| Big Bone Lick State Park | |
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A sign for Big Bone Lick State Park |
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| Type | Kentucky state park |
| Location | Boone County, Kentucky |
| Area | 512 acres (2.07 km2) |
| Created | 1960[1] |
| Operated by | Kentucky Department of Parks |
| Open | Year-round |
Big Bone Lick State Park is located at Big Bone in Boone County, Kentucky. It is located on Beaver Road and between the communities of Beaverlick and Rabbit Hash. The name of the park comes from the Pleistocene megafauna fossils found there. The mammoths and other creatures are believed to have been drawn to this location by a salt lick. It bills itself as "the birthplace of American paleontology" a term which dates from the 1807 expedition by William Clark and his brother General George Rogers Clark.
In 2002, the National Park Service designated Big Bone Lick State Park as an official Lewis and Clark Heritage Trail Site.[2] The Park was also listed in 1972 on the National Register of Historic Places, and was further listed as a National Natural Landmark in February 2009.
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A new visitor's center was officially opened on November 18, 2004, but this was only the first stage of a much larger project now in quest of funding. The museum center features fossils, American art and a 1,000 pound mastodon skull as well as a gift shop.
The park also features several nature trails, including the Outdoor Museum with Discovery Trail that includes a boardwalk around a marsh bog diorama with recreations of a woolly mammoth, a mastodon, a ground sloth, bison, and scavengers feeding on carcasses and skeletal remains. The Discovery Trail winds through several habitats, including grassland, wetland and savanna, and is accessible to the physically challenged.
A small bison herd is also maintained on-site.
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