Visitors can see still-active salt springs, a re-created Pleistocene marsh, 20,000-year-old fossils, or even the modern-day Ice Age descendants, bison! The park offers a beautiful campground, trails and an interpretive center.
- Visit the Bison herd. - Tour the Museum and Diorama pit. - Discover Salt Springs along the Big Bone Creek trail. - Camp overnight. - Grab a souvenir t-shirt.
Bison The bison are perpetually viewable every day of the year. Owing to weather conditions, visitors may occasionally have to hunt for them in the wooded lots that provide shelter and shade. The bison is the largest of all North American land mammals. Great bison herds once roamed this area and provided food, clothing, and shelter for the American Indians and pioneers. Hunted to near extinction, the last of the wild bison was seen in Kentucky around 1800. The bison herd today recalls the park's prehistoric past and is our only living mammalian link to the Ice Age.
Discovery Trail The Discovery Trail begins at the Megafauna diorama pit, just behind the Visitor's Center. This half-mile paved trail meanders along Big Bone Creek past interpretive panels that impart the prehistoric drama that unfolded around the salt/sulfur springs during the last Ice Age. The trail is open daily from dawn to dusk.
Orienteering Orienteering is a woods navigation sport wherein participants use a map and compass or GPS to navigate an established course. Big Bone Lick's orienteering courses were the site of the 2012 U.S. Intercollegiate and Interscholastic Championships as well as the 2015 Kentucky Outdoor Adventure Games. The park currently offers two permanent, woodland orienteering courses. A beginners' course covering 2.7 km and an intermediate course covering 4.5 km, both featuring 10 checkpoints.
Birding Mid to late spring is accented by the arrival of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird and a host of colorful warbler species. In summer, an assortment of hawks pinwheel high overhead during the day, and the haunting calls of owls echo through the forest at night. Fall ushers in opportunities to see migrating communal flocks as they flit and dart about, searching for tidbits and morsels to fuel their journey. After the leaves have fallen, the starkness of the barren landscape affords unhindered views of over 50 species of birds that over-winter in the park. Altogether, Big Bone Creek Trail is likely the premier locale within the park for year-round birding.
Camping Spacious campground features 62 campsites with utility hookups, grills, a swimming pool, and playground. Showers, restrooms, and laundry facilities are available at a central service building. There is a campground grocery store on-site for your convenience, which is open mid-March through mid-November. Check-in time begins at 2 p.m., and check-out time is at 1 p.m.
Gift Shop The park's gift shop is a unique browsing experience. Visitors will find a charming assortment of t-shirts, sweatshirts, caps, books, fossils, collectible rocks and minerals, park-themed toys, handcrafts, candies, and more. It's the perfect place to find the unique item to take home as a souvenir of your visit to Big Bone Lick.
Hiking Enjoy the serenity of wooded seclusion along the trails at one of Kentucky's most unique parks. There are miles of hiking trails, with each varying in terrain and difficulty. Observe an abundance of wildlife as the trails meander from forested ridges to the babbling waters of Big Bone Creek. Open year-round.
Big Bone Creek Trail: 0.9 mile, easy. Bison Trace Trail: 0.5 mile, easy. Cedar Run Trail: 0.9 mile, easy. Gobblers Trace Trail: 0.5 mile, moderate.
Miniature Golf An 18-hole miniature golf course, with a commanding view of the surrounding countryside, is near the entrance to the campground. Open March 15 - November 15 to all visitors.
Picnicking Nearly 40 acres of picnic grounds with tables, grills, and playground areas are ideal for family outings. The two picnic shelters have tables, grills, water and electric, and may be reserved for rental up to one year in advance. Year-round.
Playgrounds Two playgrounds ideal for family outings.
Swimming Pool - CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE The seasonal swimming pool at the campground is for campground guests only.
Tennis Tennis courts are available for the enjoyment of park visitors. Seasonal.
