Its summer, the weather is beautiful and nature is calling. Strap on your boots spray on some bug spray. It’s time to get out of the house and enjoy public lands! Land Between The Lakes Recreation Area is a National Recreation area that is managed by the US forestry service. It features 171,000 acres of public lands that are open for all to enjoy! The best part? Its only a 1.5 hour drive from Nashville and there’s something for everyone in this beautiful place. Debbie and I took our young family here over the weekend and stayed in a campground. We had an amazing time visiting the places in this article. We did learn a thing or two, such as tent camping in in the middle of August is a terrible idea! We were so hot! However the heat was worth it for all of the experiences we were able to have. Below are a few of the places we visited!
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Land Between The Lakes: The Homeplace Farm
The Homeplace is a historic site that allows visitors to enjoy the sites and sounds of an 1850’s farm. The site features period building from around the area that have been relocated to the farm. These buildings feature wonderful exhibits that show what life was in rural Tennessee before the civil war. My favorite place on the farm was the tool barn. It had authentic tools that were used to build log cabins. I like to do some woodworking in my spare time, so seeing tools like their spring pole lathe and shave horse was interesting. Overall I thought this place was a great place to go on a family trip although it was not perfect. The first thing a saw upon entering the farm was a tractor mowing the fields. Which was not awesome if you are expecting an immersive experience. There was nothing growing in their garden and no one was actually doing anything at any of the exhibits. They simply had a few historical interpreters standing around to answer a few questions. My guess is they are having funding issues and have had to cut some corners. Overall our trip to the Homeplace was worth it the tickets were only $7 dollars each and we were able to show our son some cool old buildings!
Land Between the Lakes: Elk and Bison Prairie
This was without a doubt the highlight of our trip!The Elk and Bison prairie is located in the northern portion of Land Between the Lakes outside of Golden Pond, Kentucky! This is an American safari park for $5 a carload you and your family gain access to a 700 acrea tall grass prarie with a wild bison and elk herd that freely roam and graze. This is the only time in my life I’ve been able to watch buffalo this closely without them being in a zoo or something . It was well worth the the ticket price. I would highly recommend this to anyone.
Land Between the Lakes: Nature Station
The Nature Station is essentially a mini zoo and animal rescue that features local wildlife that cant be reintroduced to the wild. This nature station in particular has wild turkeys, bald eagles, red wolves as well as reptiles like timber rattlesnakes and copperheads. My infant son absolutely loved the turkeys and giggled whenever they would walk by. it costs $7 per person to visit the nature station and is well worth it. I’ve never seen a red wolf in person before, so that alone made it worth the trip.
Conclusion
Ive never had a bad time heading out into nature and exploring new places. I had never heard of these attractions before driving into Land Between the Lakes and now they have made me so fond of Land Between the Lakes I think I will be visiting every few months for some family time and some rest and relaxation. If you have the opportunity go visit. You will not regret it!
-Cody
If you are looking for more fun tips and tricks for visiting public lands check out our blog. Or you can check out this post on visiting Mammoth Caves National Park
