The Big South Fork Scenic Railway operates the K&T Special, a 16-mile, three-hour round-trip tour through Kentucky's Daniel Boone National Forest and Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. The tour takes you through amazing mountain wilderness, down into a 600-foot river gorge, past the Blue Heron Coal Mining Camp, and includes a free ticket to the McCreary County Museum. K&T Special tours run from April to October. In November, you can take the "Run to the Gorge" tour, an hour and a half round trip through the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area in a heated passenger car.
Big South Fork Scenic Railway
100 Henderson St.
Stearns, KY 42647
800-462-5664
bsfsry.com
If you'd like to enjoy a chef-prepared meal while riding the rails, try My Old Kentucky Dinner Train. This tour offers a two-hour ride on restored railroad cars from the 1940s, pulled by restored 1950s locomotives. Your trip includes a four-course dinner or a three-course lunch, prepared on board. Menu choices include specialties like bourbon barrel smoked pork loin, prime rib and eggplant Parmesan. Your train ride takes you on a round trip through Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, past the Jim Beam distillery, to Limestone Springs. Tours run year-round.
My Old Kentucky Dinner Train
101 R. J. Corman Drive
Nicholasville, KY 40356
866-801-3463
rjcorman.com/dinnertrain.html
The Bluegrass Scenic Railroad operates a train tour and railway museum. Take a one-hour, seven-mile round-trip tour on a vintage train from the 1920s. The train operates on the weekends from May to October. Your tour runs through the beautiful Kentucky countryside, passing several horse farms along the way. In additional to regularly scheduled trips, the Bluegrass Scenic Railroad also offers special events throughout the year, such as a Civil War Train Robbery reenactment, a "Haunted" Halloween train ride, a Santa Claus Train and Mystery Theater train tours.
Bluegrass Scenic Railroad and Railroad Museum
175 Beasley Road
Versailles, KY 40383
859-873-2476
bgrm.org/
The Mountain State Mystery Train offers day, overnight and weekend tours. Each tour includes a troupe of professional actors who encourage audience (i.e., train passengers) participation in a fun, murder-mystery themed play. It's like a game of Clue on wheels. The Mystery Train offers several tours through Kentucky, including the "Weekend in Washington D.C." tour, which passes through northern Kentucky and features the sights of the Bluegrass Heartland and Eastern Highlands; the "Springtime Mountains of Fun" tour, which includes a weekend tour through Kentucky's Bluegrass Heartland and Eastern Highlands; or the "October Fall Foiliage Tour," a scenic tour of Northern Kentucky's gorgeous autumn colors.
Mountain State Mystery Train
P.O. Box 8254
Huntington, WV 25705-8254
866-529-6412
themysterytrain.com/yearroundtrips.html