Field Trips and Outreach Programs Big Bone Lick is the perfect place to get hands-on lessons in history, science, and environmental education. Engage your class, youth group, home school group, or scout troop through a field trip to the park. Your group will experience fun programs and exploration in an outdoor setting. Park Interpreters can also bring programs to your classroom, school, or organization to enrich any curriculum. Programs can be presented to adults as well. Field trips and outreach programs may have a small fee. For more information and scheduling, please contact the park at (859) 384-3522.
Big Bone Lick's Museum Exhibits The park, in cooperation with the Friends of Big Bone and the Cincinnati Museum Center, worked together to create and produce all new exhibits for the park's Visitor Center. Work on the final phase of exhibit installation is now complete. We encourage you to plan a visit to Big Bone Lick soon to see our exciting new displays on paleontology, Ordovician geology, Ice Age mammals, Native American history, the chronology of science at Big Bone, and ongoing research currently underway at the park.
Park Grounds Open year-round. Park grounds close at dark daily, year-round. Admission to the park as well as the Museum & Visitor Center is free to all visitors.
The Pleistocene “It looks as if the earth had anciently been in another position and the climates differently placed than they are at present.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
The Pleistocene, more commonly referred to as the Ice Age, began 1.8 million years ago and ended at around 10,000 BC (12,000 years ago). The important part of the Pleistocene relating to Big Bone Lick spanned an 8,000 year period, from approximately 12,000 to 20,000 years ago. During this period, great ice sheets covered the North American continent in a jagged pattern to just north of Cincinnati.
Scientists speculate that many prehistoric mammals that had not previously been found in Kentucky were driven slowly southward by the huge sheets of ice. The bones of many prehistoric mammals, including mammoths, mastodons, ground sloths, bison, stag-moose, and a forerunner of the modern-day horse have been found at Big Bone Lick.
What would the Big Bone Lick area have looked like during the Ice Age? The flora that existed at Big Bone Lick during the Ice Age was probably much different than the grasses, trees, and shrubs of today. There probably would not have been trees in the marshy area surrounding the mineral springs.
From the bison, to the stag-moose, to the giant mastodon, weighing from 9,000 to 11,000 pounds and standing over nine feet tall, each came to the springs to quench their thirst and satisfy their need for salt and minerals.
Like the mastodon, the bones of many other Ice Age mammals have been found at Big Bone. Archaeologists and paleontologists who have conducted excavations at Big Bone discovered artifacts of different ages in the many layers of soil. They identify the layer of soil nearest the surface of the earth as the historic layer. Bones of bison, whitetail deer, dogs, horses, hogs, and humans have been found within this layer. The oldest and deepest layer, the ancient prehistoric layer, contains bones of the ancient stag-moose, Bison antiques (the forerunner of the modern bison); Harlan’s ground sloth, the Columbian mammoth, and the American mastodon.
“One piece of Mammoth Rib and two pieces of Elephant Tusks” The first recorded discovery of fossils at Big Bone Lick was made in 1739 by a French-Canadian soldier, Charles Le Moyne, second Baron de Longueil. As De Longueil and his troops left Canada and preceded down the Ohio River past what is now Cincinnati, they discovered a marshy area scattered with large bones and teeth they believed came from an elephant.
They gathered some of the huge bones, including a tusk, a femur, and molars, and took them to their rendezvous point with de Bienville’s forces on the Mississippi River near Memphis. The bones were later sent to France and placed in the French king’s collection of curiosities, the “Cabinet du Roi” and were later transferred to the National Institute of France.
Adventures One of the most famous accounts of adventures at Big Bone Lick took place during the autumn of 1756. Mary Draper Ingles, a pioneer woman and captive of the Shawnee Indians and French troops, was taken to Big Bone Lick on a salt-making expedition. Mary’s two young sons had also been taken captive, but had been taken from their mother at an Indian village at the mouth of the Scioto River. During Mary’s captivity, she carefully planned an escape, and in preparation, she obtained a tomahawk from one of the Frenchman in the salt-making party who was, as the story goes, “sitting on one of the big bones cracking walnuts.”
Mary’s escape was successful; she followed a buffalo road (called a trace) to the Ohio River, then made her way upstream and overland following the river until she reached Virginia. Thirteen years later, one of her sons was recovered. The other son died in captivity.
