Lincoln Heritage Scenic Highway
Lincoln Heritage Scenic Highway is a National Scenic Byway in Kentucky. Within Kentucky it covers roughly 70 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Lincoln Heritage Scenic Highway with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
The Lincoln Heritage Scenic Highway is a 72-mile National Scenic Byway across US 31E and US 150 through the rolling "knobs" region of central Kentucky. Starting near Hodgenville at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park, the nation's first memorial to the 16th president, the route runs northeast through New Haven and Bardstown before switching to US 150 through Springfield and Perryville and ending in Danville, passing six communities in all. Along the way it touches Lincoln's boyhood home at Knob Creek, the Perryville Battlefield, site of the deadliest Civil War battle fought on Kentucky soil with more than 7,600 casualties, and the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, the oldest Trappist monastery in America. It also runs through the heart of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, passing several of the state's best-known distilleries. Few Kentucky drives pack in as many distinct historical threads over so short a distance.
- 72 miles, US 31E & US 150
- Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park
- Perryville Civil War Battlefield
- Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani
- Kentucky Bourbon Trail distilleries
Designated for its historic qualities
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Places to stop along Lincoln Heritage Scenic Highway
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park
A granite memorial with 56 steps, one for each year of Lincoln's life, built around a symbolic cabin near Hodgenville.
WebsiteLincoln's Boyhood Home at Knob Creek
The farm where Lincoln lived from about age two to seven and later said held his earliest memories, with a log cabin and a tavern museum.
WebsiteKentucky Railway Museum
Excursion trains, some behind steam, on a historic Louisville & Nashville branch line out of New Haven.
WebsiteHeaven Hill Bourbon Experience
A Bardstown visitor center and tasting room for one of the largest family-owned bourbon makers, in the Bourbon Capital of the World.
WebsiteMy Old Kentucky Home State Park
Federal Hill, the mansion linked to Stephen Foster's song, with guides in period dress and a summer musical.
WebsitePerryville Battlefield State Historic Site
The site of Kentucky's largest Civil War battle in October 1862, with more than 7,600 casualties, preserved as open farmland and trails.
Website
Where to Stay along Lincoln Heritage Scenic Highway
1 campground or RV park sits within about 5 miles of Lincoln Heritage Scenic Highway.
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Photos of Lincoln Heritage Scenic Highway
What is a National Scenic Byway?
National Scenic Byways are roads recognized at the federal level for at least one outstanding quality — scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational — that gives travelers a reason to seek them out rather than just pass through.