Daniel Boone Country Region

Daniel Boone Country covers the heart of southeastern Kentucky’s coal-and-mountain country, the rugged Cumberland Plateau where the Wilderness Road brought the first white settlers through Cumberland Gap in the late 1700s. Elevations climb above 4,000 feet at Black Mountain (the highest point in Kentucky), with deep hollows, hardwood forest, and the headwaters of the Cumberland and Kentucky rivers cutting across the region. Eighteen counties cover the region. Laurel holds London; Whitley holds Corbin (the original Kentucky Fried Chicken — Sanders Café still operates as a museum); Bell holds Pineville and Cumberland Gap National Historical Park; Harlan holds Harlan; Perry holds Hazard; Letcher holds Whitesburg; Powell holds Stanton (the gateway to Red River Gorge). Daniel Boone National Forest covers most of the public land; Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, Pine Mountain State Resort Park, and Buckhorn Lake add the major destinations. Most trips here run mountain-outdoor and Appalachian-cultural. Cumberland Falls (the only regular moonbow in the western hemisphere) draws weekend visitors; Red River Gorge concentrates the rock climbing and arch hiking; Whitesburg’s Appalshop preserves regional film and music; Cumberland Gap holds the wagon-road history at the southern edge.