Kentucky's Appalachians Region

Kentucky’s Appalachians Region covers the northeastern mountain country of Kentucky, the rugged plateau-and-river country running from Ashland on the Ohio River south through Pikeville and Hazard. The terrain is steep — coal-country mountains with deep hollows, narrow ridge tops, and the Big Sandy and Licking river systems cutting through. Most of the region sits within the eastern Kentucky coal belt. Fifteen counties cover the region. Boyd holds Ashland; Rowan holds Morehead and Morehead State University; Pike holds Pikeville (host of the Hatfield–McCoy Festival each spring); Johnson holds Paintsville (with the Loretta Lynn Homeplace at nearby Butcher Hollow); Carter holds Olive Hill and Carter Caves State Resort Park; Floyd holds Prestonsburg and the Mountain Arts Center; Montgomery holds Mount Sterling. Cave Run Lake sits at the western edge in Bath, Menifee, and Rowan counties. Most trips here are music-and-mountain focused. Paintsville and the surrounding hollows run the country-music heritage (Loretta Lynn, the Country Music Highway along US 23); Pikeville’s Hillbilly Days festival each April draws bluegrass fans; Cave Run Lake handles boating and fishing; Carter Caves runs cave tours and underground river paddling.