Kentucky Appalachians

Kentucky Appalachians is the region where Kentucky, a proud country state, gets country. The wild mountainous areas are more what you would expect from West Virginia, and Kentucky's famous national Poet Laureates Robert Penn Warren and Jesse Stuart called these mountains home, as well as country music stars Naomi and Wynonna Judd, Loretta Lynn, Ricky Skaggs, Chris Stapleton, and Keith Whitley.

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Essential Destinations

Top destinations include Ashland and Pikeville.

Ashland

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Ashland is a city in Boyd County in the Kentucky Appalachians near the confluence of the Big Sandy and Ohio Rivers. It was founded as Poage's Landing in 1786, incorporated as Ashland in 1854, and has witnessed the likenesses of such personalities as Billy Ray Cyrus and the Judds.

Pikeville

Photo: Nyttend, Public domain.

Pikeville is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Pike County, Kentucky, United States. Its population was 7,754 as of the 2020 census. Pikeville serves as a regional economic, educational, and entertainment hub for the surrounding areas of eastern Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Morehead

Photo: W.marsh, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Morehead is a small city at the foot of the Kentucky Appalachians. The 2020 census puts the population as 7151. It is the home of Morehead State University, one Kentucky's seven public universities.