> Wheeling, West Virginia’s July Fourth
celebration treats cruisers to a spectacular
fireworks show off the historic Wheeling
Suspension Bridge, the first bridge to span
the Ohio River.
> Legend has it that Point Pleasant, West
Virginia, is also home to a creature called
the “mothman,” a man-sized, birdlike
critter with glowing red eyes. The 2002
film The Mothman Prophecies, starring
Richard Gere, was based on a book
about the creature, which some blame
for a bridge collapse in the 1960s that
killed dozens.
> Marietta, Indiana, played a significant
role in the settling of the Northwest
Territories. Marietta features many historic
homes and an excellent river museum,
complete with the last steam-powered
sternwheeler tow operating on the Ohio,
W.P. Snyder Jr.
> Rising Sun, Indiana, holds a charming
harp factory and what some might call a
very ugly fountain.
> Gallipolis, Ohio, is a charming, Norman
Rockwell-esque town with a beautiful
waterfront park.
> Many of the historic homes in Madison,
Indiana, wear wrought-iron trim, a
reminder of when the city supplied
wrought iron downriver to New Orleans.
Other sights to see include the Lanier
Mansion and a saddletree factory
museum.
> Portsmouth, Ohio, boasts a remarkable
1,200 feet of beautiful murals inside its
levee walls, with audio tours available.
> Maysville, Kentucky, Rosemary
Clooney’s hometown, has a rich history,
and charming tiles featuring children’s
handprints line the levee access tunnel.
> Louisville, Kentucky’s free-floating
concrete docks offer easy access to the
heart of the area’s attractions, including
the distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon
Trail, Churchill Downs, the Muhammad Ali
Center, the Louisville Slugger Museum &
Factory, the Howard Steamboat Museum,
art museums and on and on.
> Derby, Indiana, is a tiny hamlet with a
safe, convenient dock and an enjoyable
park.
> In Cincinnati, cruisers can dock on the
serpentine wall downtown near the “Purple
People Bridge” and easily spend a week
in “Porkopolis” touring the fascinating
attractions, including the Cincinnati
Library’s interactive 1848 Panorama
Daguerreotype Exhibit and the poignant
Underground Railroad museum.
> Owensboro, Kentucky, offers docking on
the old lock wall, which makes a visit to the
International Bluegrass Music Museum
and the city’s new waterfront parks an
easy and worthwhile stop.
> Be sure to visit the National Quilt
Museum while you’re in Paducah,
Kentucky, the last stop heading downriver
on the Ohio. You might even get a glimpse
of one of the Navy SEAL teams that run
training exercises 24 hours a day out of
Fort Knox. The exercises are a testament to
SEAL toughness.
OTHER OHIO RIVER HIGHLIGHTS
Lazy Dolphin and Carolyn Ann used the inexpensive
docks at Station Square’s convenient transportation hub
located on the Monongahela River to enjoy Pittsburgh
and its surrounding areas.
