Kentucky Car Rental and Kentucky Overview

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is located in the East Central part of the United States. It is normally considered one of the southern states, but sometimes is also included geographically and culturally with the Midwest. Originally part of Virginia, it broke off to become the 15th state in the Union.

Visiting the Bluegrass State

When you visit with your Kentucky car rental, you are likely to come to the Golden Triangle, where the population is concentrated in Louisville, Lexington, and the suburban northern Kentucky region. You may also stop in the capital of Frankfort.

Visiting with your Kentucky car rental, you will find out why the state is known for so many things. It has an expansive cave and karst system, coalfields, wetlands, and forests. They are known for their thoroughbred horses, horse racing, bourbon whisky distilleries, bluegrass music, and college basketball.

Plan your travels through the Bluegrass state

Kentucky can be divided into five primary regions for your trip with your Kentucky car rental. There is the Cumberland Plateau on the east, the north-central Bluegrass region, the south-central and western Pennyroyal Plateau, the western coalfields, and the far-west Jackson Purchase.

There are many beautiful natural attractions in the state to see with your Kentucky car rental. There is the Cumberland Gap and Cumberland Falls, which is the only place in the Western Hemisphere where a "moon-bow" (a rainbow that occurs at night) can be seen. If you are feeling adventurous, there is Mammoth Cave National Park, with the world's largest cave system. You can take tours of the caves that last between one and six hours. Two of the tours are lit only by paraffin lamps that you carry as an alternative to the already lit routes. There are also wild tours that will take you away from the developed parts of the cave and into muddy crawls and dusty tunnels. You will also find the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln here in Hodgenville with your Kentucky car rental.

See Kentucky and its importance in the U.S.

Kentucky has been inhabited since prehistoric times by Native Americans. Explorers and settlers came in the mid-1700s, but at this time there were no major Native American settlements. Instead, this was the hunting ground for tribes in the north and south. Much of the land that is now Kentucky was purchased from the Indians through various treaties, and from there the population grew rapidly. One of the most famous settlers here was Daniel Boone, considered one of the founders of the state.

After the American Revolution, the counties of Virginia beyond the Appalachian Mountains became known as Kentucky County. Eventually, the residents here wanted to separate from the state to form their own and Kentucky was the 15th state to be admitted to the Union, as you may learn while you are here with your Kentucky car rental.

As you may learn while you are here with your Kentucky car rental, Kentucky was a border state during the civil war. They never officially seceded from the United States, although they were represented on the Confederate Flag. The state officially remained neutral during the conflict.