Kentucky (family) vacation
 

My husband and I are traveling with our three children (9, 7, & 4) to Kentucky in August. We are bringing our RV and plan to travel to Lexington and then on to Mammoth Cave National Park. What attractions/cities are not to be missed?

You must go to Louisville. Great restaurants and shopping. Check out Churchill Downs and the park at the River, the kids will Love it. Great kids museum and attractions.

I'm not sure where you'll be coming from and therefore passing through, but Northern Kentucky is nice as well (just across the river from Cincinnati). There is a great aquarium in the Newport on the Levee complex (shopping, restaurants) which is on the Ohio River. If you do make it to this area, there is a lot for kids in Southern Ohio - great zoo, Kings Island amusement park, Beach Waterpark, and a Children's Museum.

Sorry, should have mentioned, we're traveling down I-75 from Michigan.

Lexington is great! I do agree that you should also go to Louisville and while there make sure to get the tour of the Louisville Slugger factory. Watch bats being made. When going from Lex. to Lou. Take state hwy 60 just out of Lexington. There are some fantastic horse farms on that route along with some special homes and even a castle.

We vacationed in Kentucky last summer for the first time and loved it. It was very humid, but we had a lot of fun anyway. We visited the Slugger Museum, and took a ride on the riverboat in Lousiville and went the Falls of the Ohio just over the river from Louisville. We also went to Churchill Downs and then drove down to Bardstown and saw the Stephen Foster Musical. There is a dinner train ride from Bardstown, but we did not have time to do that. It was a great trip - have a wonderful time!

My sister lives in Kentucky and took her 5 year old son to the aquarium mentioned in a previous post. They said ot was awesome. The zoo was great too.

Be sure to drive by the horse farms just west of Lexington. That's where all the horse farms are you see on TV. Louisville is just where they race.

In northwest Lexington is the Kentucky Horse Park. It's supposed to be the best place to camp and they have lots of great exhibits and live horses to see. I've heard great things about it.

In Louisville, don't miss the Louisville Slugger museum and Churchill Downs. (Also, if anyone in your family likes historic arms, a new world-class arms museum just opened in Louisville, www.frazierarmsmuseum.org.)

In Lexington, the Kentucky Horse park is a must-see.

Adults might enjoy a stop or two on the Bourbon Trail on the way to Mammoth Cave: http://www.cocktailtimes.com/distillery/kytrail/

Enjoy!

I don't know about the little ones, but your husband would probably like the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, not far on down I-65 from Mammoth Cave. You could also see the Lincoln cabin near Hodgenville.

I especially like Shakertown at Pleasant Hill a little west of Lexington. The village has a number of original buildings, crafts, and a super dining room.

Then just seven miles west of that is Fort Harrod in Harrodsburg that the children would surely love. At the time you will be visiting, you can see an evening performance of The Daniel Boone Story at the Fort. There is also a fort at Boonesborough, but the play is at Harrodsburg.

You don't say how much time you have, but there are a lot of attractions in KY, and we have an excellent state park system. You might like the one at Cumberland Falls, on down I-75 near Corbin.

Lexington - Driving tour of horse farms, Kentucky Horse Park

Louisville - Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs, Louisville Slugger Museum (free minature bat with the tour), Mike Ley Antiques

Bardtown - My Old Kentucky Home State Park, Whiskey Museum in Spalding Hall

Lincoln's Birthplace in Hodgenville

If you have time, stop in Frankfort and tour the Capitol and visit Frankfort Cemetery. The cemetery has Daniel Boone's grave with an overlook of the city and Kentucky River. There is also Rebecca Ruth Candy Factory in Frankfort that gives free tours. Also a huge sundial Vietnam Memorial

I'd definitely put the Corvette Museum on my itenerary.