Hey Guys!
My hubby and I decided to spend the day at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.
It’s less than a 2 hr drive from our house so, we left on a Saturday morning around 9:30.
However, after arriving, I wished we had left earlier because we didn’t have enough time to see everything.
Click here for 10 things to do at Land Between the Lakes
The Land Between the Lakes is a haven for outdoor enthusiasts with 300 miles of undeveloped shoreline, 500 miles of hiking trails, and 1,400 campsites.
The area spans 170,000 acres across the Kentucky and Tennessee state line, one of only three national forests between both states.
In the 1800s, this area was part of the expanding frontier with small settlements and supportive farms.
There are more than 270 known cemeteries in Land Between the Lakes. These cemeteries are remnants of the communities that existed prior to the creation of this recreation area.
Click here for answers to all of your questions about LBL & here for maps of the area
After arriving, our first stop was a roadside attraction called the Great Western Furnace.
This area was well known for its iron production.
There were 8 of these furnaces built in Land Between the Lakes but today, only two remain.
The Great Western Furnace was constructed in 1854 by Brien, Newell and Company and closed in 1856.
Due to its short period of operation, the furnace remains in good condition.
After this stop, we continued our drive.
Tip: Be sure to have plenty of gas when visiting this area
A few minutes later, we arrived to the South Bison Range.
Here you can view bison roaming in two adjacent 100-acre pastures from the road.
In Feb, the park auctioned off some of their bison to reduce the herd.
These animals can be very dangerous during mating season and bulls have been known to charge people standing near the fence line! So, stay clear of the fence!
After leaving here, we headed to the Elk & Bison Prairie.
This area is one of the most popular areas in Land Between the Lakes because you are given an opportunity to see bison and elk up close.
Entry into the Elk & Bison Prairie is $5 per vehicle, payable at an automated kiosk at the prairie’s entrance.
Tip: Visitors can buy bulk tickets at the nearby Golden Pond Visitor Center – 3 entries for $10 or 5 for $15.
The Elk & Bison prairie is a 700-acre enclosed prairie that is home to herds of American bison, elk, and dozens of other species like raccoons and deer.
A 3.5-mile paved road loops through the enclosure, providing visitors a rare opportunity to see the wildlife up close.
Once inside, vehicles follow a 3.5 mile paved, one-way loop road.
Thankfully, the area wasn’t that busy but sadly, we could only see the animals from a distance.
We had to pull over and get out of our car to see the elk and bison.
I had my old Canon Powershot camera with a 50x zoom lens so, I was able to get a couple of pictures.
We also spotted two bald eagles flying above our heads!
I was more excited about that than seeing the bison and elk!
Click here & here to read about the best places to spot bald eagles in the park
After driving the loop road twice, we decided to go have lunch.
My hubby had researched some restaurants in the area before we left so, we headed to the closest one called, the Burger Barn.
Views along the way
The restaurant is located at the Kenlake Marina and is opened for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Click here for more restaurants in this area
We were seated at a table with views of the water.
This location just opened this year …they have another location located in Cadiz, KY.
After looking over the menu, I decided on the 7′ cauliflower crust pizza and the hubby ordered a burger.
We also decided to order some of the pretzel bites for an appetizer.
The food was pretty good.
After lunch, we decided to check out the Homeplace 1850’s Working Farm.
Headed back over the bridge
After arriving, we saw signs where they were holding their Christmas at the Homeplace so their ticket prices were $9 pp instead of the regular priced ticket of $7 pp.
However, that didn’t deter us but, just so you know, they do charge more when they hold special events.
After getting parked, we walked inside the building where we purchased our tickets.
This building also serves as a small museum and gift shop.
Once we purchased, our tickets, we were given a map of the homeplace with a description of each of the buildings.
It is a working farm, which means the employees and volunteers work the farm much the way it was worked back in time.
The farm offers demonstrations, animals, gardens, crops, workshops and more.
There are several historic buildings that are open for visitors to walk through so you can see how people lived & worked back in the 1800’s.
These buildings aren’t reconstructions, they are actual buildings from the 1800’s that have been restored and preserved.
The first historic building you will come to was a home that was moved here from a different farm.
The house had one bedroom and a kitchen.
Some of the staff members were demonstrating how they would have cooked meals back in the day.
I can’t imagine having to cook like this…I mean, I don’t like cooking at all so, this would have been a nightmare!
