25,271,258 acres
Statehood 1792 (15th)
Capital: Frankfort
Population: 4,505,836 (26th)
High Point: Black Mountain (4,145 feet)
Best time of year: Spring and fall
After publishing the guidebook 50 States of Great: Road Trip Guide to America., I have been creating blog posts with a travel itinerary for every state. After starting with Kansas, Georgia, Idaho, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Hawai‘i, Arizona, Louisiana, South Dakota, Indiana, Montana, Mississippi, Wyoming, and Missouri, I chose another landlocked central state. I made an ambitious seven-day plan starting in Mammoth Cave National Park and the city of Louisville, with plenty of options to extend the trip.
Day 1
Mammoth Cave National Park (click here for our blog post)
The limestone in Kentucky formed 350-million years ago beneath a tropical sea and was dissolved over time by underground rivers that continue to flow today. You can see running water in the Bottomless Pit on the Historic Tour, just before squeezing through Fat Man’s Misery. Make the most of your visit by hiking the hills and signing up for more than one cave tour.
Optional stop at Lost River Cave
There are several privately-owned caves outside the National Park around the town of Bowling Green, and you can take an underground Cave Boat Tour in Lost River Cave.
Optional stop at National Corvette Museum
This Chevrolet sports car has been produced at the neighboring Bowling Green Assembly Plant since 1981. This is the infamous museum where a sinkhole opened up February 12, 2014 and swallowed eight rare Corvettes. The museum reopened the very next day and eventually five of the cars were recovered. The museum now has an exhibit on the event that includes a game where visitors can virtually recover Corvettes from the sinkhole.
Optional stop at Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park (click here for our blog post)
Even if you are familiar with his life story, it is a good idea to watch the film at the visitor center before climbing the stairs to the scale model of the birth cabin inside the Memorial Building. A ten-mile drive takes you to the reconstructed Lincoln house at Knob Creek Farm, where you can hike the Overlook Trail if you have time.
Day 2
Churchill Downs
Located next to the University of Louisville campus, the Kentucky Derby racetrack has become a year-round tourist destination with a museum where kids can pet horses and try on jockey clothing.
Muhammad Ali Center
Part of Museum Row, this six-story cultural center is dedicated to boxer Muhammad Ali, a native of Louisville. Other stops include the Kentucky Science Center, Frazier History Museum, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, KentuckyShow!, and…
Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory
The Louisville Slugger baseball bat has been produced at four locations around the city since the original shop opened in 1884. Admission includes a factory tour, in addition to access to interactive exhibits, batting cages, and the Signature Wall where the original 1905 contract is displayed that made Honus Wagner the first ever athlete to endorse a product. Outside the museum, anyone can pose with the world’s largest baseball bat that stands 120 feet tall and weighs 68,000 pounds.
Optional stop at Louisville Mega Cavern
Stretching underneath the Watterson Expressway and the Louisville Zoo, this former limestone mine is classified as the largest building in Kentucky.
Day 3
Camp Nelson National Monument (click here for our blog post)
Established as a National Park Service unit in 2018, this Civil War fort is located 20 miles south of Lexington. Originally developed as the state-run Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park, it has a historical museum, interpretive film, and hiking trails. Its interpretive film made it on the list of Top 10 Films at National Park Service Visitor Centers.
The Gorge Underground Kayak Tour
The crystal-clear subterranean waters of a 100-year-old flooded limestone mine are illuminated by LED lights and headlamps on this guided kayak tour.
Optional stop at Rail Explorers
These railbikes have an electric assist motor as visitors journey ten miles roundtrip on railroad tracks over the decommissioned 1889 Young’s High Bridge 283 feet above the Kentucky River.
Optional stop at University of Kentucky
Famous as a basketball school, it might be worth visiting the state during the winter to watch a game inside Rupp Arena.
Day 4
Daniel Boone National Forest (click here for our blog post)
The spectacular sandstone bridges of Red River Gorge Geological Area are a major reason this National Forest sees more than one-million visitors annually. Daniel Boone National Forest encompasses nearly 100 developed recreation areas and 600 miles of trails.
