Trip 5 · Maysville & the Ohio River
The Transparent Pie River Run
EatsHistoryLittle kids OKGrade-school sweet spot
A 1780s log village you just walk into, floodwall murals like a comic book about a town, the amber sugar tart a movie star flies home for, and a ferry that's been crossing the Ohio since the 1790s.
The route
US 68 to Old Washington → Maysville → KY 8 west along the river → Augusta → KY 19 → US 27 home
Stops
Old Washington
Log-cabin storefronts from the 1780s. The story goes that young Harriet Beecher Stowe witnessed an enslaved family sold on the courthouse steps here — a memory that fed Uncle Tom's Cabin. Heavy and important; the guides tell it well.
Maysville
Floodwall murals, the astonishing KSB miniatures collection at the Gateway Museum Center (closed early week), and transparent pie at Magee's Bakery — the local tart George Clooney is known to carry home by the box.
KY 8 river road
The best river-hugging drive in the state. Barges race you; barges lose.
Augusta & its ferry
Riverfront lawn chairs, the Rosemary Clooney House museum, and a little ferry crossing since the 1790s (small cash toll, runs when the river behaves). Ride it over and back purely on principle.
File a field report
Found a new dairy bar? Bridge out? Dog mayor re-elected? Email a field report and the best dispatches get published (first names only) on the Field Notes page.