Top Five Things to Do:
- Explore the Pioneer Museum and discover Kentucky history.
- Find unique Kentucky Proud specialty items in our Gift Shop.
- Follow the trails retracing Daniel Boone’s steps and the ancient buffalo’s path.
- Visit the site of the last battle of the Revolutionary War.
- Dine at Hidden Waters Restaurant for a delightful experience.
Birding Spring offers sightings of Snipe, Solitary Sandpipers, and Killdeer. In summer, various hawk species, including Sharp-shinned, Cooper’s, Broad-winged, Red-tailed, and the American Kestrel, can be observed. Both spring and fall are ideal for witnessing migrating warblers. Licking River ravines provide excellent views of wood ducks, migratory and nesting Emberizidae Parulinae like Prothonotary and Cerulean Warblers, wood thrushes Acadian, and flycatchers. Red-headed woodpeckers are often seen along HW 68 on the Heritage Trail, along with Warbling Vireos.
Boating Enjoy free boat access to the Licking River. Bring your canoe or kayak for a serene experience.
Gift Shop Our lodge gift shop proudly features a unique selection of handcrafted Kentucky products, including high-quality pottery, handcrafted baskets, lavender fragrances, punched-tin prints, note cards, painted gourds, soaps, walking sticks, and a diverse collection of books and cookbooks by Kentucky authors. Kentucky food products, such as salsa, jams, mustards, hot sauces, and sweets, are also available.
Hiking Please note that pets are not allowed on trails that share land with State Nature Preserves or protected archaeological areas, including some at Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park. These trails will be clearly marked.
- Buffalo Trace (.15 mile) – Follow the remains of an ancient buffalo path.
- The Licking River Trail (1 mile) – A loop trail to the Licking River, near the site where Daniel Boone and his men were captured by Shawnee Indians on a salt-making expedition.
- Savannah Loop (0.5 mile)
- Indian Loop Trail (0.8 mile)
- The Heritage Trail (2.5 mile)
Miniature Golf Enjoy family entertainment with our 18-hole miniature golf course. Open seasonally, weather permitting. Equipment rental available at the Worthington Lodge front desk.
Museum Delve into the history of Blue Licks at the Pioneer Museum. Experience a short video presentation and explore mastodon bones, Native American artifacts, and Kentucky pioneer exhibits.
Hours: March 16 – October 31 Wednesday – Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Closed on Monday and Tuesday. November 1 – March 15: Closed.
For more information, call 859-289-5507.
Picnicking Two picnic shelters, one with restrooms, can be rented up to two years in advance. Tables, grills, and playgrounds are scattered throughout the park for a delightful picnic outing.
Playgrounds A children’s playground is located near the mini-golf course and picnic shelter.
Wildflower Viewing Explore Blue Licks, home to the federally-endangered Short’s Goldenrod, protected in the 15-acre nature preserve. The Buffalo Trace hiking trail is historically linked to this unique plant.
Lodging & Camping
The lodge provides 32 rooms with complete amenities, including two suites, one of which can serve as a hospitality center for meetings and family reunions.
Open throughout the year, rooms are ready for check-in by 4 p.m. Check-out for lodge rooms is at 11 a.m, local time.
The park also features two cottages, and we now welcome pets! A maximum of two pets is allowed per room/cottage.
The campground operates from mid-March through mid-November, offering 51 sites, each equipped with standard electric and water hookups for tent or RV campers. (For utility hook-ups, an extended water hose or electrical cord may be needed due to the distance from the pedestal.)
Winter Operations: Open Wednesday – Saturday until March 15
Dining
Hidden Waters Restaurant offers a delightful dining experience with breathtaking scenery. As advocates of the Kentucky Proud program, we prioritize local meats and produce whenever possible, and we proudly serve Kentucky wine and spirits in the restaurant.
Restaurant Hours – Dine In
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: Closed
- Wednesday: Lunch 11 am to 3 pm, Dinner 4 pm to 7 pm
- Thursday: Breakfast 8 am to 10 am, Lunch 11 am to 3 pm, Dinner 4 pm to 7 pm
- Friday: Breakfast 8 am to 10 am, Lunch 11 am to 3 pm, Dinner 4 pm to 7 pm
- Saturday: Breakfast 8 am to 10 am, Lunch 11 am to 3 pm, Dinner 4 pm to 7 pm
- Sunday: Breakfast 8 am to 10 am, Lunch 11 am to 3 pm
Meetings
The three meeting rooms each offer a distinctive ambiance: the Arlington Room features expansive, sunlit windows and is conveniently located next to the restaurant; the Daniel Boone Room boasts a beautiful stone fireplace and a private patio overlooking the woods; the Pavilion Room, adjacent to the Daniel Boone Room, ensures minimal outside disturbances. These venues are ideal for hosting your upcoming business meetings or events, and the lodge’s attentive staff is dedicated to ensuring seamless planning and execution. For details about hosting weddings and groups, please inquire.
Nestled in northeastern Kentucky, less than an hour from Lexington, this area has served as a gathering place for millennia, spanning from the era of prehistoric mastodons and early Native Americans to the time of Daniel Boone and early frontiersmen. It continued to be a popular meeting site through the end of the 19th century when the mineral springs became a sought-after health resort.
Ideal for small training classes or retreats, the facility features three unique meeting rooms. The Arlington Room, bathed in natural light with wide windows, is conveniently located next to the restaurant. The Daniel Boone Room, adorned with a stone fireplace, offers a private patio with woodland views. Adjacent to the Daniel Boone Room, the Pavilion Room minimizes outside disturbances.
Throughout history, the salt springs at Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park have attracted prehistoric animals, indigenous peoples, and pioneers like the legendary Daniel Boone.
Trails
Buffalo Trace
A 0.15-mile trail in Mount Olivet that traces the trampled remains of an ancient buffalo path.
Heritage Trail
This 2-mile-long trail recounts the history of Blue Licks Springs, spanning from prehistoric times to the present.
Central to Blue Licks’ history are the salt springs that once existed here. Along the trail, visitors will encounter a nature preserve housing one of the most endangered wildflowers, the Short’s Goldenrod.
After passing through the nature preserve, visitors can explore life at the springs through a reconstructed trade fort dating back to as early as 1784. The trail showcases native plants like cane and warm-season grasses, and it is accessible from the Buffalo Trace trail beside the nature center.