Trip S4 · Van Lear & Paintsville
Butcher Holler & the Country Music Highway
Historyworth the stretchGrade-school sweet spotTeens won't groan
US 23 is the Country Music Highway — Loretta Lynn, the Judds, Ricky Skaggs, Crystal Gayle and more, all born along it. Up one hollow, the Lynn family homeplace still stands, shown by kinfolk on a cash-and-handshake basis.
The route
Mountain Parkway → US 23 to Paintsville and Van Lear
Stops
Butcher Holler
The coal-camp homeplace from the song, shown by family. Cash, call ahead, come respectful.
US 23 Country Music Highway Museum
The corridor's hall of fame — costumes, stories, and a startling density of legends per mile.
If the day runs long: Winter option nearby: guided elk-viewing tours from Jenny Wiley State Resort Park — Kentucky's restored herd is the biggest east of the Rockies. Book far ahead.
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