There also is much to see in Kentucky having to do with archaeology and history. Mammoth Cave National Park earns many positive comments from people with these interests. The huge cave has yielded 4,000-year-old human artifacts and is home to dark-adapted creatures like blind crayfish.

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park pushes through the mountains where Kentucky meets Tennessee and Virginia and is popular with historians for its Civil War associations and with outdoorsmen for its rugged beauty. There are other Civil War sites, too, and reenactments for those who like to “see” their history being made. Horse racing is the premier spectator sport, but Kentuckians also loves their college basketball. The programs at the University of Kentucky and Louisville are nationally known, and to say rivalry is keen is understating it.

Who goes there? Racing fans, basketball fans and anyone who wants to enjoy the hospitality of friendly, outgoing locals. When do they go? Except for trips to basketball games, most of the vacation activities take place spring through fall, the best time to see that blue grass.

Go whitewater rafting or canoeing on the Cumberland River or its Big South Fork. Or, canoe on the Licking River. Take canoeing or kayaking lessons.

Rev up an ATV for lots of off-road driving at the 7,000-acre Black Mountain Off-Road Adventure Park in Harlan County. Trails vary from easy to extreme. Primitive camping is on offer.

Sample local food favorites, such as the Kentucky Hot Brown, a combination of bacon, bread, pimento and turkey, browned under a broiler and topped with Momay sauce; Benedictine (not the liquour), a cucumber and cream cheese spread, and burgoo, a stew of beef, chicken, lamb, pork and veal, along with vegetables and potatoes, which is simmered from five to 24 hours.

Have a (wet and muddy) cave adventure by trekking off the beaten track in Hidden River Cave, which is 150 feet under the streets of a town called Horse Cave. Not to be confused with Hidden River, there is Lost River at Bowling Green where you can take an underground boat tour.

Follow Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail to visit some of the state’s top distilleries. Most are within two hours of one another in the hills around Bardstown, Frankfort, Lexington and Louisville. See related museums in Bardstown, if you want, but be sure to taste the product.

Go mountain biking in the Appalachians or the Daniel Boone National Forest.

Run in the Kentucky State Park Race Series, which is a series of five 5km races.

Do the Purple People Bridge Climb in Newport on the Ohio River. The pedestrian bridge — real name Newport Southbank Bridge — is purple, the people’s choice in focus groups.

Attend the Kentucky Derby the first Saturday in May at Louisville’s Churchill Downs. See magnificent animals, drink mint juleps and hear thousands sing “My Old Kentucky Home.” You might win some money, too.

Ride one of Kentucky’s horses yourself. Ride along the wooded trails of the state parks.

Attend a bluegrass music festival in either Morehead or Owensboro. And, see the Bluegrass Museum in Owensboro. Or, take this further and follow the Kentucky Music Trail; see www.kentuckytourism.com/thingstodo/trailsroads.htm.

At Mammoth Cave National Park, see the huge cave that has truly earned its name. The park is rich with other options, as well: biking, camping (the backcountry kind, too), canoeing, fishing, hiking and horseback riding.

You don’t have to be Jewish to attend Louisville’s Jewish Heritage Festival.

Fish the rivers for bass and crappie. Fish the lakes to the south for bass and trout and the mountain lakes for giant muskies. Fish the Ohio River for blue catfish — big ones. Check www.kdfwr.state.ky.us for licensing and other information.

Participate in the annual autumn Old Kentucky Home Bicycle Tour, a two-day run from Louisville to Bardstown, following the route of your choice (50, 72 — or the most challenging, 102 miles).

See Civil War reenactment events at Eddyville and Perry.

Go hiking utilizing the state parks’ extensive trail system. The parks also offer 32 campgrounds.

At Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg, watch costumed artisans demonstrating 19th century trades, taste vegetables grown with heirloom seeds used by the original Shakers and learn about a livestock program developed especially for the village.

Sample the wine. The state claims nearly a dozen wineries, mostly in the central bluegrass region.

Visit St. Mary’s Basilica in Covington to see one of the most beautiful stained glass windows in the country, not to mention large. The north transept window measures 67 feet by 24 feet.

Learn about one favorite son at “Stephen Foster, the Musical,” an open-air show presented on summer nights except Mondays at My Old Kentucky Home State Park. Take a tour, with costumed guide, in the house where Foster was visiting when he wrote the eponymous song; in winter, make that a Christmas candlelight tour.

Play golf on any of the state’s estimated 180 golf courses. The state park system offers Tees and Zees packages, which include lodging and meals at a state park lodge and tee times.

See a moonbow (nighttime rainbow) at Cumberland Falls, one of only two sites where moonbows occur naturally. The other is Victoria Falls in Africa.

See more of the state from the water, on paddle wheelers, riverboats or houseboats.

Pay homage to the 16th president with a visit to the Lincoln Homestead at the Lincoln Homestead State Park in Springfield. Buildings on site include the home of Lincoln’s mother and a replica of his father’s family cabin.

For more information, consult the Kentucky Department of Tourism at www.kentuckytourism.com

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