A famous Kentucky settler, John Findley, visited Big Bone Lick in 1752 after a trading expedition to the Falls of the Ohio near Louisville. On his return trip, he stopped at Big Bone where he met with Shawnee Indians. Almost 20 years later, Findley led Daniel Boone into Kentucky, showing him prominent topographical features including Wasioto Pass (Cumberland Gap), the Licking River, the Kentucky Plain (also known as Indian Old Fields in present day Clark County); and the overlooking Pilot Knob, the prominence from where Daniel Boone first glimpsed the Bluegrass Region. Boone later used the features as guideposts when leading settlers into Kentucky.
In 1765, the explorer Colonel George Groghan made a considerable collection of bones from Big Bone Lick. Groghan described his arrival at Big Bone in his journal: “Early in the morning we went to the great lick, where those bones are only found, about four miles from the river, on the south-east side… We found here two tusks above six feet long; we carried one, with some other bones, to our boats, and set off…”
Groghan’s party was attacked by Indians; five men were killed and the others taken captive. Groghan later wrote to a friend, “I got the stroke of a hatchet on the head, but my skull being pretty thick, the hatchet would not enter, so you may see a thick skull is of service on some occasions.”
During this attack, Groghan’s original collection of bones was lost. He returned to Big Bone Lick in 1766 and collected still more bones. Some of the fossils were sent to London to Lord Shelburne, who was in charge of the American colonies. Groghan also sent some of the bones to Benjamin Franklin, who was then in London.
Franklin acknowledged the receipt of the bones in the following letter: “I return you many thanks for the box of elephants’ tusks and grinders. They are extremely curious on many accounts; no living elephants having been seen in any part of America by any of the Europeans settled there, or remembered in any tradition of the Indians. It is also puzzling to conceive what should have brought so many of them to die on the same spot… the grinders differ from those of the African and Asiatic elephant, being full of knobs, like grinders of a carnivorous animal: when those of the elephant, who eats only vegetables, are almost smooth… It is remarkable, that elephants now inhabit only hot countries where there is no winter and yet these remains are found in a winter country… which looks as if earth had anciently been in another position, and the climates differently placed than what they are at present.”
Franklin was clearly puzzled about the origin of the fossils found at Big Bone Lick. He concluded that the earth “had anciently been in a different position” and, like his peers, subscribed to the commonly held theory that animals did not become extinct. Later, Franklin did accurately conclude that the sharp teeth could have been used “to grind the small branches of trees.”
The Delaware Indians had a fascinating legend about the origins of the mammoth and mastodon bones at Big Bone Lick: “In ancient times a herd of these tremendous animals came to Big Bone Lick and began a universal destruction of the bears, deer, elks, buffaloes, and other animals which had been created for the use of the Indians: the Great Man above, looking down and seeing this, was so enraged that he seized his lightning, descended on the earth, seated himself on a neighboring mountain, on a rock of which his seat and the print of his feet are still to be seen, and hurled his bolts among them till the whole were slaughtered, except the big bull, who presenting his forehead to the shafts, shook them off as they fell; but missing at length, it wounded him in the side; wherein, springing round, he bounded over the Ohio, the Wabash, the Illinois, and finally over the great lakes, where he is living at this day.”
Probably the most instrumental person in the development of paleontology as a science and in the recognition of Big Bone Lick as an important paleontological site was President Thomas Jefferson.
In 1796, Jefferson acquired an unusual set of bones which were later identified as those of Megalonyx jeffersoni or “great claw.” Jefferson was not sure what type of animal the bones were from, although he observed the similarities between the bones in his possession and those of a lion.
Jefferson then learned about the discovery of the skeleton of “an enormous animal from Paraguay, of the clawed kind, but not of the lion class at all; indeed, it is classed with the sloth… the skeleton is 12 feet long and 6 feet high. There are several circumstances which lead to a supposition that our megalonyx may have been the same animal as this.”
In 1797, Jefferson was elected president of the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia and there he read his first paper on paleontology, a description of the megalonyx, now known to be a relative of the present-day tree sloth. Thus, the large extinct Pleistocene sloth was named after Jefferson.
