Kentucky

Mammoth Cave, KY

From the 50 State Visitor Guide:

K.R.S. 2019  §§17.500 through 17.580.  502 K.A.R. 31:020

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

K.R.S. §17.510 states 5 working days for initial registration and updates.  Registrants employed in the state must register if present for a period of 14 consecutive days or 30 days in a calendar year.  Per Kentucky SOR office, visitors are not required to register unless present for 14 consecutive days, or 30 days in a calendar year.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence restriction: 1,000 ft. of schools, day care facilities, and publicly owned playgrounds; must move out of residence within 90 days if a new facility opens.  §17.545.  The state notes that the Kentucky Supreme Court forbid retroactive application of this law to those who committed offenses prior to July 12, 2006 and states “The Kentucky State Police do not evaluate or approve particular locations for compliance with sex offender residence restrictions. If you have any questions concerning whether you are subject to the residence restrictions in KRS 17.545 or whether you may legally reside at a particular location you may wish to consult an attorney.”

Presence restriction:  May not be present or loiter on grounds of school or daycare or publicly owned pool or splash pad without advanced written permission. K.R.S. §17.545. Updated Aug. 2024.  Registrants are prohibited from using certain social media and chat rooms, and are forbidden to photograph or videotape minors without parental consent.  §17.546.

Per Kentucky SOR office, a procedure is available for removal from registry after departure.

Duration & updates:

20 years or lifetime, depending on offense. §17.520. Updates annual or every 90 days, depending on offense. §17.520. No tiers.

 

Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace & Boyhood Home

Most recent visit: June 2021

According to Kentucky state statutes, no registered person may reside within 1,000 ft. of schools, day care facilities, and publicly owned playgrounds.  K.R.S. §17.545.  Also, no registrant may be present on the grounds of a school or daycare without advanced written permission.  §17.545.  This isn’t as long a list as in some other states, but per the state SOR office, yes these restrictions will apply to you during the 14 consecutive days or 30 days per calendar year you are allowed to be in-state before you have to register.  

If you pull into a motel off the Interstate one evening it’s extremely unlikely you’ll be anywhere close to anything but a few other motels, a truck stop and other convenience services.  In that situation you have nothing to worry about.  On the other hand if you plan to spend a few days or more vacationing in Kentucky I would advise scoping your resort or timeshare’s neighborhood out just to be sure.

In May 2023 I entered Kentucky on I-24 with a plan to spend two days there before moving on to West Virginia. My first stop was Paducah, home of the National Quilt Museum and the River Discovery Center. Unfortunately it was early morning and I was unwilling to wait around two hours for these places to open, so I explored downtown Paducah a little before moving on. 

Traveling east on the Western Kentucky Parkway (toll) my first real stop was Lincoln’s birthplace and boyhood home (two separate national parks within a few miles of each other).  Very interesting.  

Natural Bridge State Park

Then I proceeded to Natural Bridge State Park.  Perhaps you noticed above that parks, historic sites, museums and Churchill Downs aren’t on the list of places you can’t “reside” within 1000 feet of, so there are a lot of places you can go in Kentucky without worry.  Also, the statute specifies only “publicly owned playgrounds,” so a hotel swimming pool or game room doesn’t count.  Neither does a playground at a timeshare or private campground like a KOA.

With that in mind, on a previous trip I had decided to see about staying overnight in a Kentucky state park campground, only to discover that the park in question (Columbus-Belmont S.P., right on the Mississippi River) included two playgrounds.  One was in the main park area near the museum, which raised no concerns because it was a day use only area.  The other, however, was in the middle of the campground loop, thus excluding me from staying overnight.

After that unsettling experience I decided that at some point I’d check out a few other Kentucky state parks to see if playgrounds may be a “standard design feature” at state park campgrounds in this state.  I am, therefore, pleased to report that there are no playgrounds in the campgrounds at Natural Bridge State Park.  They are all in other parts of the park.  Also, the natural bridge is really spectacular and offers scenic views of mountainous Daniel Boone National Forest which surrounds the park.

Red River Gorge National Geological Area (part of Daniel Boone Nat. Forest) is right across Mountain Parkway (toll) from Natural Bridge, so the next morning I went for this very beautiful drive.  After wending my way through several more national forest byways I came to I-64neast which took me to West Virginia.

Diamond Caverns

Previous visits to Kentucky

On my June 2021 trip I was determined to get tickets for a good Mammoth Cave National Park cave tour, and to secure a campground for the night before said tour.  Every cave tour was booked solid as soon as its date became available on-line, which was only about 10 days out.  To beat that madness I decided to stop at the park on the northbound leg of my trip and buy tour and campground tickets for the date I knew I’d be back on the southbound leg.  And believe it or not, this strategy worked flawlessly! Eleven days later I pulled into my reserved national park campground (with no playground), and the next day I was on a high-demand cave tour.

Diamond Caverns is a privately owned cavern along the national park entrance road.  Obviously, it can’t compete with Mammoth Cave, but on my October 2020 trip I was able to walk right in there and get a same-day ticket and the tour was enjoyable.

Kentucky boasts other national parks, national forests and historic sites too.  On my June 2022 visit on my way home from the NARSOL National Conference I stayed at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.  It offers a full range of campgrounds including electric, water, RV sites and even cabins but without any playgrounds to worry about.  Also, if you’re in the mood for fishing or boating it’s a great place.