The Official Kentucky Visitor's Guide - The Official Kentucky Visitor's Guide 2025

Caves, Lakes & Corvettes

2024-12-16 11:06:50

HORSE CAVE KOA HOLIDAY, HORSE CAVE

MAMMOTH CAVE NATIONAL PARK, MAMMOTH CAVE

NOLIN LAKE STATE PARK, BEE SPRING

RED RIVER MEETING HOUSE, ADAIRVILLE

GREEN RIVER, BROWNSVILLE

CARRIAGE HOUSE VINEYARDS, AUBURN

SEEK MUSEUM, RUSSELLVILLE

BARREN RIVER LAKE STATE RESORT PARK, LUCAS

Lumber about with dinosaurs. Sleep like the settlers did — in a covered wagon. Join spectators at a duel. (No need to throw down the gloves.) Oh, and did we mention there are caves and Corvettes, too? There’s magic in unexpected moments — and this region is filled with them.

DINOSAUR WORLD, CAVE CITY

From farm-fresh fun to ancient architecture, Hart County gives families lots of reasons to visit, like Munfordville’s monolithic masterpiece, Kentucky Stonehenge — reminiscent of the original prehistoric monument — and Dennison’s Roadside Market with its produce, pumpkin patch, sweet treats and flowers. Experience the slower pace of village life at once-thriving South Union Shaker Village with a self-guided tour of the community’s remaining buildings, near Russellville.

History lovers head to Glasgow’s South Central Kentucky Cultural Center, where exhibits chronicle regional history, from early settlement to the 1960s, through a Kentucky Pants Factory vignette, replica frontier cabin and other artifacts.

FORK IN THE ROAD, FRANKLIN

Ornithophiles find their birdwatcher’s paradise near Barren River Lake at Glasgow’s Brigadoon Nature Preserve, a protected old-growth forest that bursts with color compliments of spring wildflowers. Garden lovers are rewarded with a stroll through Bowling Green’s Baker Arboretum, a landscape painting come to life and an idyllic backdrop for the Downing Museum, a showcase of fine and decorative arts.

KENTUCKY STONEHENGE, MUNFORDVILLE

Sip Midnight Cherry or Berried Jewels on a countryside outing to Auburn’s Carriage House Vineyards. Tour and taste at Franklin’s small craft bourbon distillery, Dueling Grounds, then visit the Sandford Duncan Inn and nearby Linkumpinch Dueling Grounds — especially at high noon during twice-weekly live dueling demonstrations on Friday and Saturday, May through October.

In Cave City, Adventures of Mammoth Cave brings the family fun: ziplining, horseback riding, mountain biking, paddling, aerial challenge course, 40-foot climbing wall and more. Walk with T-Rex at Dinosaur World, where hundreds of prehistoric creatures roam amidst interactive exhibits, a ginormous gift shop and a dino-themed playground.

WIGWAM VILLAGE NO. 2, CAVE CITY

4 musts

Grab a Bite

Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese, Austin

Stop and Shop

Paradise Point Marketplace, Scottsville

Music, Moments, Magic

Beech Bend Amusement Park, Bowling Green

Local Heritage & Culture

Hidden River Cave/American Cave Museum, Horse Cave

KENNY’S FARMHOUSE CHEESE, AUSTIN

SOUTH UNION SHAKER VILLAGE, AUBURN

HIDDEN RIVER CAVE, HORSE CAVE

Regional Road Trips

1 The story of the struggle for emancipation comes to life through gripping exhibits about slavery, including Barriers to Equality: Segregation and Mob Violence and The Struggle for Civil Rights, on guided tours of the seven historic buildings in two historic districts comprising Russellville’s SEEK Museum.

2 Slide behind the wheel of a Corvette simulator at Bowling Green’s National Corvette Museum, then thunder down the road course at NCM Motorsports Park in the real thing. Round out the experience with a pink Corvette cocktail in the Stingray Grill.

3 Rent a newly refurbished cabin and a luxury pontoon boat from Leitchfield’s fully renovated Moutardier Marina for a getaway to one of Kentucky’s most beautiful lakes. Nolin Lake is known for its peaceful setting, outstanding fishing and that gorgeous blue-green water with a sandy beach and forested shoreline.

4 In Mammoth Cave, the world’s longest-known cave system lives up to its name: Mammoth Cave National Park. Below ground, spelunk to Frozen Niagara, the River Styx and Gothic Avenue, along early explorer trails and past stalactites, stalagmites and gypsum crystals. Above ground, hike, bike, kayak, fish and stargaze.

5 Follow the river’s flow through Mammoth Cave National Park and Cave Country, paddling along the Green and Nolin Rivers Blueway, Kentucky’s first National Water Trail — and one of the country’s most biodiverse river systems. Explore river islands and spot eagles at the Nolin River Tailwaters in Edmonson County.

6 Pet the kangaroos at Kentucky Down Under Adventure Zoo in Horse Cave. Meet an exotic creature during an animal show. Walk with emus. Mine for gemstones. Cave popcorn? Find it on a guided tour of Mammoth Onyx Cave, along with cave cauliflower, on zoo grounds.

NCM MOTORSPORTS PARK, BOWLING GREEN