Looking for ideas for a trip to Kentucky with your kids? This itinerary may be your answer. We spent 7 days touring the central part of Kentucky and had a blast. Our trip started in Bowling Green and ended in Lexington. We spent a total of 7 days with about 2 nights at each of our hotel stops – Bowling Green, Louisville, Florence, and Lexington. Our days were not jammed pack with activity, leaving us plenty of time in the late afternoon/evening to relax at the hotel. I will just be sharing about the attractions we visited, not which hotel we stayed at or where we ate.
Day One – National Corvette Museum
We first arrived in Bowling Green, early afternoon. We headed straight for the National Corvette Museum. Even if you’re not a huge car fan, you’ll still enjoy this museum. They have over 80 Corvettes on display from every model year, including one-of-a-kind prototypes. The first-generation Corvette was introduced in 1953 and they are currently on their 7th generation model. At the museum, you can also find out about their infamous sink-hole that opened up inside the museum in 2014 and see the damaged Corvettes along with a glimpse into the cavern that opened up under the museum. Very cool! I would recommend about 2 hours to see the museum.
Day Two – Mammoth Cave National Park
Day 2 was spent at Mammoth Cave National Park. The National Park is approximately a 30-minute drive up I-65 from Bowling Green. We scheduled 2 tours for the day, one in the morning and the other for the afternoon. It is highly recommended that you make tour reservations well ahead of time. This is a very popular place to visit and tours fill up quickly.
Historic Tour
Our first tour of the day was the Historic Tour at 10:00am. We arrived early to get our tickets from the will-call and check out the Visitor Center’s exhibit. I highly recommend doing the Historic Tour. It starts at the natural entrance and allows you to see many of the classic landmarks, including the Bottomless Pit and Fat Man’s Misery. The tour guides do a great job telling you about the history of the cave. Our kids found some of the tour guide’s talks to be too lengthy, but the adults really enjoyed it. The guides lead you through the cave and make several stops to tell the tour group about what you’ve seen or about to see. The tour groups can be very large, so this is the best way everyone can see and hear.
The Historic Tour is moderately strenuous, covering 2 miles in 2 hours and approximately 400 stairs (but not all at once). The tour was fascinating and fun! If you don’t have the entire day available to spend at the cave to experience another tour, I highly recommend taking this one.
Domes and Dripstones Tour
After a picnic lunch at the park’s picnic area just north of the Visitor Center parking lot, we were ready for our second tour. For the afternoon we chose the Domes and Dripstones Tour. This is another 2-hour tour, but only covers ¾ of a mile. But, it has 500 stairs! Over half of these, you will descend right after you enter the cave. It seemed as if they would never end! We chose this tour because it is in a different section of the cave and is one of the only portions with dripstone, or stalactite/stalagmite, formations. It’s amazing how large and diversified Mammoth Cave is!
Day Three – Abraham Lincoln Birthplace & Cave Hill Cemetery
The next day we drove north up I-65 to Louisville, making a side trip to Hodgenville to see Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace. Make note that before you get too far up the road, you will cross into the Eastern Time zone. At the National Historical Park, you will see the symbolic birth cabin of Abraham Lincoln inside a memorial building. There is a nice visitor’s center with a museum display. Unless your kids would like to participate in their Junior Ranger Program, you shouldn’t spend more than about an hour at the park. Up the road, about 10 miles, you can also visit the site of Abraham Lincoln’s boyhood home at Knob Creek.
Cave Hill Cemetery
From there we continued on to Louisville. When we arrived in town we went straight to Cave Hill Cemetery. Here you can pay your respects to notable names such as Colonel Harlan Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Muhammad Ali.
Day Four – Kentucky Derby Museum & Louisville Slugger Museum
We started Day 4 at the Kentucky Derby Museum. This is an American Thoroughbred museum on the grounds of Churchill Downs. It showcases the history of the Kentucky Derby. General admission includes a short tour of the Churchill Downs Racetrack. You can also purchase more in-depth tours if you are interested. We spent about 2 hours here.
Louisville Slugger Museum
For the afternoon, we headed to the Louisville Slugger Museum in downtown Louisville. You can’t miss the museum because of the 120-foot-tall replica of Babe Ruth’s baseball bat at the entrance. Admission includes a guided factory tour, where you will see up-close where the bats are being crafted. I found it fascinating how they make bats for each baseball player’s exact specifications, from the type of wood to measurement preferences. You can see all of the different bats they’ve ever configured in their Bat Vault – there are so many! At the end of the tour, everyone receives a FREE mini-bat! The museum has baseball memorabilia and interactive exhibits. Again, you can probably spend about 2 hours here.
Day Five – Ark Encounter
We got up early on Day 5 to drive to Williamstown, KY to see the Ark Encounter. I highly recommend getting there right as they open to avoid the crowds. Here you will see a life-size replica of Noah’s Ark from the Bible. It’s HUGE! Have you ever wondered the “Who, What, Where, Why and How” of Noah’s Ark? Well, here you will find 3 decks of exhibits that answer all of your questions. I really loved how they showed the Biblical views right next to the modern-day scientific views concerning things like the dinosaurs and the Ice Age. Very informative.
You could easily spend an entire day at the Ark Encounter. Not only do they have all the exhibits inside the Ark, but they also have a petting zoo and donkey or camel rides. There is a lot of walking, so if you have any kind of mobility issues, I recommend renting one of their wheelchairs or powered scooters. For the night, we headed up to Florence, KY. This would put us closer to the attraction we visit on Day 6.
Day Six – Creation Museum
On day 6 we visited the Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY. This museum explores creation based on the Biblical view found in Genesis. The museum includes dinosaur fossils, botanical gardens, a planetarium, a petting zoo, and a zipline. Both the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter are attractions put together by Answers in Genesis, a Christian apologetics ministry. We didn’t spend near as much time here as we did at the Ark, but I would still suggest at least a couple of hours to see everything.
Day Seven – Kentucky Horse Park
For our last day, we headed south to Lexington and spent the day at the Kentucky Horse Park. If you have the slightest appreciation for horses, you will love this place. We spent all day here. This park celebrates all things horse. There is so much to do, including museums, barn tours, a kid’s interactive barn, horse parades, and more! Our favorite had to be the Parade of Breeds put on twice daily. The parade showcases different horse breeds, from rare to iconic, and you learn a little about what makes each one unique. At the end, you are invited to pet the horses and talk with their riders. This was one of our favorite attractions of the trip.
We had a blast during our 7 days in Kentucky. I hope my itinerary gave you some inspiration for planning your own central Kentucky vacation. Happy adventures!
Looking for more road trip ideas?
- 15 Day New England Roadtrip Part 1: CT & Rhode Island
- Florida to Texas Roadtrip Part 1
- Roadtrip Florida to Texas Part 2
- Texas to Florida Roadtrip Part 3
- 2 Days at the Ark Encounter & Creation Museum (new post)
- Bowling Green, Caves and Corvettes (new post)
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are my own. I was not compensated for my opinions.
Well done!