Boone first reaches Kentucky in the fall of 1767 while on a long hunt with his brother Squire Boone, Jr.

Boone's first steps in Kentucky are near present-day Elkhorn City.

While on the Braddock expedition years earlier, Boone had heard about the fertile land and abundant game of Kentucky from fellow wagoner John Findley, who had visited Kentucky to trade with natives.

Boone and Findley had happened to meet again, and Findley had encouraged Boone with more tales of Kentucky.

At the same time, news had arrived about the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, in which the Iroquois had ceded their claim to Kentucky to the British.

This, as well as the unrest in North Carolina due to the Regulator Movement, likely prompts Boone to extend his exploration.