Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a huge country music fan, and while I love the genre in all its forms, from contemporary country pop to traditional bluegrass, I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the classics. Some of the most iconic women of country music – Dolly, Reba, Tammy, Patsy, Loretta – are among my favourite artists of all time. I’ve always been a big fan of Miss Loretta Lynn, so when Tania and I decided we were taking a road trip to Tennessee, I knew I wanted to stop and see her ranch in Hurricane Mills. Of course, about a month before we left for our trip, we saw the sad news that Loretta had passed away at the age of 90. This only made me want to visit her ranch even more, to pay my respects and honour her incredible life and career. So, on our second day in Nashville, we set out for Hurricane Mills.
Hurricane Mills is a small historic district located about one hour west of Nashville, and it’s where Loretta lived from 1966 until her recent passing. Fun fact: the Loretta Lynn estate actually owns the entire town of Hurricane Mills! Loretta and her husband, Oliver “Doo” Lynn, purchased the 3500-acre property in 1966. Today, the Loretta Lynn Ranch is a popular destination for camping and horseback riding. Its old-fashioned “Western Town” houses the Coal Miner’s Daughter Museum, a historic grist mill, a replica of the Butcher Holler home where Loretta grew up, and the grand estate that she called home for so many years.
To get to Western Town, you drive through the campground and RV park. We were blown away at how huge the property is! We even saw some visitors riding horses around the property. Once we’d parked behind the gift shop, we went to check out Loretta’s tour bus that was parked outside, as well as the stunning murals on the side of the store. They paint a beautiful picture of Loretta’s life from her early days onwards, proving that even in her later years, she was Still Woman Enough. (Another fun fact: she recorded that final solo album at 89 years old!)
Our next stop was the Coal Miner’s Daughter Museum. This museum houses an expansive collection of artifacts from Loretta and some of her famous friends, from Patsy Cline to Tammy Wynette. There were several of Loretta’s famous ballgowns on display, along with her guitars, awards, personal letters, lyrics and photographs. The museum has reconstructed the interiors of Loretta’s first Nashville home, along with her schoolroom in Butcher Holler. We even got to walk through the inside of one of her tour buses!
The ranch offers guided tours of Loretta’s Butcher Holler home replica, which run every hour or so. We had to head back to Nashville to make a hard-to-get brunch reservation, so we didn’t have time for the tour, but snapped a photo from the outside.
Across the bridge from Western Town is Loretta’s historic home. It isn’t open to the public but visitors can take a peek through the gates. On the steps outside, visitors had left flowers in her memory.
This area of the ranch also provides a beautiful view of the property’s historic grist mill and dam. There are even porch swings where visitors can sit and take in the scenery. It was a gorgeous fall day when we went, and we had perfect weather!
The last stop before leaving was the gift shop, where I picked up a “You Ain’t Woman Enough” t-shirt to commemorate our visit to Loretta’s home.
It was truly special getting to tour the ranch, and they’ve done a wonderful job preserving Loretta’s legacy. If you ever find yourself in Nashville and you’re a Loretta Lynn fan, or a country music fan in general, I highly recommend a trip to the ranch – I promise it’s worth the hour’s drive! Loretta was truly a pioneer for women in music and paved the way for so many female musicians that came after her; I am so glad we got the chance to visit her iconic home. I’m also so grateful to have a partner who is always eager to participate in experiences that are important to me, even if they aren’t her thing. Tania isn’t a Loretta fan – nothing against her, it’s just not her type of music – but she knew how important visiting the ranch was to me, and she admitted afterwards that she enjoyed the experience way more than she’d expected. Not only did she appreciate the beauty of the property itself (it really was a gorgeous day to be outside!) but she hadn’t realized what an influential musician Loretta was, and she really enjoyed learning about her life. She even wanted to watch her CMT memorial on TV with me afterwards! All that to say two things: one, get yourself a partner who is willing to try new things with you – it’s honestly so important. We’re both very good about participating in things with the other that we wouldn’t necessarily have tried ourselves, and I am grateful for that every day. And two, even if you’re visiting the ranch with folks who aren’t Loretta fans, I promise they’ll have more fun than they expected!
Is there a famous musician’s home you’ve always wanted to visit – be it Loretta’s ranch, Elvis’ Graceland or the Bob Marley museum? Let me know in the comments or send me an email – I’m always looking for new ideas of places to visit!
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