Top Places to Visit in Kentucky

Kentucky's visitor attractions center on bourbon country, horse culture, cave systems, and the rugged Daniel Boone National Forest.

Mammoth Cave National Park
The world's longest known cave system — 420+ miles of surveyed passages, with new discoveries extending the map regularly. The cave formed in Mississippian-age limestone; the Green River flows above and around the cave. Tours range from the Historic Tour (2 hours, paved trail through the Historic Entrance and the Broadway passage) to the Wild Cave Tour (6 hours of crawling and squeezing through unmapped sections). The cave's 54°F year-round temperature, extraordinary scale (Mammoth Dome is 192 feet high), and 130+ years of guided tour history make it unique among US caves.

Kentucky Horse Park (Lexington)
A living horse museum and working horse farm — 15 breeds of horses are stabled here; the Hall of Champions (retired champion horses including American Pharoah's dam line) is the centerpiece. The daily Parade of Breeds showcases Kentucky's equine diversity. The International Museum of the Horse is the world's largest equine museum. The Kentucky Horse Park also hosts major equestrian competitions (World Equestrian Games).

Bourbon Trail
The Kentucky Bourbon Trail (an organized circuit of distilleries across the Bluegrass Region and beyond) includes: Buffalo Trace (Frankfort — the oldest continuously operating distillery in the US, founded 1792), Maker's Mark (Loretto — the distinctive red wax is hand-dipped on each bottle), Woodford Reserve (Versailles — the finest distillery setting in Kentucky, in a restored stone distillery on Glenn's Creek), Wild Turkey (Lawrenceburg — with the finest bourbon visitor center in Kentucky), and Jim Beam (Clermont). The American Whiskey Trail connects all major Kentucky distilleries.

Red River Gorge (Daniel Boone NF)
The finest natural scenery in Kentucky — the Red River has carved a deep gorge through the Cumberland Plateau, exposing 70+ natural arches (the highest concentration in the eastern US), sandstone cliffs of 200+ feet, and old-growth forest. Natural Bridge (78 feet high, 65 feet long) is the most impressive arch. The Rock Bridge, Sky Bridge, and Rough Trail loop are the best hikes. The area is world-class for rock climbing.

Louisville: Churchill Downs and Bourbon District
Churchill Downs (Kentucky Derby since 1875), the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, the Muhammad Ali Center, the Frazier History Museum (the official starting point of the Bourbon Trail), and the NuLu arts district make Louisville a full destination city.