|
|
|
Come Outside and Play at Land Between The Lakes
National Recreation Area |
Re-discover the simple pleasures of playing in the outdoors at Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area, the heartland’s outdoor playground. Managed by the USDA Forest Service this 170,000 acre peninsula wrapped by 300 miles of undeveloped shoreline offers all the outdoor basics, with some unique opportunities for environmental education and historic interpretation. Grab your friends, family, and gear and come outside and play!
Start your visit at one of our day use facilities. Explore the Woodlands Nature Station, your gateway to encounters with the natural world. You’ll find a variety of natural experiences – from our indoor discovery center to the live wildlife of our Backyard exhibits. Head down one of the trails embarking from the nature center and experience the outdoors at your leisure or join a guided hike or canoe excursion.
Then take a step back in time as you stroll around the grounds and farm buildings at The Homeplace, a living history farm. Come and experience life much as it was in mid-19th century rural America. Interpreters re-create such daily activities as cultivating and harvesting tobacco, working farm animals, and household chores, along with social events of the period.
Take a minute to see the bison in the South Bison Range across the road from The Homeplace. Stop by the Golden Pond Visitor Center and Planetarium to catch a glimpse of the simulated night sky in our 40-foot dome planetarium. Tour the Elk & Bison Prairie exhibit at the Golden Pond Visitor Center, then take a self-guided auto tour through the prairie. As you enter the Elk & Bison Prairie experience the restoration of Kentucky’s landscape in this 700- acre enclosure.
Need to get away or relax, then escape to LBL where camping is more than just spending the night under the stars. LBL has three developed family campgrounds: Hillman Ferry, Piney, and Energy Lake. All have scenic campsites along the lakeshore, as well as in shaded woods. Hillman and Piney offer amenities like water, electric, and sewer hookups, and feature a wide array of recreational activities and programs.
If you are a horse enthusiast, Wranglers Campground is the place for you. Campsites with utilities are available or spend a night in a rustic camping shelter. If you prefer a little more privacy, set up camp in one of our lake access or backcountry camping areas.
If you are looking for more activity, hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding trails weave through the back woods and along quiet lake shores. Or ride your all-terrain vehicle on 100 miles of trails at Turkey Bay Off-Highway Vehicle Area. Take advantage of the lakes; fishing, water-skiing or paddling around in a canoe or kayak.
Always keep your eyes open and cameras ready, as wildlife is abundant in LBL.
Whether you play for the day or stay for the week, LBL is just a short drive away.
For more information about LBL visit www.lbl.org or call 1-800-LBL-7077.
Don’t forget to checkout the Calendar of Events.
Additional Information about
Land Between The Lakes Day Use Facilities
The Nature Station
Canoe rentals available daily from 9am-4pm, Memorial Day –Labor Day and on weekends only in September & October, weather pending.
An outdoor adventure awaits you at LBL’s Woodlands Nature Station. Your gateway to close encounters with the natural world provides an in-depth look at native plants and wildlife. Experience the thrill of spotting animals in the wild, paddling your own canoe, or watching our active backyard feeder birds.
Bring the whole family and introduce the kids to the exciting world of the outdoors. You will see many of the animals and plants found in LBL during your visit here. Enjoy daily discoveries at LBL’s Woodlands Nature Station. Look, listen, smell, and touch as you discover the wonders of the natural world. You'll find a variety of natural experiences -- from our indoor discovery center to the live wildlife of our Backyard exhibits.
Numerous trails embark from our center, too. There are interactive displays, demonstrations, bird feeding stations, wildlife exhibits, gardens, ponds, and much more. Various animal programs take place throughout the day between 10am and 4pm.
Did someone say dinner! Accompany our staff at feeding time and you'll learn what our Backyard animals eat and what special adaptations they have evolved. Also, you can tour the animal exhibits at your leisure, or join one of our many daily programs. Arrive early or stay late to enjoy the Parade of Raptors daily at 9am and 4:30pm, weather permitting.
You can come face to face with the barred owl, screech owl, great horned owl as our staff moves the birds to and from their outdoor areas.
Do you know which owl weighs the same as a quarter pound hamburger?
All of the Nature Station Backyard animals are here because they could not survive in the wild -- they have either been injured, orphaned, or have lost their natural fear of humans. The exception is our Red Wolves, part of a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service captive breeding program which is attempting to restore this extremely endangered species.
Nature Station Backyard Animals
During your visit to the Nature Station find out why:The bobcat’ short. Stubby tail is extremely important to herThe black vulture and turkey vulture are nature’s recyclers.The Great Horned Owl’s favorite food is skunks.For more information on the Backyard Animals at Woodlands Nature Station and a schedule of events visit LBL’s website at www.lbl.org or call 1-800-525-7077.
