Parks and outdoor attractions
Louisville Metro has 122 city parks covering more than 14,000 acres (57 km²). Several of these parks were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed New York City's Central Park as well as parks, parkways, college campuses and public facilities in many U.S. locations. The Louisville Waterfront Park is prominently located on the banks of the Ohio River near downtown, and features large open areas, which often feature free concerts and other festivals. Cherokee Park, one of the most visited parks in the nation, features a 2.6 mile mixed-use loop and many well-known landscaping features. Other notable parks in the system include Iroquois Park, Shawnee Park and Central Park.
Going a bit further out from the downtown area is the Jefferson Memorial Forest which, at 6,057 acres (24.52 km²), is the largest municipal urban forest in the United States. The forest is designated as a National Audubon Society wildlife refuge, and offers over 30 miles (50 km) of various hiking trails.
Otter Creek Park is another large park nearby. While actually in Brandenburg, Kentucky, Otter Creek Park is owned and operated by Louisville Metro government. The park's namesake, Otter Creek, winds along the eastern side of the park. A scenic bend in the Ohio River, which divides Kentucky from Indiana, can be seen from northern overlooks within the park. The park is a popular mountain biking destination, with trails maintained by a local mountain bike organization.
Other outdoor points of interest in the Louisville area include Cave Hill Cemetery (the burial location of Col. Harland Sanders), Zachary Taylor National Cemetery (the burial location of President Zachary Taylor), the Louisville Zoo, Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom and the Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area.
In development is the City of Parks, a project to create a continuous paved pedestrian and biking trail around Louisville Metro while also adding a large amount of park land. Current plans call for making basically the entire 1600-acre Floyds Fork flood plain in eastern Jefferson County into park space, expanding acreage in the Jefferson Memorial Forest, and adding riverfront land and wharfs along the Riverwalk Trail and Levee Trail.
(Source: Wikipedia.org)
