Louisville's Ohio River Attractions The symbol of the city, the Louisville Falls Fountain, is near the I-64 Fourth Street Exit. Watch the changing colors and patterns of the world's tallest computerized floating fountain as you board the historic Belle of Louisville. Cruise the Ohio River and listen to the calliope on one of the last authentic sternwheelers in the country. Built in 1914, this National Historic Landmark is the oldest operating steamboat on the Mississippi River system ($9, MD-LD T-Sun 2, T & Th 7pm, June-Sept Sat dance cruise 8:30pm, 502/574-BELL, third deck not handicapped accessible). The Belvedere/Riverfront Plaza stretches along the river here. The Star of Louisville docks at Second Street & River Road. Experience fine buffet dining, entertainment and dancing while cruising the river on this 130-foot ship. Lunch, dinner and moonlight cruises ($17-$37, M-Th 12 & 7pm, F-Sat 12, 7:30 & 11:30, Sun 1 & 7, 800/289-7245, handicapped accessible). See the Falls of the Ohio fossil beds across the Ohio River, I-65 Exit 0, 201 W Riverside Drive. Step back 400 million years and walk onto this 220-acre raised rock bed - the world's largest exposed Devonian fossil bed. This area was once the bottom of an inland sea. Here more than 600 fossil species can be seen and touched, 400 of which were described for the first time at the Falls of the Ohio. This National Wildlife Conservation Area is a favorite for 265 species of birds that feed in the shallow streams, marshes and potholes in the coral bed, as well as in the river. The interpretive center houses an interactive gallery, library, wildlife and river observation rooms, and a state-of-the-art theater presentation ($2, M-Sat 9-5, Sun 1-5, 812/280-9970, interpretive center handicapped accessible). Back across the river, watch the boat and barge traffic from an overlook at the McAlpine Lock & Dam (free, daily 8-dusk, Northwestern Parkway, 27th Street Exit, 502/582-5736, not handicapped accessible). Nearby is the Portland Museum showcasing 200 years of Louisville's river heritage at the Falls of the Ohio. There is a light and sound show, and videos including newsreels of the 1937 Ohio River flood. Some exhibits are located in the Beech Grove antebellum home ($3, T-F 10-4:30, I-64 22nd Street Exit, 2308 Portland Ave, 502/776-7678, handicapped accessible).   Back to Top