Driving route from Strasburg, Pa to Denver, Co
 

I have been struggling to find an interesting route home at the conclusions to our long road trip in September. We were hoping to find a route which would be more interesting than traveling either I 80 (we are going to Montreal on I 70 so we would like to see different scenery). We prefer to drive 400-450 miles per day. At the moment, the fastest route is to stay one night in each--Columbus, Oh, Peroia, Il, and Omaha, NE.

Are there interesting areas of Kentucky (Morgantown, Bardstown, Berea) that would be worth a detour?

We ALWAYS avoid staying at Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn, la Quinta etc but traveling with a 45 pound goldendoodle makes finding a nice place to stay very time consuming.

Can you suggest a more interesting route? (maybe stay in Charleston, WV, Lexinton Ky, St. Louis and Topeka, Ks? )

Near Lexington KY would be Pleasant Hill, a Shaker Village that is beautiful. Charleston WVA will not be particularly attractive.
Berea has an interesting school and very wonderful craft center.
If you drop down to I70 you will be closer to these than I70 across Ohio.
Not sure why you chose your exclusions, but then, that is your business.
Lexington KY of course has all the horse things you could want.
Not getting what your trip is all about.

Gretchen--This is our first road trip east (usually we go to Oregon or Vancouver), spanning 30 days. I always try to find the most interesting, comfortable accomodations available that are dog friendly. We have stayed at so many Hampton Inn/Holiday Inn Express hotels. While standard and adequate, we found we prefer the b&b approach more. We will leave Denver on I80 and thought we would like to see different scenery on the return portion on I 70. (interesting that the mileage is the same on both I80 and I 70) We are not horse, craft or antique enthusiasts--just enjoy quaint towns with good restaurant choices.

The Shaker Village looks very unique and perhaps the rooms are dog friendly. I will check.

In Kansas the Budget Hotels are dog friendly if you just want to stop for the night. I have driven to Denver a lot and several times with a dog. I stay most often in columbia MO--college town with lots of hotels.
Now I understand that this is a real vacation, not just a "trip".
I'm not a horse "enthusiast" either but the farms in Lexington are gorgeous.

It may be a typo on your part but I-80 is nowhere near Denver. Only I-70 goes through Denver east to west and I=25 north to south. I-76 is the link between I-80 in Nebraska and I-70 in Denver.

A more southerly route would be I-81 down to Winchester, VA and then US 50 all the way to Cincinnati and then I-74 west to Galesburg, IL. Cross the Mississippi River at Burlington and take US 34 west across Iowa.

Well, if you're going to suggest that route, I'll say take I81 to I77 to I40 and go across Tennessee on that to Nashville, and then up to I70 to Denver.
Could see the Smokies a bit, and then Nashville.

I usually base my route choice on where I can find interesting dog friendly accommodations. (We refuse to pay $75-100 extra dog fees on principal)

I will check out both routes and see what inns, B&bs, hotels are offered.

Which route would make a more scenic drive? That's why I thought of dipping down to see the Lexinton/Louisville area.

Kentucky has lots of interesting stuff. You mentioned Bardstown; that is where My Old Kentucky Home is, the place where Stephen Foster wrote the song, as well as Talbott Tavern, said to be the oldest western stagecoach stop in America, where you can have a meal. Mammoth Cave National Park is off I-65 between Elizabethtown and Bowling Green. BG has the Corvette Museum. Lexington and Louisville are both interesting stops. Louisville museums include Churchill Downs Derby Museum, the Slugger Baseball Bat Museum, and the Muhammad Ali Center, among others.