I am trying to figure out our schedule while in Kentucky next month, and not sure if we should skip the derby museum in Louisville if we are going to the horse park in Lexington, or vice versa? We are landing in Louisville and spending a week in the greater Lexington area but half of the time will be spent in meetings. What other attractions would you consider if you only had a few days? We will be going to Shaker Village, Louisville Bats game one night, and probably Perryville battlefield. Taking our two kids 12 & 14.

I'm not sure if Churchill is running right now (take a look @ www.drf.com) but if they are, I would certainly spend at least part of an afternoon at the track. Even if you are not a racing fan, the place just oozes history. (Even though they've spoiled it a bit w/the sponsorship & new addition by the paddock area.)

I hope you are combining your day at Shakertown with the battlefield, as they are within 10 miles of each other.
http://www.shakervillageky.org/
http://www.perryville.net/
The road from Lexington to Shakertown (HWY 68) is very curvy when you get near the KY river palisades.

If you are driving from Lexington to Louisville for a ballgame one night, I think that would be a waste of time. Stay in Lexington and go to a Legends game. The hype right now is that Roger Clemons will be coming into town to pitch. http://www.lexingtonlegends.com/main.asp

http://www.visitlex.com/

Or, Cincinnati is pretty close as well if you want to take in a Reds game. I am partial to the Bardstown area myself. There are some interesting things down that way depending on how much you want to drive.

We loved the Horse Park and were a little disappointed in the Kentucky Derby Museum. Maybe if we had seen it first, we might have been impressed. But we saw it after we had seen the museum at the Horse Park. It was good, but perhaps not worth the time to go to Louisville unless you are going there for something else. A race or two at the track would be great!!

My husband I and thought the Shaker Village very interesting. I am not sure if your kids would agree. They might need some background in the History of the Shakers and how they differed from the rest of the people in that day and time.

You might be interested in seeing some Harness racing while you are in Lexington. It's so different from the regular track racing. AND best of all, it's at night!!

Louisville Slugger Museum in Louisville is nice. The kids will get a small souvenir bat. Kentucky Derby Museum is also nice. Joe Ley Antiques is one of the best antique shops in the country.

Bardstown has My Old Kentucky Home State Park, a whiskey museum in Spalding Hall, a pioneer village & several unique shops.

Frankfort - Really nice town to tour. Frankfort Cemetery is scenic. Has Daniel Boone's grave & a nice overlook of Kentucky River. One of the candy factories has a free tour. The capitol building is one of the nicest in the country. There is a huge sundial that is the Kentucky Vietnam Memorial. There is a

Nearby is Switzer Covered Bridge. One of Kentucky's best covered bridges.

Between Frankfort & Lexington. You can take a driving tour of the horse farms. You can tour some of them if you make reservations first. Old Frankfort Stud is a nice farm. So is Gainesway. There is a castle and an historic church near Keenland Race Track.

Ft. Boonesborough State Park is a recreation of a fort. About 15 minutes from Lexington.

If you want to see some natural bridges, Red River Gorge/Natural Bridge State Park is really nice. About 70 miles east of Lexington.

I think the Horse Park might be more interesting for the kids than the Derby museum. There is a museum on the Park grounds that has a lot of Derby memorabilia in it. If you are really interested in horses and would like to spend some time at a track, you might consider having breakfast at Keeneland. There are no races going on this time of year, but you can watch horses being put through their morning workouts and eat in the track kitchen where the jockeys and trainers eat. It's a neat experience.

I agree with kybourbon about staying in Lexington for a baseball game, if the Legends are in town while you are here. Applebee's Park is fun stadium.

If you are at all interested in historic homes, the tour of Ashland, home of Henry Clay, is very well done and the grounds of the house are lovely to wander around.

Have you checked out this site?

http://www.kyhorsepark.com/

There may be that one of the events listed is something that you really would hate to miss if you could work it into your time.

Churchill Downs is running right now, of course. The current meet ends July 16.

I posted earlier but it seems to have disappeared. The Keeneland track kitchen is closed for the summer and won't reopen until fall.

OK, thanks guys. Tell me what you think--Here's what I have so far:
Day 1-Arrive in Louisville, drive to Frankfort for the day (Daniel Boone's grave, state capitol, Switzer covered bridge), possibly continue on to Lexington for the horse park or Keeneland, or return to Churchill Downs, return to Louisville for Bats game.
Day 2-Drive to Bardstown (My Old Kentucky Home park and Springfield). Staying at the Maple Hill Manor for 2 nights, expecting in-laws to drive up from TN for 2-day visit.
Day 3-Visit Perryville battlefield site.
Day 4-Drive to Harrodsburg, visit Old Fort and Beaumont Inn; staying at Shaker Village for a 3-day conference.
Day 7-Drive to Lexington in pm then to Louisville for the night.
Day 8-leave
Is it too much to do Frankfort and Lexington in one day? Should we go to Frankfort on Day 2 before driving down to Bardstown? The first 2 days is when we will have the most free time. I know the horse park can take a full day so should we skip Frankfort? We already took the kids to the Louisville Slugger Museum couple years ago.

I would skip Frankfurt so as to have enough time to let your kids enjoy the Horse Park without rushing. If they are anything like the 12 and 14 year old children that I have known, they will have a ball. Be sure to take them through all the barns and displays.

Frankfort and the Horse Park are only 20 interstate miles apart. I wouldn't backtrack to Louisville. If it's really hot, they might be interested in rafting Elkhorn Creek between Lexington and Frankfort. http://www.canoeky.com/map/index.htm

Springfield is near Hodgenville, birthplace of Abe Lincoln, if that interests the boys. Also in the area, is My Old KY Dinner Train.http://www.kydinnertrain.com/
Like Maple Hill Manor, they sometimes have mystery events.

I agree with Aileen to let your kids spend more time at the Horse Park. It really is very fun.

When in July are you going? The reason I ask is that there is a large convention at the Horse Park on July 28-30, and I'd really recommend not going on those dates due to the crowds. (I'm coming up from Texas for the convention!)

A few summers ago, we enjoyed a low-key stroll around Keeneland grounds during off season. When we pulled into the grounds, we just told security that we wanted to show the grounds to the family.

Same trip we toured Horse Park.

Different trip we toured Derby Museum which really impressed me. My husband had never been to the Derby and I was finally able to somewhat impart the magical experience to him.

Have fun!

My kids hated going to Frankfort on field trips, lol.I would take the kids to the Slugger Museum before driving to Lexington. Don't think a Bats game is worth the drive back here. But Bardstown and My Old KY Home is a great trip. So is Mammoth Cave- but it would be difficult to fit into your schedule.

Thanks! We will skip Frankfort and head straight to the Horse Park. I just checked their website and found out that John Henry (the horse) is there. Will we be able to see the famous horses and are photos allowed?
We have to return on Lousville to meet some friends who have free tickets for us to the Bats game (that's the reason) and we will spend the night there then head down to Bardstown the next morning. We may go check out the birthplace of Abe Lincoln.

Oh Yessss!! Take all the pictures you want. John Henry will probably be in the barn to the back of the park along with several other great ones. Don't miss him!!

Yes, you will be able to see and take photos with the famous horses, who live in the Hall of Champions. Cigar is also there, too.

The Bats game should be fun. It is a nice stadium and they are always doing things to cater to kids. If you have time prior to the game you might want to check out the Louisville Science Center which is also downtown. It is geared towards kids and has some intersting hands on exhibits. Louisville always seems to have something going on around the waterfront so depending on when you will be there, you might stumble onto something interesting.