Kentucky: Images of the Bluegrass State

Alan Taylor
May 10, 2020
32 Photos
In Focus

The state of Kentucky is home to about 4.5 million people, with more than half of them living in the Bluegrass region in northern Kentucky, near its two largest cities, Louisville and Lexington. Terrain in the rest of the state ranges from the steep mountains and coal fields of eastern Kentucky to the broader valleys and hills in the west, along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Here are a few glimpses of the landscape of Kentucky and some of the wildlife and people calling it home.

This photo story is part of Fifty, a collection of images from each of the United States.

Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

A view of historic Manchester Farm, a thoroughbred nursery outside of Lexington, Kentucky #

Anthony Heflin / Shutterstock

Read more
An autumn view of Natural Arch in Daniel Boone National Forest in southern Kentucky #

Sherman Cahal / Shutterstock

Read more
An oak barrel that is being charred for bourbon use is pulled down by an employee so he can cool it at Kelvin Cooperage in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 12, 2019. To be called bourbon in the United States, the whiskey mash contents requires a minimum of 51 percent corn, and storage in a new barrel lined with charred oak. #

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP / Getty

Read more
The Kentucky River meanders beside the capital city of Frankfort. #

Real Window Creative / Shutterstock

Read more
A lone horse grazes in a pasture outside of Lexington, on a fall afternoon. #

Jeff Haynes / AFP / Getty

Read more
Guests engage with a Kentucky Derby horse at the 142nd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 7, 2016, in Louisville, Kentucky. #

Michael Hickey / Getty

Read more
The field heads into the first turn during the 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 6, 2017. #

Patrick Smith / Getty

Read more
Sandhill cranes begin to stir after resting for the night at a roosting location along their winter migration route in Cecilia, Kentucky, on February 6, 2015. These birds, which are part of the eastern population of sandhill cranes, are part of a group estimated to be larger than 70,000 birds, many of which were wintering in Florida. #

David Stephenson / AP

Read more
A view of the historic buildings along Short Street in Lexington on June 19, 2017 #

JNix / Shutterstock

Read more
The Kentucky Castle, a hotel and spa in Versailles, Kentucky, near Lexington #

Grindstone Media Group / Shutterstock

Read more
Victor Parra, a farm worker, harvests burley tobacco grown by Tucker Farms, before hanging the leaves in barns to begin their six-week curing process, on September 9, 2013, in Finchville, Kentucky. #

Luke Sharrett / Getty

Read more
Noah's ark, the centerpiece of Ark Encounter, a creationist theme park in Grant County that opened in 2016 #

Roig61 / Shutterstock

Read more
An elk with its winter coat, photographed at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, which features a 700-acre enclosed "elk and bison prairie," a habitat that was common in Kentucky more than a century ago #

U.S. Forest Service

Read more
A view of Fountain Square in Somerset, Kentucky #

Jonathan D. Goforth / Getty

Read more
Summer sky above Cave Run Lake, a reservoir in Daniel Boone National Forest in northeastern Kentucky #

Irina Mos / Shutterstock

Read more
Big Four Bridge, a former railroad bridge, now a pedestrian crossing that connects Louisville's Waterfront Park to Jeffersonville, Indiana, across the Ohio River #

Csaw17 / Shutterstock

Read more
Downtown Louisville and the Second Street Bridge, viewed at night from across the Ohio River #

Nagel Photography / Shutterstock

Read more
Festivalgoers crowd-surf at the Louder Than Life Music Festival at Champions Park in Louisville on September 30, 2017. #

Amy Harris / Invision / AP

Read more
Louisville Water Tower Park, featuring the Louisville Water Tower (right), the oldest ornamental water tower in the world, built in 1860 #

Shackleford Photography / Shutterstock

Read more
Members of the STR8 Diamonds dance team take part in the Pegasus Parade in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 2, 2019. #

Roberto Galan / Shutterstock

Read more
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits his approach shot on the 18th hole during the second round of the 96th PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, on August 8, 2014. #

Andrew Redington / Getty

Read more
The Valley View Ferry crosses the Kentucky River to pick up a passenger vehicle, near Richmond, Kentucky, on April 9, 2018. #

Steven J Hensley / Shutterstock

Read more
Horses graze on Siena Farm during a winter storm in Paris, Kentucky, on February 16, 2015. #

David Stephenson / AP

Read more
Cars covered in snow and ice are parked along what appears to be an abandoned Broadway Street in Paducah, Kentucky, on March 3, 2014, after a winter storm brought ice, sleet, and snow to the region. #

Stephen Lance Dennee / AP

Read more
In this Sunday, April 10, 2016, photo, youths hold hands for a prayer during a gathering at sunset outside the Christian Fellowship Church in Benton, Kentucky. #

David Goldman / AP

Read more
The Kentucky State Capitol, seen on a foggy sunrise in Frankfort #

Sherman Cahal / Shutterstock

Read more
A coal barge moves along the Ohio River past Bellevue and Dayton, Kentucky, across from Cincinnati, Ohio. #

Doug Lemke / Shutterstock

Read more
The traditional "blessing of the hounds" and fox hunt in Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, photographed on November 24, 2012 #

Alexey Stiop / Shutterstock

Read more
Weisenberger Mill, a historic flour mill on South Elkhorn Creek near Midway, Kentucky #

Patrick Jennings / Shutterstock

Read more
The opening of a wooded cave in eastern Kentucky #

Universal Stopping Point Photography / Getty

Read more
A view down a side street, looking toward the historic Saint Paul Catholic Church in downtown Lexington, on June 19, 2017 #

JNix / Shutterstock

Read more
Low clouds over the mountains near Whitesburg, Kentucky, photographed on August 23, 2019 #

Scott Olson / Getty

Read more