05/10/2026
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In the old coal town of Lynch, Kentucky you can tour the Portal 31 Coal Mine, one of the most unique historic attractions in the Bluegrass State. The experience begins when you board a small rail car and ride straight into the mountain through the same dark underground passageways once traveled by working miners. As the car moves deeper into the old mine, the tour uses animated scenes, life-size figures, tools, sound, and mining equipment to show what the work was really like, from drilling and blasting to loading coal and spending long hours far below daylight. Portal 31 opened in 1917, the same year U.S. Coal & Coke Company, a subsidiary of U.S. Steel, built Lynch as a company coal town.
At one time, Lynch was considered the world’s largest coal camp, with a population that reached around 10,000 people and workers who came from more than 30 countries. After the mine ride, there is more history above ground, including original 1920s coal camp buildings like the lamphouse, where miners picked up their lights, and the bathhouse, where they washed off the coal dust after their shifts. A nearby museum adds even more to the visit with old photos, mining tools, and stories from the town’s coal past. Portal 31 closed as a working mine in 1963 after producing more than 120 million tons of coal, then reopened decades later as a tour attraction. For anyone who likes eerie underground places, old rail rides, and real Kentucky history, this is a tour that stays with you.
