By Tony McVeigh
Frankfort, KY – Memorial Day weekend traditionally kicks off the summer vacation season, and state officials are promoting outdoor and adventure tourism here in the Commonwealth. First lady Jane Beshear says outdoor recreation, like hiking, camping, bicycling and riding all-terrain vehicles, is a 33-billion dollar industry in the U-S. And she says nearly two-thirds of the population participates in some form of it.
"Those numbers are very impressive and it's very impressive for the Kentucky market because as many of you know, we are within a day's drive of two-thirds of the U-S population. Between all the intersections of the interstate that we have and our airports and our other means of travel within this state, we have a unique market."
Governor and Mrs. Beshear recently handed out more than one million dollars in Recreational Trail Program grants to assist communities statewide in developing and maintaining recreational trails. A link to a complete list of trails will soon be available at Kentucky Unbridled Adventure.