Taking a Road Trip on U.S. 27

Taking a Road Trip on U.S. 27

As country troubadour Willie Nelson croons, “It’s time to get on the road again.” Whether it’s making music (and memories) with your friends…or family…or both…or just enjoying a solo adventure, the backroads of Kentucky’s Bluegrass Region make for a perfect detour.  Prepare a picnic basket containing the best of the Bluegrass – Jif’s peanut butter (Lexington), Mingua Beef Jerky (Bourbon County), Beer Cheese (Clark County) and Blue Monday candy bars (they originated at Ruth Hunt Candies in Mount Sterling, but that’s almost the Bluegrass Region), all washed down by Ale-8 (Clark County).

Put together your perfect Kentucky playlist. For those who love pop, there’s Kentucky Rain (Elvis Presley) and Kentucky Woman (Neil Diamond). More into country? No problem. How about Blue Moon of Kentucky (Bill Monroe), Kentucky Gambler (Dolly Parton) and Blue Kentucky Girl (Emmylou Harris). Maybe John Prine’s version of My Old Kentucky Home, Goodnight (we bet even Stephen Foster would approve). And while Kentucky isn’t in the name of any of their songs, just for fun throw in a tune by the Kentucky Headhunters.

Finally, pack your swimsuit, sunscreen and beach towel as there’s water awaiting you on this drive. Buckle up – you’re ready to hit the road….the road being U.S. 27. Originally designed as a tourism-focused highway running from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Miami, Florida, it was officially designated as such in 1926. A portion of that highway takes you right through the beautiful Bluegrass Region.

Traveling U.S. Highway 27 (Fayette County, Jessamine County, Garrard County, Lincoln County, with detour to Woodford County)

Before heading south out of Lexington on U.S. 27, stop at one of the city’s historic homes.  Often overlooked by those opting for Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate and the Mary Todd Lincoln House, Waveland State Historic Site is well worth a visit.

The 10-room mansion was built in 1848 by a grandnephew of Daniel Boone. Considered to be among the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in Kentucky, its features include a portico with Ionic columns and the main doorway topped by a frieze that is a copy of the north entrance to the Erechtheum on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Lovers of grand architecture should take note that this symmetrical style was popular in Kentucky in the years leading up to the Civil War. 

Waveland exemplifies plantation life in the commonwealth during the antebellum period with its 15 acres of farmland and meticulously restored outbuildings. Guided tours allow visitors entry to the mansion and the outbuildings: slave quarters and fireplace kitchen, icehouse and smokehouse, along with two formal gardens and a quarter-mile walking trail.  Every Tuesday the mansion hosts a traditional tea (reservations required).

If you are so inclined, you can take that basket of goodies you stocked up on and enjoy a picnic on the grounds.

Crossing from Fayette County to Jessamine County, U.S. 27 skirts the dramatic palisades of the Kentucky River. If you want a good look at the palisades, take the winding road up to High Bridge, which has the distinction of being the first cantilever bridge built on the American continent.

Rising 275 feet above the Kentucky River and connecting Jessamine County to Mercer County, High Bridge lived up to its name as it was the highest railroad trestle in the world at the time it was built (1877). Looking up at the structure today might give one a queasy feeling, but for those who don’t suffer from acrophobia there is a walkway where you can get a panoramic view of the river and palisades.

If you do have a fear of heights, your best bet is to enjoy a picnic at High Bridge Park, known as the Jewel of the Kentucky River Parks. A large Victorian pavilion atop the palisade is a reminder of a time when High Bridge was a major attraction for tourists driving U.S. 27.

Jessamine County’s Camp Nelson is a Window to Kentucky’s Civil War Past

The land – some 400 acres of sprawling countryside above the Kentucky River Palisades – is quiet today, the only sounds the hum of passing traffic and the breeze singing to the trees. But in 1863, Camp Nelson was alive with timber being hammered into buildings, anvils struck, ammunition tested, and soldiers drilled. This was the site of an important Union quartermaster depot established as a garrison and supply center for the Union Army of the Ohio during its campaign in Central and Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Tennessee and Western Virginia.

Camp Nelson is also known for being the site of Kentucky’s largest (and the nation’s third largest) recruitment and training camp for African-American troops. On the self-guided trails, visitors learn Camp Nelson’s role in delivering a fatal blow to slavery in Kentucky. 

Now a Heritage Park, Camp Nelson has been called “the best-preserved Civil War depot in the country.”  But perhaps nowhere does it become more alive than in the burial place of its dead. On a rolling hill overlooking the palisades lie the remains of some 4,000 Civil War soldiers. Many of the graves have no inscription, but the stark white markers speak more eloquently than words ever could.

Departing from Camp Nelson, if you’re feeling adventurous and have no particular schedule (and after all, isn’t that what this is all about?), take a scenic detour on Hwy. 169 heading for Woodford County. If you happen to be here from early May to early November, stop at Eckert’s Orchard in Woodford County for a berry-picking bonanza. You’ll find strawberries and blackberries as well as peaches, pumpkins and 30 varieties of apples.

If you prefer sipping to picking, a slight zig here and a little zag there will take you to several area wineries. Wildside Winery offers 30 acres of vines in the heart of Woodford County’s horse country. Sample the double gold medal-winning Cabernet Franc or return to Jessamine County for a tasting at 1922 House Vineyards & Winery or Ghost Fox Winery.

Should you plan to hit all the wineries, make sure you have a designated driver before heading to the tiny hamlet of Nonesuch in Woodford County for a stop at Irish Acres Antiques. You are welcome to browse three floors of high-end antiques housed in a former schoolhouse, but if you want to have lunch in the Glitz Restaurant (and believe me, you do) then you will need a reservation. Oh, and it might be a nice idea to treat that designated driver.

