What Are 'Blue Holes' on Kentucky's Green River?

The Green River. At 384 miles, it is the longest river within Kentucky's borders. It begins or rises in Lincoln County KY, runs through Mammoth Cave, and empties into the Ohio River not far from Henderson and Evansville.

I've heard stories my whole life about my grandfather's adventures on the Green River, although DETAILS of those adventures were a bit sketchy. I never got them firsthand; he was always a hard one to pin down for too long a time. But I learned enough over the years to take a closer look. The Green River may be much more beautiful than we realize.

But despite the number of stories I was told, Mom never mentioned anything about "blue holes" in the Green River. That's something I would have remembered. But my grandfather likely never made it up to Hart County, where those "blue holes" are highly sought after locations by adventure seekers. They're found at Blueway on the Green, part of Kentucky's first National Water Trail. There's also a blueway on the Nolin River.

Hart County Tourism rightly promotes its Hart County Blueway as the perfect getaway for paddle adventurers. And those "blue holes" are where caves are located beneath the water.

Our Hart County Blueway on the Green is dotted with shimmering blue holes that are indicators on the surface of cavernous depths below. McCoy Blue Hole, captured here by Matt McClintock, is along the westernmost portion of Green River in Hart County that flows into Mammoth Cave National Park and leads into Kentucky's only official National Water Trail, announced by the Secretary of the Interior.

This blue hole is near the end of a 21-mile trip that launches at Thelma Stovall Park in Munfordville and takes out at Dennison's Ferry in Mammoth Cave National Park. Other features along this trip are Gorin Mill Spring (the state's largest spring) and Rush Island, both near the beginning of the trip.

We have downloadable/printable maps of 7 individual trips and an overall map of our entire beautiful Hart County Blueway on the Green. Each map indicates launch and takeout points, trip lengths, GPS coordinates, river mile markers, points of interest, and safety tips.

While news of these "blue holes" on the Green River are news to me, the beautiful features are well-known to many and have been for some time.

Feel like an adventure? Head to Hart County KY. It's a comfortable drive from most points in Kentucky.

And there are "blue holes" in the water. Now THAT'S something to investigate.