In 1803, Jefferson instructed the explorers Lewis and Clark to record all animals they saw during their western journey and to see if any prehistoric monsters were still living in the Western United States. A few years later, and after Lewis and Clark failed to find any “monsters”, Jefferson commissioned William Clark to collect bones at Big Bone Lick to be sent to the White House. The Clark-Jefferson expedition is believed the first organized paleontological expedition in the United States. Over 300 bones were gathered and shipped to Washington by way of the Mississippi River.
When Jefferson received the bones at the White House, he wrote to his friend, Dr. Caspar Wistar, in Philadelphia. Wistar, like Jefferson, was a member of the American Philosophical Society. Wistar became the society’s authority on fossils and wrote several papers on the subject.
Wistar went to Washington at Jefferson’ request; he and the president spread Jefferson’s collection on the floor of an empty room of the White House so they could study the bones at their leisure. Some of the bones were sent to Philadelphia, others to the National Institute of France, and Jefferson kept a small number of bones for his private collection.
Pass the Shaker Indian tribes visited licks to hunt for game and to make salt. Salt was used as a preservative for pork and as a supplement for domestic animals such as horses, cattle, and pigs. Salt was also used in the tanning of hides.
Around 1780, a crude fort was built at Big Bone Lick to provide protection from Indian attacks for members of salt-making expeditions. The fortification is believed to have been built on what was once a man-made island of Big Bone Creek (created by cutting a channel to cut off a sharp bend of the creek channel). Although not much is known about the fort, it is shown on some early maps of the Big Bone Lick vicinity.
The salt-making process used by the pioneers was long and tedious. About 500-600 gallons of saline spring water has to be boiled down to make one bushel of salt. Water was drawn in buckets suspended like those in a well or pumped from wells using hoses and a tube or pipe that functioned as a siphon. The water was emptied into a trough, and then funneled into boiling kettles. The boiling kettles were of different sizes and were placed parallel to each other on furnaces made of layers of stone cemented with mud. The furnaces were several feet deep and 12 to 15 feet in length. Each boiler required a separate fire and after each boiling, the furnaces had to be newly cemented. The process required not only a lot of firewood, but also a great deal of labor and time.
Health Spas – 1800’s Style By approximately 1812, salt-making at Big Bone Lick had ended. As new sources of salt became more readily available from rich deposits throughout the Ohio Valley, the old method of extracting salt from spring water was largely abandoned. However, the springs that had formerly attracted both animals and humans for thousands of years were not deserted. Health spas or “watering places” began to grow and flourish at mineral springs that had either weak salt water or lacked salt altogether. During the 1800’s wealthy southern families came to Big Bone Lick to socialize and to partake of the “curative qualities” of the springs. The Clay Hotel, named after the famous statesman Henry Clay, was built at Big Bone Lick in 1815. The hotel featured a dance pavilion, bathhouses adjacent to the springs, and stables for horses and carriages. Patrons came to Big Bone over the Lexington-Covington toll pike, now known as the Dixie Highway. Other visitors came by steamboat on the Ohio River, then traveled to Big Bone Lick on foot or by carriage.
In 1870, another hotel was built on a hill north of the springs. However, the Civil War had destroyed the fortunes of the wealthy Southern planters and effectively ended the prominence of mineral springs as popular vacation retreats in Kentucky.
The springs at Big Bone Lick are still changing, just as they have been for thousands of years. Huge prehistoric animals no longer come to the springs to drink, the salt/sulfur springs are slowly drying up, and the ancient marshes are gone. However, clues remain about life in Kentucky thousands of years ago, clues that are hidden in the bones preserved by the ancient marshes of Big Bone Lick.
In order to protect the park’s natural resources, promote visitor safety, and assure quality outdoor experiences for all, certain activities are restricted or prohibited within Kentucky State Parks. These restrictions and prohibitions are based on Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS - state law), Kentucky Administrative Regulations (KAR), Kentucky Department of Parks Policy and Kentucky State Nature Preserve Regulations.
