Need ideas for a road trip from Raleigh, NC to Mammoth Cave, Kentucky
 

We're planning a last minute road trip to Kentucky for the last week of June. We'd like to stay a couple of nights in Asheville, NC and then onto Kentucky for two nights and then make another two night stop on our return trip home.

So far, plans include Mammoth Cave and the Corvette plant in Kentucky. We're looking for ideas on where to stay in Kentucky, other places to visit in Kentucky and also a third destination somewhere in between.

We did this over spring break and couldn't find much more than what you listed. Abraham Lincolns Birthplace was being refurbished at the time and was pretty much closed, but you might check it out. We did a Wild Cave Tour in Mammoth that was awesome. Also did the lantern tour at night.

Nashville is on your way and is definitely worth a couple of nights.

If you are coming back the same way, how about the Great Smoky Mtns. National Park? There is a lot to do around Gatlinburg or Cherokee. Or you could head on up to Lexington, KY from Mammoth Cave, and then back into N.C. on Hwy. 75, stopping at Cumberland Falls State Park before entering Tennessee.

Thanks for the suggestions. Ideally we'd like our third stop to be approx. mid-way to avoid an eight hour drive home. The Smoky Mtns. might be our best bet.

We'll check out Lincoln's home and the Lincoln Trail in Kentucky. I enjoyed reading your earlier trip report spirobulldog.

Toots, we did this trip 1 1/2 years ago and here's a rundown.

We stayed in Bowling Green (Homewood Suites, I think) and enjoyed the buffalo burgers and cornbread at Montana Grill (it was walking distance from our hotel) as well as a Greek place called Anna's. There are hiking/biking trails all around Mammoth Cave along with a number of other caves for exploring. We didn't realize the number of other caves until we arrived and didn't have any time allotted for touring those. The Corvette Museum is well worth the price.

In Asheville we stayed at the Beaufort B&B and loved it! The gourmet breakfasts were amazing. The Range Rover driving experience on the Biltmore Estate was pricey but fun! Lots of hiking and biking around the Asheville area. For dining we enjoyed Savoy, Limones and Tupelo Honey. We got some great chocolates at the Chocolate Fetish. If you like good brew, check out the Asheville Brews Cruise which takes you behind the scenes of 3 or 4 of the local breweries.

We arrived home today from our six night trip. We spent the first two in Gatlinburg at the Hilton Inn. From there we drove to The Mammoth Cave Hotel for two nights and then spent the last 2 nights in Asheville at the Grove Park Inn.

Two nights in Gatlinburg gave us enough time to take in Ober Gatlinburg and Cades Cove. Once in Mammoth we did two cave tours. We arrived in time to take in the 6:30 Star Chamber tour our first night. Be sure to book in advance as the tour was sold out. The next day we did the Grand Avenue Tour. It's a fast pace tour that covers about 4 miles in 4 1/2 hours and includes lunch in the Snow Ball room. In the afternoon we took the unique car ferry ride over the Green River. The Mammoth Cave hotel is not luxurious but it was great to be in the park for the ranger camp fire program and other activities.

After leaving Mammoth Caves we drove to Bowling Green for the Corvette Plant tour. The tour was very interesting.

After the 8:30 a.m. tour we drove 5 1/2 hours to Asheville. We arrived in time for dinner at the Grove Park Inn at the Sunset Terrace. What a great view! The next day we toured the Biltmore Estate and dined in downtown Asheville at Topelo Honey Cafe. We needed at least one more day to tour the downtown area and the Blue Ridge Parkway, but since we're from NC we'll catch those on another trip.

Oops, I meant Tupelo Honey Cafe.