Optional stop at Natural Bridge State Resort Park
Located next to Red River Gorge Geological Area, this natural bridge is 65 feet tall and 78 feet across. There are several different trails that provide views of the impressive 24-foot-thick sandstone span, in addition to a Skylift that provides access to visitors with physical disabilities. The park also has a lodge, cottages, swimming pool, campground, and hosts square dances in the summer.
Day 5
Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
The DuPont Family purchased the surrounding land after a hydroelectric dam was planned upstream and donated it to the state in 1931. Their forward thinking preserved a beautiful 68-foot-tall waterfall on the Cumberland River that is also an impressive 125 feet wide and famous for the moonbow visible in its spray on full moon nights. In addition, the 1,657-acre park has 44-foot Eagle Falls, as well as 51-room lodge and Olympic-size pool, but perhaps is best known for its traditional square dances held several nights per week in summer.
Optional stop at Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument (click here for our blog post)
Mill Springs National Cemetery opened in 1867 as one of 12 original National Cemeteries. The battlefield driving tour starts from there south down Kentucky Highway 235 to Zollicoffer Park and includes six more stops on the driving tour north of Lake Cumberland. There is no bridge across the reservoir, so reaching the final two stops requires backtracking and connecting to Kentucky Highway 1275.
Day 6
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (click here for our blog post)
Straddling the Tennessee-Kentucky border, the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River was once considered for damming before its federal designation in 1974. It has several sandstone arches and waterfalls, but is best known for its Class IV whitewater rapids and the concessionaire-run Big South Fork Scenic Railway. With several campgrounds and lodges to choose from, it is easy to spend a few days hiking to discover some of the 400 miles of trails in this wild corner of the Cumberland Plateau.
Optional stop at a bourbon distillery
There are so many options across the state to visit a distillery and sample Kentucky bourbon, that I am sure you can find one if that fits your itinerary.
Day 7
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park (click here for our blog post)
In the corner where the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia all converge, you can see all three states if you drive to the top of Pinnacle Overlook at 2,440 feet in elevation. Reservations for the bus tours to the Hensley Settlement or Gap Cave typically sell out each day, but there are 85 miles of shady trails through the park’s 24,000 acres of forest for hiking and backpacking (free permit required).
Optional stop at Black Mountain
Located off Route 160, the state’s high point at 4,145 feet is accessible on a 3.4-mile out-and-back trail with 531 feet of elevation gain.
Day 8+
Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (click here for our blog post)
In southwestern Kentucky, the U.S. Forest Service manages these 106,458-acres. It gets its name from the narrow strip of land left after the damming of the Tennessee River to create Kentucky Lake and the Cumberland River to create Lake Barkley. In addition to opportunities for traditional watersports, this area has several attractions found along the Woodlands Trace National Scenic Byway. These include developed areas like the Golden Pond Visitor Center and Planetarium, Elk and Bison Prairie, Woodlands Nature Station, and Turkey Bay Off-Highway Vehicle Area.
Ark Encounter
Opened in Williamstown in 2016, this creationist theme park is highlighted by its 510-foot-long representation of Noah’s Ark from the Bible’s book of Genesis. There is a petting zoo on the grounds with kangaroos, camels, and other exotic animals. In addition, the park has a zipline, virtual reality theater, and a restaurant with a seating capacity of 1,500 guests (making it one of the world’s largest eating establishments). The same organization also operates the pseudoscientific Creation Museum 45 miles away in Petersburg, which depicts humans and dinosaurs coexisting.
Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail
This 282-mile-long trail runs from Tennessee north into Daniel Boone National Forest and Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (where a camping permit is required). Marked by white turtle blazes, the trace passes through Alum Ford primitive campground, from where a short jaunt takes hikers to 113-foot-tall Yahoo Falls, which you can walk behind.
Learn more about Kentucky’s Most Scenic Drive, Wonderful Waterfall, Top State Park, and other categories in our new travel guidebook 50 States of Great: Road Trip Guide to America.
