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| Enjoying the Blue River in times past Photo courtesy Cave Country Canoes |
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| Enjoying the Blue River today Courtesy Cave Country Canoes |
Southern Indiana wants you to get the blues.
That's the blues like in our wonderful recreational options. So here are some of our blues --
Blue Heron Vineyards, Winery and B&B, Blue
Prairie Bed & Breakfast, Blue River Cabin Rentals, Blue River Cafe, Blue River Valley Farm, Bluespring Caverns and The Blue River.
Blue
Heron Vineyards. Winery and B&B
5330
Blue Heron Lane
Cannelton,
IN
812/547-7518
www.blueheronvines.com
Poised on top of ridge almost 300 feet above the
Ohio River and just upstream from the Cannelton Locks and Dam, Blue Heron
Vineyards is a pretty spot to sip a glass of wine, take a sip of wine and enjoy
the panoramic view. Specializing in estate and Indiana grown American and French-American grapes, Blue Heron wines
range from dry to sweet. Many of the decorative labels were designed by graphic
artist Danny Bolin of Tell City. Another local artist, Greg Harris, crafted the
hand carved Celtic cross.
There are wonderful spots
to sit and relax including the tree house-like deck, the stone patio and the pavilion.
Located on nearby vineyard property with
a four acre lake is Blue Heron Farm's Bed & Breakfast, recently remodeled
1930 Farm House complete with a turn-of the century barn and vintage
outbuildings. Guests may enjoy breakfast in the cozy dining room or on the
outdoor decks of the winery.
The Blue Heron is near Cannelton,
home of the Cannelton Cotton Mill built in 1849 and once the largest
manufacturing plant west of the Allegheny Mountains and now on the National
Register of Historic Places.
Blue Prairie Bed &
Breakfast
6538 W. CR 875 S., French Lick, IN 47432
(812)
936-3000
Blue Prairie Bed and
Breakfast, a new farm house surrounded by 120 acres of native prairie and
woodlands, provides complete privacy as well as great birding and wildlife
viewing opportunities. Enjoy the
spectacular view including the incredible fall foliage from the private, new
outdoor hot tub just outside your door. Take a walk on one of the hiking trails
the property or relax on your private patio.
You can time your visit to witness
the migrations of the magnificent prehistoric and hill cranes, visible and
audible during their southern migrations. Their flight path which goes over the
Blue Prairie Bed & Breakfast begins in October or November and continues until
the Christmas season.
Strictly
non-smoking, the Pryors have preserved their acreage to enhance wildlife
habitat, planting wildlife food plots, wildflowers and other plants attracting
birds and animals giving guests an opportunity to view nature on every visit.
Less than a mile from
Patoka Lake, Indiana's second largest and most beautiful lake, the historic
towns of French Lick and West Baden are also just minutes away as is Paoli
Peaks ski resort. Canoeing and kayaking on the Blue River are forty minutes
away. Golf packages are available. Wine lovers will be pleased to know that we
are located on the Indiana Uplands Wine Trail.
Blue River Cabin Rentals
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| Come sit a spell |
Along the Blue River Cabin
Rentals
2350 Harrison Spring Road NW
Corydon, IN 47112
(812) 267-3031
Get
away from it at Along the Blue River Cabin Rentals for either a weekend escape
or extended getaway. Two unique cabins offer guests a quiet refuge as well as
private access to Blue River.
The Harrison
Spring Cabin is so named because it sits on the state’s largest spring on
property that was once part of a 600-acre farm owned by United States President
William Henry Harrison. The 86 million
gallon spring,
which may be one of the outlets of the Lost River, an underground river that
flows through Southern Indian, was the site of Indiana’s first gristmill and
sawmill which started operating in 1807. Waters from the spring create a
tributary which connects to the Blue River. The spring is a registered National
Natural Landmark.
The
rustic Cardinal House Lodge,
which can sleep up to 12, is also located on the Blue River. Both are great for
those who enjoy fishing, canoeing, kayaking, caving, bicycling, camping, wildlife viewing, dining, or just plain relaxing.
Blue River Café
128 W Main St Milltown, IN
47145
(812) 633-7510
www.bluerivercafe.com
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| Eggplant Eloise |
A casual
gourmet restaurant with great food at reasonable prices located in quaint and
charming Milltown, the Blue River Café is great for lunch, dinner and Sunday
brunch which runs until 3pm. The chef/owner isn’t afraid to mix things up
culinary-wise. Menu items, using fresh local seasonal produce, include such
wonderful dishes as Eggplant Eloise - beer battered & fried w/ onions
carrots celery eggplant squash sweet red pepper then drizzled with a béarnaise
sauce, Waterzooi – a Belgium seafood stew and fried green tomatoes. Desserts on
the seasonal menu can include peach pecan streusel pie and bread pudding with
Captain Morgan's hard sauce.
Sleek
and more sophisticated than you might expect, the café has gleaming hardwood
floors, pressed tin ceilings and the art by regional artists is displayed on
the walls. But it’s not fussy, just fun.
Live
music Friday and Saturday starts at 7PM. For schedule of performers, check
their Website.
Bluespring Caverns
1459
Bluespring Caverns Road
Bedford, IN.
812-279-9471
Beneath
the rolling green hills of Southern Indiana, the sinewy 21 mile Myst’ry River
courses through the subterranean passages of Bluespring Caverns near Bedford,
Indiana. The river gained its name in the early 1940s when,
after a heavy rain, the large pond on George Colglazier’s farm near Bedford
disappeared, revealing the entrance to the caverns.
Serious
spelunkers could crawl through the caverns, most of them still unexplored in an
area known as Limestone Country because of the porous rock beneath the surface
that’s perfect for forming caves. But
for those of us who like soft adventure the best way to travel the longest
subterranean river in the United States is on a specially designed 17 person
flat-bottomed boat.
Climb
aboard for the hour long, 1.7 mile trip as the boat navigates the river’s
twists and turns, moving through passageways whose walls are coated with a fine
film of mud. The tour is memorable with
the boat maneuvering tight corners that take it from high vaulted chambers into
narrow passages on a river abundant with rare albino blindfish and
crayfish. Overhead, water occasionally
drips from stalactites. When the drops
hit boaters, the clammy experience is affectionately known as cave kisses. These dripping ceilings along with the few
moments when the guide switches off all illumination, plunging the caverns into
a dense, impenetrable darkness that hides everything behind a black velvet
curtain, remind visitors what the early explorers of these caverns, known to locals
since the early 1800s, must have experienced.
Return
to the land above to grab food at the snack bar at the Hospitality Center and
picnic under the sun in the wooded cove outside by the parking lot, pan for
gold, learn the geological history of the cave through the storyboard exhibits
and buy treasures such as native Indiana rocks and arrowheads at the caverns’
gift shop.
The Blue River
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| Cave Country Canoes |
Winding
its way from Washington County, the Blue River flows through Harrison County
and Crawford County before merging into the Ohio River and is one of only three
Indiana rivers on the national Natural Scenic River list.
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Discovered
by Squire Boone, an explorer, woodsman and younger brother of Daniel, famed in
his day for his exploits in opening up Indiana and Kentucky to settlers and
founder of a small village located near a large cavern where he had once hid to
escape pursuers.
More
than 50 miles of the river are popular for canoe and kayak trips; there are
several public access points, as well as canoe liveries on the river such as
Cave Country Canoes which offer a variety of river excursions.
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