locate them. Even though it was cloudly that night, after my lesson I stood outside and found Saturn and Mars. I felt extremely accomplished with myself!
With over 500 miles of trails, 300 miles of undeveloped shoreline and 200 miles of paved roads, I could have spent days exploring Land Between the Lakes! The scenery is amazing and, although the attractions have a nominal fee, most of the park is free. This is one area that has made my bucket list to visit again!
You can learn more by visiting the Land Between the Lakes website.
I received complementary admission to the Land Between the Lakes attractions, but, as always, all opinions are my own.
What beautiful pictures. I woiuld love to see some buffalo roam.
What beautiful pictures! I think that would be a lovely place to visit.
This looks like a great place to visit. My two year old would love it. She love buffalo!
Wow, that looks beautiful. Definitely a place to go to if you want to escape.
How beautiful! LOVE your photos especially the owl. Thanks for sharing.
What an awesome trip! I love the pictures you shared. 🙂
That is soo cool! What an awesome adventure.
Looks like a fun place to visit for families! My son would have loved all the wild life
walnut cake sounds really good. I hope you share that recipe
Great photos, it’s amazing being that close to wild animals!
I have been there many times. Love the old homeplace! Did you happen to make it down to Patty’s restaurant? It is not to far down from there and a great little place to eat. Although we live in East TN now my parents still live in the area.
We did make it down to Patty’s and also stayed at the owner’s B&B. It was wonderful!
It looks very peaceful there. You got some great photos!
I didn’t realize Kentucky had bison and elk. It looks like a beautiful area and full of history makes me want to visit now.
Walnut cake sounds really good. Have a you had a chance to try the recipe yet? I bet it is good!
That looks like a wonderful place to visit. I would love to be that close to nature.
My girls would have so much fun going to something like this! It would be so much fun all while learning.
My kids would have so much fun. And there are so many things to learn
Wow it is beautiful. It looks like such a great place to be close to nature and animals.
I love places like this, they are so educational. The history is amazing.
What a wonderful experience. I would love to talk my family there- my kids would love to see the wildlife so close up.
I love going to places like that – and the kids enjoy it too. It’s so much fun to see the animals up close.
Looks like a great adventure, This looks so nice.
This looks like a really beautiful place to visit. I will have to remember it if I ever make it to western Kentucky.
So unbelievable for a free park!! Rat flavored ice cream? Was he joking or was it really filled with meat?
It was actually frozen rats. Since it was frozen they called it “ice cream” for the wolves.
What a great place to visit. I love the old cabins.
It looks so peaceful. I’d love to disconnect and spend a weekend there!
Wow, beautiful photos! Looks like a very wonderful place, I love going to places like this, especially with the kids because mine are huge animal and nature lovers and get such a kick out of it!
Land Between the Lakes looks like so much fun. My daughter would absolutely love seeing the buffalo.
What a fun place! It looks like a great place to explore and learn as a family.
I grew up on a farm so scenes like these are so special! I really would love to live on a large farm like this now too!
The Elk and Bison prairie looks so great. I think bison are super cool. They’re so huge!
Golden Pond looks like so much fun. The buffalo and the oxen look super cool. I also love all the buildings and the terrain. It’s really beautiful.
Golden Pond looks like a blast. I love all the buildings, and the animals look really cool.
I love visiting places like this. That is so crazy you were so close you could have reached out and touched them! We have buffalo here in Kansas, and they are so neat to see!
Wow, what beauty, I’d love to see the panarama of the nights skiy! I bet the air out there is just wonderful too!
i would love to spend a week camping like this!! so much beauty and simplicity!
Pretty sure I’ve never seen a buffalo in person. I’ve eaten a bison burger though which was delish!
Oh I would love to travel there! I didn’t know buffalo were anywhere other than Yellowstone! That’s awesome to see them there. The whole place looks amazing!
Woah, that is one big buffalo. I’ve never seen one IRL before, but he looks monstrous! What a great place to visit.
Oh my goodness, how awesome… and with so many trails and such there is always new roads to travel… love it
This looks like a great place to visit. We have a drive thru wildlife safari here that the kids love!
I love visiting places like this. I’ll have to visit here with my amily.
What a pretty location and the animals are so beautiful. It must have been neat to be so close.
Wow what a beautiful place. I think my kids would love being able to see such animals – we live in Southern CA so no buffalo roaming on the freeways 😉
Buffalo always amaze me! We saw some on our road trip this year in South Dakota!
Your photos are beautiful. I love seeing buffalo/bison roam freely. And we have a place where we can see elk (in the national forest, no less.) It’s amazing to see him in their true habitats!
You got some awesome pictures! I’d be scared standing that close to a buffalo!
Oh wow that looks like such a beautiful place to visit! I have never seen a buffalo but would love to! They look amazing in pictures, can’t imagine in real life!
It’s fun to see animals up close like this. We saw buffalo on our trip to Yellowstone last summer.
Wow, this place looks beautiful! I would love to see a real life buffalo.
That must have been so weird to drive through the herd, even if you were going slowly. As for the ratsicles, nas-tay.
Absolutely beautiful! We see buffalo when we visit my family out in Colorado. Everyone else thinks they are dirty animals, but I think they are curious creatures, they intrigue me!
They are VERY cool. We have them at all the zoos around here and they are truly amazing animals.
That looks like a neat place to visit. My kids love seeing animals like this!!
This looks like a great place to visit. I thought that you were out west when I first glanced at the photos, but was surprised that this was in western KY. I had no idea that there was anything like this in the area. What a cool place! I need to take a road trip here sometime.