Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park is the best natural destination near Madisonville, located about 20 km to the south near the town of Dawson Springs. The park covers over 1,500 acres of mixed hardwood forest in the Western Kentucky Coal Field region, centred on a 56-acre lake. Swimming, fishing, and paddleboats are available on the lake in season, and a network of hiking trails covers the surrounding woodland.
The park has cabins and a lodge for overnight stays, making it a viable base for exploring western Kentucky rather than just a day trip. The forest is particularly pleasant in October when the deciduous trees turn; spring wildflowers are also notable. The name comes from pennyroyal, a wild herb that once grew abundantly in the thin-soiled barrens of western Kentucky — a reference to a landscape that has largely been replaced by agriculture and coal-field development.