Riverboat Row Scenic Byway
Riverboat Row Scenic Byway is a State Scenic Byway in Kentucky. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Riverboat Row Scenic Byway with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Riverboat Row Scenic Byway is a one-mile Kentucky state byway along the Ohio River in Newport, directly across the water from downtown Cincinnati. Designated a State Byway in 1995, the short route runs to James Taylor City Park past Northern Kentucky's floating restaurants and docked riverboats, a small but distinctive stretch of waterfront that gives Newport its name along the row. From the byway, visitors can walk to the Newport Aquarium, one of the region's top attractions, the New Riff Distillery, and the Newport Southbank Bridge, better known locally as the Purple People Bridge, a pedestrian span connecting Newport to Cincinnati's riverfront. Unlike Kentucky's longer rural byways built around farmland or mountain scenery, this one is a compact urban riverfront stroll best explored on foot as much as by car, with the Cincinnati skyline as its backdrop.
- 1-mile route, Newport waterfront
- State Byway designated 1995
- floating restaurants & riverboats
- Newport Aquarium & New Riff Distillery
- Purple People Bridge to Cincinnati
Plan a drive on Riverboat Row Scenic Byway →
What is a State Scenic Byway?
State Scenic Byways are roads a state has formally recognized for their scenic, natural, historic or cultural value — each state's own curated collection of drives worth taking slowly.
Where to Stay along Riverboat Row Scenic Byway
1 campground or RV park sits within about 5 miles of Riverboat Row Scenic Byway.
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