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Boone’s Ridge, the long-awaited wildlife centered tourism destination located near the “Bridge to Nowhere” off US 119 in Bell County, is moving closer to becoming a reality. With only the addition of a water treatment plant and a few additional elements standing in the way of opening day, the facility is expected to open in the Spring of 2026.
While the attraction will be in Bell County, it is expected to have a profound economic impact on the surrounding area, including Harlan County.
David Ledford, CEO of the Appalachian Wildlife Foundation which owns Boone’s Ridge, recently hosted a tour of the park for about 50 interested individuals.
The entire facility will have cost approximately $160 million to construct when completed.
“We’ve raised $93 million,” Ledford said. “That includes loan guarantees, that includes the sales tax abatement we got from the state for $18 million, once we start collecting sales tax there will be refunds on that.”
The project’s central building, the 81,000 square foot Trailblazer’s Hall, is an impressive part of the future attraction. Trailblazer’s Hall will include a gift shop, theater, educational exhibits, offices, and a large restaurant with inside and outside dining.
A hotel will be built in the final phase of the facility’s construction.
“I think it will be maybe 100 or 110 rooms,” Ledford said. “It won’t add visitors, but it will add revenue. To really have a significant impact on the number of visitors we’d have to build a 1,000-room unit, we’re not going to do that.”
Ledford mentioned the project had its beginnings a decade ago in 2014.
“We found this property in June of 2014,” Ledford said. “It took two years for us to get to where we could buy the (property),” Ledford said. “We had to get the state to repurpose this to allow us to buy it, the state bought this (property) to use as an industrial park. We bought the place in May of 2016, then we signed a long-term lease on the 11,500 acres around it…in November of 2016. So, we’ve had the place since 2016, then we had to put the building plans together, then we had to find the money, so it’s taken a while.”
One of the planned attractions is an aerial gondola.
“Right over there is where our aerial gondola is going to start,” Ledford said, pointing to a location past Trailblazer’s Hall. “Each gondola car is going to hold 8 people…it’s going to be a triangular route.”
Ledford explained the route covered by the gondola will range in height from 20 feet to 140 feet in the air.
“It’s going to be a 35-minute ride,” Ledford said. “It’s a little over four miles.”
The Boone’s Ridge website at https://boonesridge.com provides more information on the coming attraction.
According to the Boone’s Ridge website, the facility will offer a number of attractions including a zoo, playground, bird observatories, a butterfly house, a bison enclosure, hiking trails, and more.
According to Ledford, Boone’s Ridge is expected to eventually employ in the neighborhood of 200 – 300 people.
“Probably in the third quarter of next year (2025) we’ll start posting for certain positions,” Ledford said. “The word will get out very fast.”