Department of Parks
Lick the Wild and Learn to Survive at Big Bone Lick State Park

UNION, Ky. – If you’ve ever wondered if you could hold your own with survival reality-show contestants, Big Bone Lick State Park has planned a program this summer that’s just right for you.

The northern Kentucky park is sponsoring Lick the Wild, a series of eight classes on real-life wilderness living and survival skills that will be held every first full weekend starting Saturday and Sunday June 7-8. Park Naturalist/Anthropologist Todd Young will teach the eight courses designed to develop vital skills like how to find safe drinking water and how to build a shelter from the elements.

Participants can attend just one or the whole series of courses, which will take place in the park’s nature center. Each session costs $10 per person. Group discounts are available for all programs. No prior knowledge is necessary.

All sessions start at 12 p.m. and are held the first full weekend of each month beginning in June and continuing through September. All programs are for ages 15 and above. However, children under 18 must have a legal guardian signed up and in attendance. Here’s a list of the subject of each of the classes:

SURVIVAL CLASSES
FINDING WATER IN THE WILD June 7
FINDING AND GATHERING FOOD June 8
SHELTER FROM THE ELEMENTS July 5
FIRE–STARTING July 6
PRIMITIVE COOKING Aug. 2
CORDAGE: MAKING ROPE FROM PLANT MATERIAL Aug. 3
TRACKING AND WOODS–LORE Sept. 6
PRIMITIVE WEAPONRY FOR HUNTING AND DEFENSE Sept. 7

For more information please contact Todd Young at todd.young@ky.gov or call (859) 384-3522.

Big Bone Lick State Park is located at 3380 Beaver Road in Union, Ky. Union is in southern Boone County about 10 miles south of Covington on Highway 42.

The park is known for its “outdoor museum” of prehistoric animals and its herd of buffalo. Other attractions include fishing in a 7.5 acre lake, swimming in the park’s pool, and hiking in the wooded areas and grassy plains where mastodon, primitive bison and sloth once roamed. The park also features a campground and two picnic shelters.

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