Big Bone Lick State Park, Paleontological state park in Boone County, Kentucky.
Big Bone Lick State Park is a natural area in Kentucky known for its fossil collections. Mineral springs at this location attracted large animals during the ice age, and when they died, their bones remained in the ground.
People noticed large bones sticking out of the ground at this location long before scientists studied them carefully. A French explorer collected specimens there in 1739 and brought attention to the site beyond the region.
The visitor center displays bones from mammoths and mastodons that people discovered at this location thousands of years ago. The exhibits help visitors understand and experience the animal life of the ice age.
The park offers walking trails of different lengths, rest areas, and easy access to the exhibit spaces. Plan several hours for a comfortable visit and wear good shoes to explore the paths fully.
The site was known for a long time, but intensive scientific excavations in the 1960s revealed the full extent of fossils there. Scientists discovered thousands of bones that completely changed how people understood ice age animals.
Location: Boone County
Inception: 1960
Website: https://parks.ky.gov/union/parks/historic/big-bone-lick-state-historic-site
GPS coordinates: 38.88690,-84.74800
Latest update: December 6, 2025 16:01
Kentucky combines natural areas and historical places in ways that tell the story of the state. Cave systems run beneath the earth, including Mammoth Cave, one of the world's largest. Rivers cut through gorges and valleys, creating waterfalls like Cumberland Falls and rock formations that draw...
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