Wilderness Road State Park

Wilderness Road State Park was purchased in 1993. The park is about 310 acres that lie astride the Wilderness Road, a route carved by Daniel Boone in 1775. The route, which followed a buffalo trace, opened America’s first western frontier. Most notable in the park are the Karlan Mansion, built in 1877, a state-of-the-art visitor center and Martin’s Station, a replica of a colonial frontier fort that was on this site in 1775.

Bikes can be rented to ride the Wilderness Road Trail, an eight-mile multi-purpose trail that passes through the park. The park also has the Indian Ridge Trail, which is a self-guided trail, and offers interpretive and environmental educational programs. Snacks and other merchandise are available year-round at the Powder Horn Gift Shop in the visitor center.

The park offers primitive camping for groups. Campers must bring drinking water; portable toilets are available, showers are not. Reservations can be made at the visitor center. (Camping is also available six miles away at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Middlesboro, Ky.)