After checking out this house, we continued our walk around the property.
The next building was the corn crib.
This building was used to store corn on the cob that would be used to feed animals and people mostly during the winter months.
The next building was the sheep barn.
The barn was built over 100 year ago. The loft was used to store hay.
They had sheep on the farm and the volunteers take care of them the same way they would have been taken care of back in the 1800’s.
They even had Santa and Mrs. Claus at the farm!
The next building was the blacksmith building.
The building was used to make all kinds of tools like horseshoes, knives, forks, wheels, etc.
A few more pictures of the farm
They had horses on the farm too and we couldn’t leave until we got a picture of the horses wearing reindeer hats!
After spending about an hour here, we decided to head to another place that I had been wanting to visit called Patti’s 1880 Settlement.
It’s a 45 min drive from the Homeplace.
On the way there, we passed the Woodlands Nature Center and a sign for a scenic drive.
We will definitely have to make a trip back to this area so we can visit the places we missed!
Click here to read about the hiking and biking trails in the park
Patti’s 1880’s Settlement is located in Grand Rivers, KY.
Once we arrived, we noticed the sun setting over the lake so we drove down to the marina to take a picture.
It was so beautiful!
We noticed some of the boats at the marina had been decorated for Christmas.
Later that night, we noticed a lot of the boats were covered in Christmas lights.
After getting our sunset shot, we headed across the street to find parking for Patti’s.
Patti’s Settlement includes six unique gift shops in a recreated historical log cabin village, beautiful gardens, gazebos, a wedding chapel, private catering facilities, winding streams, miniature golf, remote control boats and more.
Unbeknownst to us, Patti’s was holding their festival of lights so, the whole place was covered in over 1 million lights and beautiful decorations!
And the best thing is, it’s all free!
By far, the most popular thing here is Patti’s Restaurant!
You can not show up here without a reservation!
The restaurant opened in the 70’s and has grown to a very popular tourist destination!
They are well known for their 2 inch pork chop, flower pot bread, strawberry butter and mile high meringue pies!
See their menu here
You could spend a day here just going through all of the shops and booking a reservation for lunch or dinner.
You could also see a show at the nearby Badgett Playhouse.
After getting parked, we headed to see the lights.
It wasn’t quite dark enough to see the full effect but it was still incredible to see!
I loved the little wedding chapel.
They had Christmas trees set up everywhere and tons of places where you could snap a picture!
Of course, we couldn’t pass up having our picture taken in front of one of the many beautiful back drops!
After our pictures, we continued our walk around the property.
We couldn’t believe this was all free to the public!
It was so beautiful!
We passed the cute little building where Santa was waiting for all the little kids wanting their picture made with him.
There were so many buildings decorated in themed decorations.
This one was decorated like the North Pole and Santa’s Workshop.
I loved this nativity scene and the story behind it was so cool!
It was made by the Fontanini family out of Italy. This family has been making nativity scenes since the early 1900’s!
This tree had every inch of it wrapped in lights!
They had a mini golf course but it was closed.
We spotted this huge polar bear so, we had to have our picture taken in front of it!
You could play chess with this huge chess set!
After walking around outside, we headed inside the gift shop that’s attached to the restaurant.
It was so crowded!
You could purchase all kinds of goodies from candy, fudge, homemade bread, their famous strawberry butter, clothing, Christmas ornaments and so much more!
They had the cutest decorations in the store!
After purchasing a few items, we headed back outside to take a few more pictures since it had gotten darker.
We loved these icicle decorations handing from the trees!
They had a tunnel of lights that you could walk through.
It led you to a beautiful Christmas tree outlined in white lights.
In front of the tree was a statue of Jesus.
There was a full moon out so it made for some beautiful pictures!
A few more shots of the decorations.
After spending about 1.5 hrs here, we decided to find something to eat.
We walked over to a nearby restaurant called, T. Lawson’s Grill.
Sadly, they had a two hour wait!
Make reservations here & see their menu here
We looked online to see if we could find anything else close by but didn’t really see anything we wanted so, we decided to head home and just stop somewhere quick on the way.
A couple more shots of the town
We decided to stop at Chick fil a on the way home.
I ordered one of their salads while the hubby opted for a grilled chicken sandwich and a side of their chicken noodle soup.
After dinner, we headed home!
Thanks for reading!
Click here to see links to all of my blog posts