Covington, Ky. boasts parks, history and super views of Cincinnati
COVINGTON, Ky. — I love visiting the Bluegrass State, packed as it is with history, scenic beauty and, especially, bourbon. But coming back home to Ohio is also a treat, especially driving northbound on I-75 through the “cut in the hill” north of Fort Mitchell, when the breathtaking view of the Ohio River and the Cincinnati skyline suddenly spreads out before me.
That view is, however, fleeting, unless traffic happens to be backed up. So on my most recent trip to Kentucky I decided to explore some places where visitors can enjoy, at a more leisurely pace, that great view across the river.
Happily, those places also offer their own delights to travelers who take time to seek them out.
Covington’s Devou Park (1201 Park Drive, exploredevoupark.org) offers a magnificent panorama of Cincinnati from Memorial Overlook, a vantage point that can be enjoyed at length from many benches and picnic tables along a bluff high above the river. The overlook offers plenty of parking and is handicap-accessible. And after visitors have sated themselves with the view, there are a plethora of other activities at the 700-acre park, including golfing at Devou’s 18-hole public course; strolling, hiking or biking along paved and backcountry trails; and fishing or just relaxing along the shore of Prisoners Lake.
History buffs should also plan on devoting an hour or two to the park’s Behringer-crawford Museum, located in a 19th-century mansion that has in recent years been expanded to display an extensive collection focusing on the cultural and natural history of northern Kentucky.
Although it doesn’t provide an elevated vantage point, the riverfront in Covington is also a thrilling place from which to view the river and the Cincinnati skyline beyond.
A series of colorful murals on the floodwall just west of the iconic and historic Roebling Suspension Bridge depicts the history of the riverfront, from prehistoric bison crossings to early riverboat days to the great flood of 1937 and beyond.
Just past the John A. Roebling Bridge itself is a life-sized statue of Roebling, the architect who designed the bridge which was finished just after the Civil War and was, at the time, the longest bridge in the world. Roebling later designed the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.
Further along the river are other statues of famous figures from area history, including 18th-century Indian chief Little Turtle, frontiersman Simon Kenton
(for whom the surrounding county is named), female riverboat Captain Mary B. Greene and African American James Bradley who purchased his own freedom from slavery and became an antislavery activist and intellectual.
The final statue in the series is of naturalist John James Audubon, who spent time in the area observing birds and, no doubt, also enjoying the view.
A walk along Riverside Drive in Covington also provides a great view of historic and architecturally diverse homes great and small, some dating back more than two centuries.
Adjacent to Covington, the city of Newport also offers plenty of great riverfront views.
The retail and entertainment center Newport on the Levee (1 Levee Way, newportonthelevee.com) is a terrific place for river- and people-watching from its public patios and outdoor seating areas.
The center’s new Bridgeview Box Park was designed to provide unobstructed river views and has plenty of seating, a tiki bar and a variety of “street food” style carryout eateries. And right next door is the world-class Newport Aquarium.
Also adjacent is the Purple People Bridge (purplepeoplebridge.com), a pedestrian bridge that was originally opened as a railroad bridge in 1872 just after the Roebling Bridge was built. The bridge is a convenient and thrilling vantage point for visitors who’d like to walk out and experience the view from above the river.
For those continuing north, the hills above Cincinnati also provide several magnificent views of the city from the Ohio side. Bellevue Park, a small city park near the University of Cincinnati campus, is a great place for a few last photos and selfies before the city and the river disappear in the rearview.
For more information, and to learn more to see and do in the region, visit cincinnatiusa.com.
Steve Stephens is a freelance travel writer and photographer. Email him at sjstephensjr@gmail.com.