Location: Eastern Kentucky, along the West Virginia and Virginia borders
Length: 144.1 miles (232 km)
Time To Allow: 2 days

Description/Highlights/Points of Interest

The Country Music Highway is Eastern Kentucky's heritage route. The sites and sounds along the Byway capture all aspects of the region's history, including Native American culture, pioneer settlement, coal mining, country music, crafts, architecture, the Civil War and natural resources.

Music is in the air along the Country Music Highway. From mountain music venues to museums honoring the well-known musical artists who have called this area home, the byway is a celebration of Appalachian and Country Music. More than a dozen famous country music stars grew up along this scenic byway, including Loretta Lynn, The Judds, Tom T. Hall, Ricky Skaggs, Dwight Yoakam, Patty Loveless, the National Heritage Fellowship recipient Morgan Sexton, Lee Sexton, and Jeanne Ritchie. The history and lives of these and other famous performers is documented and interpreted all along the byway.

Suggested Itinerary

Music can be heard in a variety of venues along the route including the historic and beautiful Paramount Theatre in Ashland. Also in Ashland is the Highlands Museum and Discovery Center, where the history of Native American Indians who lived and hunted in this region is depicted. Displays offer visitors a chance to see artifacts and items that local native tribes used. The Native American Indians' lands were soon encroached upon by early pioneer settlers.

Yatesville Lake State Park offers visitors a chance to enjoy the unique natural qualities of Eastern Kentucky. This mountain reservoir is an impoundment of the Big Sandy River, and here you can find a variety of fish, such as bluegill, largemouth bass, crappie, and channel catfish.

The early pioneer settlers made a life of their own in this new, wild land, and the life of early pioneers is documented and interpreted in Paintsville at Mountain Home Place. This interpretive facility consists of a reconstructed 19th century pioneer farm complete with oxen and an award-winning interpretive film on the settlement of Eastern Kentucky narrated by local native Richard Thomas (a.k.a. John Boy from the hit TV series, "The Waltons").

Your journey along the Country Music Highway will also reveal how the discovery and mining of coal in this region has been very influential on the history of Eastern Kentucky. The Coal Miner's Museum explains the importance and history of this valuable resource. Coal also affected the community by creating rich coal barons. John C. C. Mayo was one such person. The elegant Mayo Mansion and Mayo Church in Paintsville provide visitors with a look at the wealth that was accumulated in the Victorian period of American history. Mayo exemplifies the "rags to riches" story that abounds in American history both as truth and myth. His life started from modest means, and eventually he rose to high social strata.

Located near Van Lear is the home of Loretta Lynn and is a tribute to her life and music. This is only one spot where you can experience the country music heritage of this byway. Music can also be heard at numerous small venues like the coal camps of Seco and Carcassone and at a long list of festivals such as the Seedtime Festival in Whitesburg and the Apple Festival at the Mountain Home Place in Paintsville.

The Jenny Wiley State Resort Park is the premier state park in this area. The park rests on Dewey Lake, and is situated in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. Nature trails throughout the park orient visitors toward the surrounding lake, forests and wildlife. The park also offers a Broadway performer staffed summer theatre program that features five different shows running concurrently on their outdoor stage.

Perhaps the best evidence of Eastern Kentucky's ongoing commitment to the arts is the Mountain Arts Center (MAC) in Prestonsburg. This $7 million facility houses the Kentucky Opry, a nationally recognized group of local musicians ranging in age from five to 65 who perform regularly and work to preserve the tradition of Eastern Kentucky mountain music. In addition to the Opry, the MAC also sponsors a wide variety of country music performances throughout the year.

Near the byway's end in Whitesburg is Breaks Interstate Park, one of just two multi-state state parks in the nation. This tremendous site is often referred to as the "Grand Canyon of the South" due to its 1,000-foot (304.8 m) deep gorges. The area is 250 million years old, and was carved by the Russell Fork River. The Lilley Cornett Woods is another site of natural significance. It is part of the largest stand of an old growth forest with the greatest ecological diversity in the mid-south region. This area is in its natural preserved state, and many unique varieties of wildlife may be found there.

The following organizations offer itineraries along the Country Music Highway:
American Driving Vacations