Fall excursions at Bernheim

Mountains from the fire lookout at Bernheim Forest

In autumn, Midwest and Mid-South leaf-lovers should seek out Bernheim Forest. Figuring out when to seek out peak color is a tricky venture - what peaks at one latitude peaks differently elsewhere. Another week and fall's transitory colors would have dominated the green.But it was no matter, since the research forest is a unique patch of green in the Kentucky countryside.

On this brisk Sunday afternoon, traffic was light at Bernheim Forest. Aside from a few heavily trafficked spots, we had most of the forest to ourselves.Three years had slipped by since our last visit - we always wind up wishing the forest stood closer to Nashville.

A century ago, no one would have glanced at this land for natural beauty, after it had been torn up for mining. Bernheim was a whiskey distributor and distiller. He funded the creation of Bernheim Forest from former mining land in 1929 with his whiskey fortune, which included founding the I.W. Harper brand.

The state's largest privately held forest opened in 1950. The forest lies in Bourbon Country - Jim Beam's distillery operates across the street from Bernheim's main entrance and a half-dozen other distilleries have facilities a few miles southeast in Bardstown.

The forest was sparsely populated this Sunday. With colder temperatures and cutting winds, the fisherman disappeared from its ponds and fewer people loitered in the harvested gardens. A lone volunteer stood outside the nature center with educational displays.

As is our pattern, we could not enjoy one eastern lookout because of a couple playing kissy-face, so we took the short hike to Bernheim's fire lookout tower. The sturdy tower rises just 47 feet above its hilltop, but that heights offers panoramic glimpses at central Kentucky.

In the fire lookout, we squeezed next to the volunteer guide who pointed out the nearby mountains rising from the forest as well as the distant spires of Louisville and Ohio River power plant smokestacks.  Looking east, the forest stretches to the horizon, broken only by the occasional weathered mountain. When Bernheim conceived the research forest and the lookout was constructed, it was surrounded by farmland. In 2017, the tallest trees encroach on views from the lookout, the risk of fire greatly diminished in the past 80 years.

Lake Nevin and beyond

For a break from the cold, we had sandwiches at Isaac's Cafe, which mainly serves herbs, fruits and vegetables harvested from Bernheim's gardens. The cafe fits the aesthetics of the visitor center, which feels akin to a ski lodge at times with wide open ceilings and wood interiors. Outside, trellises surround the center, complementing the vegetation growing on its green roof.

 We hiked the Lake Nevin loop, alone for most of its short length around the manicured pond and its foliage-draped shores. Some pines turned brilliant orange and reds, their fading needles double in the lake's still waters.

Before departing we visited an odd statue set on a woody incline. From the sculpture we could view patches of leafy color upon on of the forest's signature hills and the big prairie at its foot. The bronze Let There be Light by George Gray Bernard, which was installed more than 60 years ago. The two towers symbolizing Christianity and Judaism. Mr. and Mrs. Bernheim are buried there, their remains having been moved once the memorial was completed.

Bernheim memorial "Let There Be Light"