Berea vs Nancy

I am trying to decide between two programs - one at the kentucky leadership Center in Nancy - the other in Berea. Any opinions?

Also, is it possible to drive into the ';hollers';? Are there any tours?

Berea vs Nancy

Personally, I%26#39;d prefer to live in Berea. It%26#39;s a small college community with a lot of history and many folk art and craft artisans. Richmond, KY where EKU is located is only 15 miles away. You%26#39;ll find college nightlife there. Lexington, KY is about 30 miles away and the closest ';city';. Lex has lots of shopping, dining, nightlife etc.

There are no hollers near Berea (the land is more like rolling hills), but there%26#39;s a great hiking trail that leads to the top of a mountain or knob with an amazing view of Madison County. We always referred to it as ';The Pinnacles'; (the locals will know this name) Not sure if it has another proper name. The trail starts behind the Indian Fort Theater just a couple of miles outside of town on Hwy 21.

You can drive into hollers as long as there%26#39;s a road and you don%26#39;t wander into someone%26#39;s private property. It is ENTIRELY possible that you could get chased off with a shotgun (just like in the movies).

I%26#39;ve never heard of any tours, but I just did a quick Google search on ';kentucky holler tours'; and found this about Butcher Holler (where Loretta Lynn was born). To drive there from Berea would take about 2 hours. Probably about the same amount of time coming from Nancy.

Berea vs Nancy

Oops! Forgot to give you the Butcher Holler link.

http://www.jotravels.com/lorettalynn/

Thank you, seagrover!

I%26#39;ve never heard of Nancy. So that may tell you something right there. I have heard of Berea numerous times. It%26#39;s quite well known for its handmade arts and crafts from a wide variety of media/materials. There is the Kentucky state handicrafts center there, right at exit 77 and I-75 with hundreds of exceptionally well made handicrafts, all made in Kentucky and some in Berea.

I%26#39;ve never heard of holler tours. Personally I wouldn%26#39;t waste my time unless you like driving down valleys on winding roads looking at a bunch of modest homes and farms. I%26#39;ve driven lots of country roads in Kentucky and I can%26#39;t really say that I consider it an attraction in itself.

Imager,

Nancy is just west of Somerset, KY. I grew up in Corbin and used to drive to Somerset as a teenager to visit friends. At that time (things may have changed since then), if you exited off the parkway at the Nancy exit you couldn%26#39;t get back on i.e. there was only an off ramp (no re-entry ramp....at all.) I always thought that was strange. Perhaps there%26#39;s now a way to get back on the parkway if you mistakenly exited.

I always wondered if that was some sort of mis-guided tourist building effort where people would mistakenly get off at the Nancy exit looking for a gas station or McDonalds and find that there was no way to get back to the parkway. As a result, they were forced to ';visit'; Nancy. In all seriousness, I haven%26#39;t been ';to'; Nancy in about 20 years, so things may be a bit more happening now. Somerset certainly seems to have grown and the proximity to Lake Cumberland would is nice, but I just think Berea has a bit more to offer.

I looked at the map and can see Berea would be a better location for several reasons! It%26#39;s only 40 minutes from the Lexington airport ( I%26#39;m coming from PA)and I also want to go on a horse farm tour. I plan to rent a car but am not so great on directions and long winding roads - that%26#39;s why I was trying to find a tour of the back country in eastern Kentucky ( 2 hours from Berea?) I will try to contact LL%26#39;s brother to inquirwe about Butcher Holler.

If you want to check out horse farms then Berea (with proximity to Lex) is definitely the best option. You may also want to check out the KY Horse Park and Keeneland race track (it%26#39;s in a gorgeous setting surrounded by horsefarms). Spring racing meet is Apr 4-25.

http://www.kyhorsepark.com/

http://ww2.keeneland.com/default.aspx

Another thing that might be of interest is Shakertown Village in Pleasant Hill, KY. It%26#39;s only 25 miles south of Lexington. www.shakervillageky.org

I%26#39;m still a little concerned that you might be disappointed with a specific trip to a holler, but maybe not. Having grown up with the rural scenery of eastern Ky, I guess I forget that it might be exotic to someone from outside the area. Be aware that you%26#39;ll probably see quite a bit of poverty and strip mining scars along with the natural beauty.

As a back up plan if you can find a holler tour, you can do a search on ';Kentucky Scenic Drives'; or select a state park where you can check out the mountain scenery.

http://parks.ky.gov/

You have been very helpful. I%26#39;m looking forward to seeing your beautiful state!