The Homeplace
History comes alive at LBL’s 19th century working farm. The Homeplace living history farm recalls the work, play, and customs of a rural family between the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers in the mid 19th century.
Take a leisurely stroll through our grounds and farm buildings, and visit with our interpreters. The Homeplace interpreters, dressed in period clothing demonstrate the daily farm life activities typical of the mid-19th century.
Enjoy The Homeplace’s living collections, the farm livestock, representative of those found in the mid-19th century and crop fields and gardens planted with heirloom seeds. Many of the programs at The Homeplace encourage public participation. There are a number of special events that take place throughout the season. It is an excellent opportunity to experience the customs and lifestyles of the farm families growing up in the mid-1800’s.
The Homeplace Outdoor Museum
During your visit to LBL’s Homeplace in Pryor Hollow, discover...
The number of log structures on the farm that were relocated within 10 miles of Pryor Hollow.
What crop was a dominant part of southern agriculture?
What a “dog-trot” is and why it was so important in the summer time?
For more information on The Homeplace or schedule of events, visit LBL’s website at www.lbl.org or call 1-800-525-7077.
Golden Pond Planetarium
Experience breathtaking, full-dome views of the night skies and celestial events in LBL’s Golden Pond Planetarium located inside the Golden Pond Visitor Center. The planetarium is equipped with 81-seats and a 40-foot diameter dome designed for multi-image projection of video, slides, and simulated night sky.
Planetarium Shows vary by times and season.
For more information on the Golden Pond Planetarium or a schedule of events visit LBL’s website at www.lbl.org or call 1-800-525-7077.
Elk & Bison Prairie
Begin your visit to the Elk & Bison Prairie by visiting the exhibit and viewing the “Restoring the Land for Tomorrow” video at the Golden Pond Visitor Center. Enter the Elk & Bison Prairie and experience the restoration of Kentucky’s landscape. The area encloses 700 acres and features three interactive interpretive stops along a 3 ½ mile paved loop road.
 Enjoy your self-guided auto tour of this native grassland restoration landscape. With spring, comes many changes to the prairie. The elk are beginning to shed their antlers. It won’t be long until you see the beautiful joys of life, baby elk & bison, romping through the tall grasses and forest. There are currently 72 elk, including 29 bulls, 30 cows, and 17 calves. The high density of mature bull elks increases competition and bugling activity throughout the fall. As you enjoy your drive through the prairie, be sure to watch for the bison roaming landscape. There are 49 bison, 5 bulls, 27 cows, and 17 calves. Remember- elk and bison are wild animals. They should not be approached and should be given plenty of space  if they begin to approach your vehicle.
Elk & Bison Prairie Interesting Facts
A full grown bull bison can weight 2,000 pounds or more and a cow 1,300 pounds. Both cow and bull bison have horns. Bison can gallop up to 35 miles per hour over rough terrain. A bull elk reaches their largest size at about 7 years of age. They average 5 feet tall at the shoulders and weigh between 700 and 1100 pounds. The female elk, or cow weighs between 500 to 600 pounds and averages a height of 4.5 feet at the shoulder. Only bull elk have antlers One difference between horns and antler is, unlike horns, antlers are shed every spring and a new set is grown.
For more information on the Elk & Bison Prairie or a schedule of events visit LBL’s website at www.lbl.org or call 1-800-525-7077. |
Step Out and Learn
 Step out of the classroom and into the world of "Explore and Learn" as you experience the environment through hands-on excitement at Land Between The Lakes (LBL).
LBL offers many exciting, educational and hands-on opportunities for groups of all sizes.
 Learn about wildlife in our 700-acre Elk & Bison Prairie, take one of our many hiking trails for other wildlife viewing opportunities, or participate in hands-on nature programs at Woodlands Nature Station.
Experience history up-close when you visit The Homeplace living history farm and see how people utilized the environment in the 1800s, or see the bigger picture at the Golden Pond Planetarium by viewing spectacular shows of space and the night sky on a 40-foot diameter dome (for more in-depth details of these main facilities, visit the "Attractions" section of our web site).
For a longer more in-depth experience, your group can stay overnight at Brandon Spring Group Center. Work with our staff to develop "Explore and Learn" activities or design your own activities using our many amenities.
Whatever your outdoor educational needs may be, you're sure to find what you're looking for at LBL to fulfill your Environmental Education objectives.
|
|
