Stay a Little While

Maybe you want to stay and do some touring while you're in Kentucky. While I don't have the expertise of a true Kentuckian, I do have a couple of ideas for you to consider.

Visit Old Washington - Within Maysville's city limits is Old Washington, which was established in 1786 and was a popular outpost for pioneers traveling the Buffalo Trace. Old Washington is on the National Register of Historic Places and features the original 18th century log cabins, frame and brick buildings. Given its close proximity, I would definitely recommend going to see it, taking a stroll down the short main street, and spending some time looking around the antique stores. 


Visit the website to learn more about the historic buildings in Old Washington and for information about tours that are available. The event information is clearly out of date. 

The Rankin House - Learn about the local history with a trip to the Rankin House. The house is located just across the river in Ripley, Ohio and is well-known for being an significant station on the Underground Railroad. With its close proximity to the Ohio River, the Rankin family would put a candle in their window to indicate to fleeing slaves that the coast was clear and they cross the river and continue up to their house.   

Herb Farm at Strodes Run - I haven't ever been there, but it looks like there's an organic herb farm in Maysville with a cafe and tours of the farm. On the tour, you will see and learn about: historic Lashbrook cemetery, ancient Indian trail to Blue Licks State Park, horses, mules, donkeys, goats, honey bees, dogs, cats and area wildlife. Sounds like fun to me! I would call or email in advance to make arrangements, as it doesn't seem like they update their website often. 

One of my favorite things to do in Kentucky is to cruise the winding country roads and take in the scenery. Consult the following websites to help plan a route: 

Kentucky Quilt Trail - The Kentucky Quilt Trail is a celebration of the region's quilting heritage, as well as its historic barns and architecture. It's a growing art project that features colorful, painted quilt blocks on barns. The website has driving routes. To give you some sense of what that might look like, if you went from Maysville to Greenup to Morehead to Maysville that would be a 160-mile loop. 

The Quilt Trail extends beyond the region listed on the website, quilt squares are throughout the entire state of Kentucky, and even in Ohio.



Covered Bridges - There are only 13 covered bridges remaining in the state. From Maysville, you can easily drive to four of them. Click on the link and scroll down to the "River Roads and Back Roads" section for trip details leaving from Maysville. 


Although there's a Madison County in Kentucky, it should be noted that the book The Bridges of Madison County was set in Iowa.

Other Ideas Culled from the Information Highway

Sunday Socials at Equus Run Winery
Sunday, August 12
Sunday socials are no charge and they encourage you to bring a picnic and enjoy a beautiful afternoon n the Bluegrass overlooking the horse farms. Take a blanket, lawn chairs or even your fishing pole and enjoy a lazy afternoon of sipping and socializing. This winery is located in Midway, which is a little outside of Lexington and about an hour and a half from Maysville. 
Woodsongs Old-Time Radio HourMonday, August 13Join Michael Johnathon and guests for a taping of Kentucky's only live syndicated radio show. Audience seating between 6:15 - 6:45 p.m., show runs from 7 - 8:15 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults. This is at the Kentucky Theater in Lexington, which is about an hour away from Maysville.
Restaurants and Watering Holes
I feel the need to start this section by admitting that I'm a bit of a food snob. In my judgy opinion, there really aren't a lot of good dining options in and around Maysville.

Here's what I recommend:
Chandler's on Main - The service will be slow, but the food is much better than most other places. It's located in downtown Maysville.
Last National Bank - This is a bar in downtown Maysville. I don't think they have a website, but they're located at 220 Market Street. If you want to drink something other than Miller or Bud, this is the only place to go.

My tier two recommendations for Maysville eateries include Mi Camino Real and Capronis.

If you want to go further afield, my favorite place to eat when I go to Kentucky is Murphin Ridge Inn. It's actually in Ohio and it's about an hour away, but their food is really good and it's in a beautiful location. Their restaurant is open to non-guests Tuesday through Saturday.