A Detour from a Detour:

Heading back toward U.S 27, drive through the tiny town of Keene in Jessamine County. Its history dates back to 1794 with the opening of a mill, and some records indicate it was first called Hardscrabble. Early settlers apparently didn’t want to be known as Hardscrabblers, thus changing the name first to Liberty and finally settling on Keene after the New Hampshire town they had emigrated from.

A nearby spring was enough to make Keene a popular resort in the 19th century and the white-columned building visible from the road once housed the Keene Springs Hotel which welcomed guests well into the 20th century. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

One place you still can go is the Dixie Café & Quick Stop, so popular that devotees from Nicholasville in Jessamine County, Versailles in Woodford County and even Lexington in Fayette County come here for the bountiful breakfasts (the smothered chicken biscuit platter is a favorite) or if you’re here for lunch, try the Texas Burger, a nod to the original owners, Dixie and Edward Alexander, who opened their first Quick Stop in the Phillips Petroleum oil camp in Borger, Texas before coming to Kentucky in the 1950s.

Insider’s Tip: Ask for a table on the back deck. The Quick Stop is also a good place to load up on more snacks for the road trip ahead.

Getting back on U.S. 27, your goal is Herrington Lake, a 2,335-acre artificial lake created by the damming of the Dix River, a tributary of the Kentucky River. The lake spans three counties in the Bluegrass Region (Garrard, Mercer and Boyle), although only Garrard is on U.S. 27, and with a depth of 249 feet, is the deepest lake in Kentucky.

If you’re in for a little history along with recreation, know that in 1925 when Dix Dam was created, it was the largest earth-filled dam in the world. But if you’re too busy looking for your fishing pole to be concerned with hydroelectric trivia, you will be more interested in knowing that Herrington Lake is rife with bluegill, crappie, catfish and several species of bass.

Not into fishing?  Maybe you would prefer water or jet skiing, wakeboarding, tubing or just swimming – all of which you can do here.

Although the lake is 35-miles long, its only man-made marina is in Garrard County. The Herrington Lake Marina is a good place to stop for any water-related gear you may have forgotten to pack, a store for the lake’s signature line of products, and Idler’s Cove Restaurant.

Other lakeside options in Garrard County are Sunset Marina and Resort (dine on the patio and watch the boats come in and go out), Kamp Kennedy Marina, and The Oar House.

If you would like an evening attraction that doesn’t involve water, head into the Garrard County seat of Lancaster and the Grand Theater. With only 430 seats, it is not grand in size, but it is grand in its aspirations – from showings of classic films such as The African Queen to live performances by chart-toppers such as John Michael Montgomery.

After a leisurely day of lake activities, and if you’re not staying in one of the lakeside cabins or campgrounds, it’s time to pack up, pick up the pace and head to the final Bluegrass Region stop on U.S. 27 – Stanford in Lincoln County. For a small town (population, just under 4,000), there are a surprising number of things to do here. History buffs, railroad lovers, foodies and fans of unique lodging will all love Stanford.

Let’s start with the history. The William Whitley House, completed in 1794, has the distinction of being the first brick home west of the Alleghenies, complete with a circular racetrack. So, the next time someone asks you what is the oldest race track in Kentucky, don’t say Churchill Downs or Keeneland. Instead, impress him/her with your knowledge by responding, “The one at the William Whitley House Historic Site in Lincoln County, of course.”

Fun fact #1: If you really want to slay them, throw in that Esther, the wife of pioneer William, was a sharpshooter and only the third woman of European descent to cross the Cumberland Gap on the Wilderness Road.

Fun fact #2: Stanford’s Main Street was once part of the Wilderness Road, Kentucky’s original road blazed by Daniel Boone and other pioneers. Take comfort in the knowledge that your road trip is more comfortable than Dan’l’s was.

If you would like to say that you have visited the smallest state park in Kentucky, check out the Isaac Shelby State Historic Site, composed of just a stone-walled enclosure within which is a small cemetery containing the graves of Shelby, Kentucky’s first governor and 22 members of his and his wife’s family. It is on the grounds of his former estate, which Shelby once described as “the most beautiful land I have ever seen.”

Railroad buffs are all about nostalgia, so if you fit into this category, you’ll love the L&N Historic Railroad Depot and Museum built in 1911 and extensively restored in 1997.  Inside, are a number of railroad artifacts from a velocipede (the precursor to the modern bicycle) to a caboose with original office/living furnishings.

Don’t leave Stanford without having breakfast, lunch or brunch at the iconic Bluebird where the food is “a distinctive balance of Southern-inspired favorites and unique creations you will find nowhere else.” For breakfast that means bacon, pimento and hot honey biscuit sandwich; for lunch, a Bluebird Hot Brown, and for brunch, a Dynamite Biscuit Sandwich (sausage, scrambled egg, pepper jack, pickled jalapenos, and house made Dynamite Sauce.)

If you don’t want to leave at all, no one says you have to, particularly since Stanford has such a unique overnight option. A row of guest cottages painted in cobalt blue, raspberry, mint green and sunshine yellow, and named for famous Kentuckians such as Daniel Boone, Isaac Shelby and William Whitley make for a delightful stay. They come in a variety of styles from Victorian to Arts & Crafts, and some have front porches, covered patios and landscaped gardens. The Wilderness Road guest houses have all the charm of the past and all the amenities of the present.

Eight guest rooms occupy the second floor of the downtown Stanford Inn in what was the historic St. Asaph Hotel, and remain preserved just as they were in the 1920s. Another bonus: the hotel is just across Main Street from The Bluebird.

All who love a good road trip should follow those earlier travelers on the “tourist highway.” However, you don’t need to go all the way to Florida on U.S. 27 – you can find plenty to keep you occupied right here in the Bluegrass Region.

‍