The Kentucky State Park System is a state agency mandated to provide outdoor recreation opportunities to the public while protecting the states natural, cultural, and historic resources. Please help protect your parks by becoming familiar with these laws and regulations.
KENTUCKY REVISED STATUTES (KRS) Writing On or Defacing Park Property/Natural Rock Formations/Trees KRS 512.040 (1) A person is guilty of criminal mischief in the third degree when: (a) having no right to do so or any reasonable ground to believe that he has such right, he intentionally or wantonly defaces, destroys or damages any property.
Archaeological Sites & Artifacts KRS 164.715 No person shall willfully injure, destroy or deface any archaeological site or object of antiquity situated on lands owned or leased by the Commonwealth or any state agency or any political subdivision or municipal corporation of the Commonwealth.
Injuring Wildlife KRS 148.029 (1) All areas controlled by the Department of Parks and designated as camping, hiking or other family oriented recreation areas are designated wildlife sanctuaries for the purpose of affording protection to the wildlife thereon as natural, integrated, interrelated, ecological communities. (2) No unauthorized person shall enter a wildlife sanctuary and take, damage, injure, kill, destroy or unduly disturb the wildlife therein.
Hunting KRS 148.029, 301 KAR 2:178 Hunting is not permitted within any state park boundaries, unless the need arises to conduct a limited quota hunt for resource management purposes. All state and federal wildlife laws will be enforced.
Injuring or Removing Plants KRS 433.750 A person who picks, pulls, digs, tears up, cuts, breaks, burns or otherwise damages any tree, shrub, flower, vine, bush or turf upon any land set aside, dedicated or maintained by this state as a public park or as a refuge or sanctuary for wild animals, birds or fish, without having first obtained permission in writing of the superintendent or custodian of the park, refuge or sanctuary shall be fined not less than $25 nor more than $300. Gathering of Firewood on Park Property (prohibited) KRS 433.750 (See above - Injuring or Removing Plants)
Littering KRS 512.070 (1) A person is guilty of criminal littering when he: (a) drops or permits to drop on a highway any destructive or injurious material and does not immediately remove it; or (b) knowingly places or throws litter on any public or private property without permission
Restrictions on Operation of All-Terrain Vehicles KRS 189.515 (3) A person shall not operate an all-terrain vehicle on public property unless the government agency responsible for the property has approved the use of all-terrain vehicles.
Pets KRS 258.215, 304 KAR 1:040 All dogs shall bear proper identification and are to be properly restrained (on a leash). Unlawfully Posting Advertisements KRS 512.080 (1) A person is guilty of unlawfully posting advertisements when, having no right to do so or any reasonable ground to believe he has such a right, he posts, paints or otherwise affixes to the property of another person or to public property any advertisement, poster, notice or other matter. KENTUCKY ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS (KAR)
Swimming 304 KAR 1:020 (1) No person shall swim, bathe, or otherwise enter any water owned by, or leased to, or under the control of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Department of Parks, or enter any waters from any shores of lands owned by, or leased to, or under the control of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Department of Parks, unless they are within a swimming area designated by the Department of Parks.
Commercial Activities 304 KAR 1:030 (1) No person, corporation, or other entity shall conduct or engage in any form of trade, business, or other commercial activity, nor perform any type of service for consideration within the boundaries of any lands owned by, leased to or under the control of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Department of Parks, without obtaining the prior written consent of the Department of Parks and such consent shall not be withheld on a discriminatory basis.
Metal Detectors 304 KAR 1:050 Section 1: Except as provided in Section 2 of this administrative regulation, the use of metal detectors shall be prohibited in all Kentucky State Parks. Section 2: Park personnel, law enforcement personnel, and utilities may use metal detectors.
STATE PARK POLICIES (Activities Requiring Permits or Written Permission from Park Officials) Horseback Riding Park Policy Memo 05-02 Horseback riding with privately owned horses in the state parks shall only be permitted in areas designated by the Commissioner of Parks. This policy does not apply to licensed, concession operated horseback riding facilities. All concession agreements shall be secured in accordance with established procurement policy.
