Things to Do in Lebanon

When surveyor Aaron Higgenbotham discovered Cumberland Caverns in 1810, he couldn't see its majestic pillars of dripping rock, its flowstone curtains, or its subterranean waterfalls. Stuck on a small ledge in the dark, Higgenbotham was as blind to the cave system's features—one of them a 2,000-foot-long cavern hall—as the eyeless crayfish that live there. His initial discovery nevertheless paved the way for nearly 200 years of speleological findings. Today, guides preserve this 32-mile National Landmark cavern by leading daily tours through its passages.

During tours, guides point out artifacts left by pre Civil War–era saltpeter mines, tunnels filled with rare gypsum deposits, and mysterious inscriptions reading "Shelah Waters - 1869" and "Millard Fillmore + Stacy." They lead guests among stalagmites and stalactites to a sound-and-light show that dramatically retells Bible stories, or into a domed hall that houses a hand-cut crystal chandelier rescued from a historic Brooklyn theater. It's in this last space that staffers organize banquets, weddings, and monthly live bluegrass concerts, or hold burial services for broken fax machines. They also lead visitors through the tight passageways of lesser-seen cavern segments during daytime or overnight spelunking trips.

Dazzling formations and a remarkable register of past residents renders the Lost River Cave a tour treasure for families, history buffs, and geological geeks alike. The cave's titular river rests below gnarls of stunning stalactites and stalagmites, the finest views of which emerge on the cave boat tour, the only underground cruise of its kind in the state. As the daylight suddenly vanishes and things begin to glow in the dark, one of Lost River’s friendly, funny guides will fill you in on the Lost River's prehistoric Native American roots, as well as its later habitation by Civil War soldiers and outlaws like Jesse James—painting a vivid picture of the cave's hospitable environs and its 8,000-year-old bellhop. Upon disembarking, you'll continue your sabbatical from sunshine with a further 20-minute guided walking tour of the cave. Visitors have been known to spot native pipistrelle bats, cave salamanders, eyeless crawfish, and skinny-dipping gnomes.

Set up along verdant forests, mountains, and valleys, Kentucky Action Park's outdoor attractions bring elements of the old-timey Wild West to the modern-day sense of adventure. The winding turns of an alpine slide send sleds on exhilarating quarter-mile trips down the mountain, and putters propel colorful orbs across 18 western-themed mini-golf holes. Chair lifts and a 24-foot rock wall tower overhead, the top of which grant scenic views typically seen only by birds and children holding many balloons. Elsewhere, horses trot out of the Jesse James Riding Stables, which has been in operation for more than 30 years. At Outlaw Cave, guided tours travel below ground to view stalactites and rock formations sculpted by the patience of water over the past millennia.