Once you enter Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, USA, amazing discoveries are just around the corner. This beautiful place exists since 1805, where the religious community of the Shakers settled. Today is one of the most beautiful places you should explore in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky. Because hotels, shops, and museums operate in the restored buildings of the village. And they make you relive that style of life of the last century with their architecture, furniture, utensils, and nature. Equally, it’s a very peculiar place if you want to understand the simplicity of life in a National Historic Landmark.
Activity/Place Highlights
This is an exceptional tourist destination to understand the ways of life that existed in past centuries. If you are planning to visit Pleasant Hill this year, be prepared to find the explorer in you. If you do not want to miss the opportunity to relive different pioneer experiences, and feel that you travel in time. Please put on your list these activities:
Historical routes
Historical tours around the Village start every hour from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. However, you must remember, the daily tours change according to the season and the schedule of the projects executing. In fact, you can find at the Trustee’s Office the schedule of each activity.
The Historic Center, The Farm, and The Preserve are starting points to understand the development of the community. Because the Shaker Farms were constant innovators of agricultural production. In these places, you can learn how to make baskets, sow seeds, harvest crops or care for animals. Remember that the entrance to Shaker Village gives you access to a full day of discovery in these lands.
Outdoor Places
Every day they are full of guided tours by the staff, demonstrations, exhibitions, practical activities and more throughout the place. But on the other hand, there are several activities that you can do outdoors, such as kayaking on the Kentucky River and hiking.
In fact, The Dixie Belle boat awaits you for one-hour narrated cruises, which describe the historical importance of the river. It also takes you under the impressive High Bridge and around beautiful landscapes that are to be remembered all your life. To take the cruise you must go between May and October, depart every day from Shaker Landing at 2pm and 4pm. Tickets cost $ 10 for adults, $ 5 for children and FREE for children under 5.
To discover another way to see the natural wonders hidden in Pleasant Hill. Bring your canoe or kayak and launch into the Kentucky River from Shaker Landing. Venture upriver on these waters, or take a detour onto the wonderful places in the zone. Also, the fee must be paid in advance at the Welcome Center: $ 5 per vessel. Non-motorized vessels only.
How to get there
Pleasant Hill is less than 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Lexington. The historical site of Shaker Village is one of the main tourist points of Harrodsburg in Kentucky. So you can arrive by plane from the Blue Grass Airport, and rent a car or take a bus to Pleasant Hill.
When to go
Year-round, but the silence of an off-season stay makes it that much easier to imagine life as the Shakers knew it. The daily schedule of guided tours, talks, and performances is fuller in summer, and fall color is spectacular. Special events include the Blessing of the Hounds in November.
How long
Harrodsburg is a trip that takes more than 45 minutes from the Blue Grass Airport in Lexington. And we recommend you stay at least one night so you can connect with this way of life and its relationship with nature.
But if you don’t want to stay. 3 hours are enough to tour the most emblematic of the place and enjoy with the family.
Opening and Closing Hours
Also, The Preserve is open every day from sunrise to sunset. The use of the trail is free for users of non-equestrian trails. Donations are welcome to defer the cost of trail maintenance.
Planning
While day passes are available, try to stay at least one night in the village. The accommodations are found in buildings such as the old family homes. We recommend that you make your reservation in advance because you should take into account that not all of them have refrigerators.
To eat, you have the option of going to the Trustee’s Table. Breakfasts, lunches, and dinners are served with vegetables and herbs harvested in the garden of the main farm. But do not forget to take your own snacks, especially if you want to take long walks in the day.
Inside Information
Shaker Village has been a warm beacon of hospitality for more than 200 years. Named one of the main tourist destinations hidden by BBC News. The Trustees Table menus celebrate the roots of Shaker Village with dishes made with seasonal ingredients. Also, all vegetables are harvested there.
Similarly, the 40 miles (64 km) of nature trails are a good place to get away from those slices of Shaker lemon cake. However, all trail users are required to sign an exemption from the use of the property, available at the Center Trailhead reception and The Inn hotel. The Center Trailhead is located approximately 1 mile from the Historic Center.
History
The Shakers emigrated from England in the 1770s and settled in America. They practice a celibate and communal lifestyle, pacifism, uniform charismatic worship and their model of equality of the sexes, which they institutionalized in their society in the 1780s. They are also known for their simple lifestyle, architecture, technological innovation, and furniture. Demonstrating a commitment to the community, sustainability, and ingenuity.
The community in Pleasant Hill, which existed from 1808 to 1910, was home to almost 500 “brothers and sisters” who lived and worked in more than 260 buildings. Today, 34 of those structures are still in the middle of the 3,000 acres of this land. Also, the site is home to the country’s largest private collection of original 19th-century buildings and is the largest National Historic Landmark in Kentucky.
Websites
Other nearby attractions
High Bridge was the highest railway system bridge in the world when it was built in 1877. It operated as the north-south route of the nation, being one of the most important so far. For a few years now, the restored High Bridge Park has been recognized as the jewel of the Kentucky River Parks. You can find it at 1km from Pleasant Hill.
This excellent park is open to the public and has one of the best views of the river. It also has a huge Victorian Pavilion on top of the famous River Palisades. Also, a playground for children, museum and facilities for picnics. And do not forget that every August, High Bridge Park is home to the High Bridge Homecoming Festival.
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