Scientific Collecting Plants, Animals or Geological Materials Park Policy Memo 05-05 All collecting of plants, animals and geological materials for any purpose, including scientific is prohibited, unless written approval is obtained from the Commissioner of Parks. No other permission, written or verbal, is acceptable. All requests should be forwarded to the State Naturalist for review and recommendation to the Commissioner of Parks. To insure the protection of species and to organize serious scientific investigations of the parks natural environment, a written permit will either be issued or denied depending on purposes, materials to be collected, others collecting in same area, species on endangered lists, etc. The written scientific collection permit will contain all the necessary information, including expiration date, for the inspecting officer at the park. This permit can be verified against a file copy with the Department of Parks.
Hunted Game Brought onto State Parks Park Policy Memo 05-07 Any wildlife or game taken by legal means under state hunting laws, with the exception of fish taken in lawful, noncommercial fishing activity, and brought onto land under the jurisdiction of the Kentucky Department of Parks, is to be concealed from view. It is prohibited for game to be hung from trees, supported, field dressed or otherwise displayed within State Park boundaries.
Feeding of Wildlife Park Policy Memo 05-08 The feeding of wildlife on lands managed by the Department of Parks is prohibited for park visitors and park personnel. This includes, but is not limited to, animals such as deer, bear, raccoons, geese, foxes, skunks and wild ducks. This policy also includes the dumping of leftover food waste from park food service facilities by park staff to feed wildlife. This does not prohibit or include the use of birdseed for bird feeders or mineral blocks at certain, designated wildlife observation areas.
Geocaching Park Policy Memo 05-10 Many parks contain fragile habitats that can be damaged by foot traffic or have hazardous areas such as cliffs or sinkholes that may pose a danger to visitors. These rules should be followed when considering the placement of a geocache on a state park. Failure to do so will result in the removal of the cache by park staff. 1. Geocachers must contact the park prior to their visit to obtain permission to place a geocache, and inquire about possible designated and/or off limits areas. 2. Only virtual caches are allowed at the following parks, which have dedicated state nature preserves. Nothing physical can be placed on these properties. This is for the purpose of coinciding with the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission’s geocaching policy. John James Audubon, Blue Licks, Carter Caves, Cumberland Falls, Kingdom Come, Natural Bridge & Pine Mountain. 3. Activities must be confined directly to the trail, and refrain from having to get off the trail to place or hunt caches. Caches shall be placed no more than arm’s length off park trails. Do not access fragile areas, such as rock houses, caves, bogs, wetlands, steep slopes, historic structures, and other sensitive sites. Avoid areas closed to the public, or deemed unsafe. 4. Follow all trail rules; park trails close at dark. 5. Do not interfere/detract from the park experience of others by placing caches in high use areas. 6. Adhere to all other land use rules and posted information. 7. Report any incidents, problems, or violations to the appropriate park staff. 8. Encourage fellow cachers to observe this policy.
ACTIVITIES SOMETIMES RESTRICTED Building Fires During periods of extreme forest fire danger (posted when in effect), fires of any type may be prohibited. Normally, cooking fires are permitted in any of the park’s grills, or in suitable private grills. No ground fires are permitted at any time outside designated camping areas without prior permission from park officials.
Hiking Park hiking trails may be closed on rare occasions when forest fire danger is extremely high (posted when in effect). Otherwise, hiking trails are open for day hiking only.
Camping Camping is generally permitted in the park’s designated campground only. Group camping is occasionally permitted (for scouts) in the park’s Primitive Skills Demonstration Area by prior arrangement with BBLSHS park officials.
TRAIL REGULATIONS (You are responsible for your actions while utilizing park trails) The following acts are prohibited: Defacing rock formations or trees Hunting and trapping Disturbing, capturing, or killing any animal Picking, digging, trampling flowers or removing any plant material Collecting specimens (plant or animal), unless participating in a park program. Building fires or backcountry camping Rock climbing or rappelling Riding ATV’s or horses Hiking off-trail or accessing wilderness areas where no trails exist Alcoholic Beverages Littering
