In Kentucky, only two cities have more than 100,000 people: Louisville and Lexington. As for the rest, it’s all horse, farm, and bourbon country. Part of the American South by reputation more than geography, the state is famously home to the Kentucky Derby, an annual thoroughbred horse race taking place in May in Louisville. When horse racing isn’t on the schedule, travelers keep busy road-tripping to distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, or visiting dozens of protected outdoor spaces, none more unusual than Mammoth Cave National Park, home to one of the longest-known cave systems in the world. Big cities or no, there are tons of incredible things to do in Kentucky.
The Kentucky Derby, preceded by the weeks-long Kentucky Derby Festival, is held annually during the first Saturday in May—which coincides with the beginning of spring, a lovely time to visit. Although summers are warm, Kentucky has temperate weather nearly year-round. Generally, the best times to visit Kentucky state are spring, when the renowned bluegrass fields come to life, and fall, when the forests turn yellow, orange, and red in roughly mid-October.
Counties and large cities have public buses that can get you around—TARC in Louisville and Lextran in Lexington, but a car is usually more convenient and allows for much more scenic driving. The same applies to the whole state, which has routes great for spring and summer road trips. If you can’t rent a car, Amtrak runs long-distance trains through Louisville, and Greyhound buses service much of the state. Flying between larger cities is another option.
Everyone heads for the Bourbon Trail, but outdoor lovers and teetotallers have many state and national parks to visit. It would be remiss to travel through Kentucky and miss Mammoth Cave National Park and others, including Cumberland Falls State Park alongside the Cumberland River, the Daniel Boone National Forest with its mountain bike trails, and Natural Bridges State Resort Park, which has a sky lift to the namesake bridge.
