Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
Cumberland Falls
Cumberland Falls State Resort Park is located in Kentucky
Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
Location in Kentucky
Cumberland Falls State Resort Park is located in the United States
Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
Location in United States
TypeKentucky state park
LocationMcCreary County & Whitley County, Kentucky, United States
Nearest cityCorbin, Kentucky
Coordinates36°50′27″N 84°19′58″W / 36.84083°N 84.33278°W / 36.84083; -84.33278
Area1,657 acres (671 ha)
Elevation1,073 feet (327 m) [1]
EstablishedAugust 21, 1931[2]
Operated byKentucky Department of Parks
Visitors750,000+ (in 2009)
StatusOpen year-round
WebsiteOfficial website
Edward Moss Gatliff Bridge

Cumberland Falls State Resort Park is a park located just southwest of Corbin, Kentucky, and is contained entirely within the Daniel Boone National Forest.[3] The park encompasses 1,657 acres (671 ha) and is named for its major feature, 68-foot-tall (21 m) Cumberland Falls. The falls are one of the few places in the western hemisphere where a moonbow can frequently be seen on nights with a full moon.[2] The park is also the home of 44-foot (13 m) Eagle Falls. The section of the Cumberland River that includes the falls was designated a Kentucky Wild River by the Kentucky General Assembly through the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves' Wild Rivers System. The forest in the park is also a dedicated State Nature Preserve.

History

After the discussion of building a hydroelectric power plant above the falls in 1927, Kentucky native T. Coleman du Pont offered to buy the falls and surrounding acreage in order to create a state park. Although he died before he could purchase the land, his wife purchased the falls and the 593 acres (240 ha) surrounding it for $400,000 on March 10, 1930, after the Kentucky General Assembly (legislature) approved the creation of the state park. Cumberland Falls was dedicated as a state park at 1:30 p.m. on August 21, 1931.[2]

Following a $2 million renovation project in 2006, the park received an upgraded rating from two diamonds to three diamonds from the American Automobile Association (AAA) in 2007. Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park also received the upgraded rating. The two facilities were the first state resort parks to achieve the three-diamond rating following AAA's revision of its rating system in 2001.[4]

Recreation

The Dupont Lodge

Cabins

Events

Hazards

References

  1. ^ "Cumberland Falls State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ a b c "History". Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. Kentucky Department of Parks. Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  3. ^ Kleber, John E., ed. (1992). "Parks, State". The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Associate editors: Thomas D. Clark, Lowell H. Harrison, and James C. Klotter. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-1772-0.
  4. ^ "Diamonds in the Rough". The Times-Tribune. Corbin, Ky. March 27, 2007. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2007.
  5. ^ "Things to do". Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. Kentucky Department of Parks. Retrieved September 28, 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cumberland Falls State Resort Park.
Protected areas of Kentucky
Visitor attractions of the Eastern Kentucky Coalfield
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