Planning a trip from Michigan to Kentucky in August with our three young children. Definately going to Lexington, Louisville and Mammoth Cave. Any other must visit places? Anyone been to the Land Between the Lakes area?

If you go to Lexington, be sure and see The Kentucky Horse Park. You could spend an entire day there. There is a Kid's Weekend Aug 6-7 if you happen to be there then.
http://www.kyhorsepark.com/khp/events/

Between Lexington and Louisville, you can stop at Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill (I recommend the lemon pie) and at Fort Harrod in Harrodsburg. The children will like the fort; and if you can stay, there is an evening performance of a play called The Legend of Daniel Boone that's fun for kids.

South on I-65 near Hodgenville, you can see Abraham Lincoln's birthplace; and continuing after Mammoth Cave, you can see the Corvette Museum at Bowling Green.

Tour Frankfort - The Capitol Building is one of the few domed capitols in the country. Frankfort Cemetery is nice with an overlook at Daniel Boone's grave that has a great view of the Kentucky River. Also a Vietnam Memorial that is a giant sundial. Nearby Elkhorn has a nice covered bridge.

Bardstown - Great southern city. Go to My Old Kentucky Home State Park. Tour the mansion. See the Stephen Foster Story at the park. Whiskey Museum in town at Spalding Hall.

Louisville - Louisville Slugger Museum, Belle of Louisville, Joe Ley Antiques, Kentucky Derby Museum.

Between Bardstown and Mammoth Cave, stop at Lincoln's Birthplace in Hodgenville.

Near Lexington is Fort Boonesborough State Park.

Dusty, one of the few domed capitols in the country? Just curious, but don't more states than not have domed capitols? I know Illinois does and have seen many others throughout the country. Off-hand, the only one I can think of that isn't domed is Nebraska.

Oh, and New Mexico!

I'll just ad to some great suggestions above. There are many bourbon distilleries to tour. Maker's Mark, in Loretto outside Bardstown is our favorite because it is so beautiful and historic.

Also along I-65 in Elizabethtown is the Coca-Cola museum inside a bottling plant. My kids really liked it when they were youner.

In Harrodsburg, is Fort Harrod and an outdoor drama about Daniel Boone.

In Georgetown, north of Lexington, is the huge Toyota plant with a terrific tour. I think you might need to make reservations for it in advance. It was interesting for my kids to see the Toyota plant and then compare it to the Corvette plant that you can also tour in Bowling Green.

As for Land Between the Lakes, it is our least favorite area of Kentucky but I know some people really enjoy camping there.

We live in Ohio but we really love Kentucky. We think it is one of the most overlooked states in which to vacation.

CAPH52

How about Domed Cathedral Style?
What ever style it is, there are only four of that style: Kentucky, Minnesota, and two others.

Ah-ha! Now I understand. Thanks, Dusty!

CAPH52 - You can add Hawaii to your other list.

The capitol building here is rectangular with a flat roof.

I think the other two that fits my description are Virginia and California. But I could be wrong on both. The four states were named in a brochure I read when I toured the Kentucky State Capitol.

BYOB to LBL - you can't buy it there. Go to Pattis for porkchops. Fried catfish and BBQ are good local favorites to try just about anywhere in the area.

Well, I think most of the places of interest in Kentucky have been covered. However, a little known tidbit is that both Abraham Lincoln AND Jefferson Davis were born in Kentucky. Jefferson Davis's monument is located in Fairview, KY, not far from Hopkinsville, which is on your route to LBL. The monument is very similar to the Washington Monument in D.C., just not as tall.

The KY Horse Park has a special exhibit of Egyptian horses right now but I'm not sure they will still be there in August.

There are several horse farms to visit in the Lexington area - Three Chimneys Farm if you want to visit Smarty Jones. www.threechimeys.com For other attractions in Lexington - www.visitlex.com

The children's museum in Lexington has recently changed names. www.explorium.com

If you visit the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill be sure to take the Dixie Belle boat ride on the KY river ($5)to view the palisades. www.shakervillageky.org

Near Shakertown but I guess really not for kids is Irish Acres. The Glitz restaurant is fun for lunch. www.irishacresgallery.com

In northern KY is the Newport Aquarium. www.newportaquarium.com also for shopping/restaurants www.newportonthelevee.com

In Louisville the kids might enjoy the Louisville Slugger Musuem. www.sluggermusuem.org or the Six Flags Ky Kingdom theme park. There is also a science museum with Imax.

Near Mammoth cave is an Australian type them park/farm (?) called KY Down Under. www.kdu.com

If you travel to the eastern part of the state there is Fort Boonesborough State Park and Natural Bridge State Park near the Red River Gorge.
http://parks.ky.gov/resortparks/index.htm

For adults there are many bourbon distilleries and vineyards to tour and sample.

August will be very hot and humid so the caves are a good way to cool off.

Louisville has the Louisville Science Center (Louisvillescience.org) with lots of hands-on stuff for the kids to do. There is also an Imax theatre there. And it’s just a block or two from the Louisville Slugger museum.

Louisville also has Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, but it isn’t as good as most Six Flags parks.

A friend just visited Dinosaur World (www.dinoworld.net) near Cave City this past weekend with her 7-year-old daughter. The place has model replicas of dinosaurs spread throughout the forest and there is a place to “dig” for dinosaur bones and fossils. Her daughter loved the digging and had 3 fossils to show me.

Lake Cumberland is a big beautiful lake located in south central Kentucky with many marinas where you can rent pontoons, houseboats, waverunners, etc. There are a few places where you can rent cabins or stay in a state park lodge (Lake Cumberland State Park).

Cumberland Falls State Park (http://parks.ky.gov/resortparks/cf/index.htm) is home to the only waterfall in the Western Hemisphere that has a moonbow (check the website for dates the moonbow is visible). It is located a few miles off of I-75 just south of Corbin. Corbin is the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken and there’s a museum where it all started.

There is also a water park called Kentucky Splash near Williamsburg (just south of Corbin).

This is just a suggestion for a possible route: Drive south into Kentucky on I-65 and hit the Louisville area. Continue south on I-65 to the Mammoth Cave area. Go east on Louie B. Nunn Parkway (formerly called Cumberland Parkway). This will take you by the north side of Lake Cumberland if you’re interested in it. Continue on through Somerset (the Parkway turns into Hwy 80) to London. Go south on I-75 to the Corbin and Williamsburg area. Go north on I-75 to the Lexington area and then head north on I-75 to Michigan.