• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Park Ranger John

  • Home
  • About
    • About Park Ranger John
    • Contact Park Ranger John
    • Advertise/PR
    • Disclosure
  • Travel
    • US National Parks
    • List of National Parks by State
    • List of US National Parks in Alphabetical Order
    • Cruise Travel
  • Recipes
  • Outdoor Life
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • US National Parks
  • Cruise Travel
  • State Parks
  • Recipes
×

Published: Oct 1, 2020 · This post may contain affiliate links

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park - Kentucky

The Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park consists of two units encompassing both farm sites that President Abraham Lincoln grew up at before moving to Indiana and the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial site.

Abraham Lincoln National Historical Park neo classical building housing a log cabin, junior ranger booklet and park sign.

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park

Contents

  • Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park
    • Visit the visitor center
    • Watch the park movie - Abraham Lincoln: The Kentucky Years
    • Become a Junior Ranger
    • Visit the Birthplace Unit
    • Visit the Boyhood Home Unit at Knob Creek
    • Walk one of the park trails
    • Things to know when planning a visit to Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHP
    • National Parks near Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHP
    • National Parks dedicated to Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 on a farm his parents had bought a few months earlier in rural Central Kentucky.

The family lived at this farm for Abraham Lincoln's first two years of life before moving to a different farm where they lived for five years before moving to Indiana.

The Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park encompasses both of these farm sites.

 

 

Visit the visitor center

The visitor center has a small museum with exhibits detailing the early years of Abraham Lincoln's Life.

One of the coolest exhibits is the Lincoln Family Bible from 1799. This is the Bible that Abraham Lincoln recorded his own birthday and important dates for his family.

Watch the park movie - Abraham Lincoln: The Kentucky Years

The park movie Abraham Lincoln: The Kentucky Years is a 15 minute captioned film that is played every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour

 

Become a Junior Ranger

The Junior Ranger program is broken down by age groups. Depending on the age of the participant you need to complete specific pages in the booklet.

One cool thing about the Junior Ranger program is this park is one of only two that have a gold Junior Ranger pin!

 

Visit the Birthplace Unit

The Birthplace Unit includes 116 acres of the Lincoln family's Sinking Spring Farm.  The early 19th century Kentucky log cabin is enshrined inside the neoclassical Memorial Building at the site of his birth. 

The visitor center is located at the birthplace unit of the park.

There is an accessible path from the visitor center to the top of the memorial if you do not want to walk up the stairs.

Visit the Boyhood Home Unit at Knob Creek

The Lincoln family lived on 30 rented acres of the Knob Creek Farm from the time Abraham was two until he was seven years old when the family left for Indiana.

Walk one of the park trails

Boundary Oak Trail is .3 miles located in the Visitor Center area

Big Sink Trail is one mile long and located in the picnic area on the east side of US 31E.

 

Things to know when planning a visit to Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHP

The site is located in the Eastern Time Zone

Mosquitoes, ticks, and poison ivy are common from mid-spring through mid-fall.

Ranger-led tours are available from Memorial Day until Labor Day.

All park facilities and exhibits are accessible.

The nearest airport is in Louisville, KY

There is no public transportation in or near the park

The nearest lodging or camping is located in Elizabethtown, KY about 12 miles from the park or Bardstown, KY about 30 miles from the park.

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHP is managed by the National Park Service. 

Park Address

2995 Lincoln Farm Road
Hodgenville, KY 42748

The Birthplace Unit is located approximately 3 miles south of Hodgenville, Kentucky on U.S. 31E and KY 61.

The Boyhood Home Unit at Knob Creek is located 8 miles north of Hodgenville along U.S. 31E.

Phone – (270) 358-3137

Park hours

The Visitor Center, Memorial Building, and grounds of the Birthplace Unit are open daily 9:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. (ET)

The park is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day

Park Fees - There is no entrance fee to visit Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHP

Established as Abraham Lincoln National Park on July 17, 1916; transferred from War Dept. Aug. 10, 1933; re-designated Aug. 11, 1939; renamed and re-designated Sept. 8, 1959; re-designated a national historical park March 30, 2009.

National Parks near Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHP

Mammoth Cave National Park - 40 miles

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial  - 133 miles

William Howard Taft National Historic Site - 158 miles

Stones River National Battlefield - 161 miles

Fort Donelson National Battlefield - 167 miles

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park - 174 miles

George Rogers Clark National Historical Park - 180 miles

Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area - 190 miles

Check out the other great Kentucky National Parks and neighboring National Parks in Tennessee and National Parks in Missouri along with National Parks in Illinois

National Parks in Indiana

National Parks in Ohio

National Parks in West Virginia 

National Parks in Virginia

 

National Parks dedicated to Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. These sites preserve not only places of his early life but also the work he did during the civil war. 

Lincoln Memorial

Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site, Washington, DC

Lincoln Park, Capitol Hill Parks, National Capital Parks-East, Washington, DC

Lincoln Boyhood Home National Memorial, IN

Lincoln Home National Historic Site, IL

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, SD

Related posts:

  1. Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
  2. Lincoln Memorial
  3. George Rogers Clark National Historical Park - Indiana
  4. President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site
« Saratoga National Historical Park - New York
Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site - Arizona »

Filed Under: US National Parks

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Photobucket
Hi, I'm Park Ranger John and I am so happy you are here!  I have been a Park Ranger for almost 20 years and can't wait to share with you National Park Travel Tips, Recipes, and so much more!
Learn more about Park Ranger John.

PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket

Footer

Follow on:

PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket

Great Resources

How to Become a Park Ranger

Printable list of US National Parks in Alphabetical Order

Printable List of all 424 US National Park Sites

 

Top National Park Tips

  • US National Park List
  • 13 Hikes in Zion National Park
  • Muir Woods National Monument
  • Zion National Park Camping
  • 7 Epic Hikes in Arches National Park
  • Crater Lake Camping
  • Things to do in Petrified Forest National Park
  • Arches National Park Camping
  • Things to do in Yellowstone

Copyright© 2022 · Tammilee Tips® LLC