Great River Road - Kentucky
State: Kentucky
Length: 63.1 mi / 101.5 km
Time to Allow: Unknown.
The Mississippi River is a highway of history carrying people, cultures, ideas, art, and music. Kentucky’s part of this highway begins where the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers converge. The history that attracts visitors to the Great River Road today is a product of this extraordinary river and the landscape it has sculpted over time. Kentucky’s Great River Road challenges visitors to travel back in time to a place where the great Mississippian Native American culture used the river as a corridor for trade. The confluence is not just a scenic feature; it occupies a seminal place in America’s history, yet the landscape remains largely the same as it was during western expansion. Travel this byway and enter a time machine while imagining frontiersmen canoeing down uncharted waters, looking for the way west to the Pacific Ocean, but finding instead the way south to the Gulf of Mexico.
You will become engaged in the history of America’s efforts to claim, control, and tame its mightiest river, the Mississippi. Stand on the key terrain of the Confederacy’s Fort DeRussey, the south’s northernmost bastion on the Mississippi, and look down your guns at the approach of the soon-to-be tested Union General Ulysses S. Grant.
Kentucky’s Great River Road allows you to engage in your own sense of wonder as you discover more of American heritage. Come and explore the tales of Kentucky’s Great River Road.
For more information see the designated byway:
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Throughout history, the Mississippi River influenced many lives: the Dakota, Chippewa, and Hopewell cultures; early French voyagers; African-Americans seeking freedom on the Underground Railroad; and many more. Through its charming river towns and metropolitan cities, historic sites and cultural artifacts, today's Great River Road still links resources, people, and history.
Local Information
- Kentucky Great River Region Organization:
- Visit this tourism site for area activities, events, hotels, and places to eat.
- Mississippi River Parkway Commission:
- The official travel site of the Great River Road - a historic byway of the Mississippi River.
Forest Message
Be weather wise. Many byways in National Forests can climb in elevation over thousands of feet, and pass through remote areas. While the scenery is spectacular, it is important when driving in these conditions to be prepared. Check weather forecasts before leaving home, and remember that it becomes cooler and often more prone to storms at higher elevations. Be prepared with jackets, water, and emergency kit in your car.
