5 Fun Things to Do in Kentucky for Adults

Happy Friday! 

We just left Kentucky and are now in Asheville, North Carolina! We will be calling Asheville "home" through Christmas and are looking forward to finally being in one spot for more than 4 nights. However, we couldn't move on without sharing all the places we explored in Kentucky! There is a ton to do in Kentucky, and while we didn't get to explore Churchill Downs (next time), we did drive through a lot of horse land on our way to explore these 5 fun places... 

5 Fun Things to Do in Kentucky 

We spent the first few nights in Northern Kentucky and really enjoyed our stay; exploring the different nooks and crannies around our spot in Hebron, Kentucky. 

Big Bone Lick State Park 

We explored Big Bone Lick State Park Park. There is a herd of buffalo that you can see, but unfortunately, the herd was very far away when we were there and we could only see them far off in the distance. If you explore in the Summer or Fall, when more people would be prone to visit, you might stand a better chance of them being in the front pasture. The visitors center has some really neat bones of some of the prehistoric creatures that were found fossilized in the ground, as well as a replica of what the Salt Springs there may have looked like when mammoth roamed the earth. Entrance to the park is free, so it’s a great spot to get in a hike. 

Rabbit Hash General Store 

When we were leaving Big Bone Lick State Park, we stopped to explore an old church, in front of which sat a very faded sign that read “Historic Rabbit Hash General Store 9 Miles Ahead”. We debated if the 9 miles drive would be worth it, until I remembed that it was one of the spots mentioned in our Reader’s Digest Off-the-Beaten-Path Travel Guide, and said “let’s go!” The drive into Historic Rabbit Hash ended up being hauntingly beautiful and the general store was such a unique place. It was filled with staple grocery items, old fashioned candies, artisan gifts, and at the heart of it all sat a gaggle of old men (some wearing overalls), chatting and drinking beer around an old metal heater. It was the perfect small-town picture! For only $5 I got a bag of some of the best fresh popped popcorn I ever tasted and Babe chose a Kentucky beer from the cooler. This would also be a great place to visit in the summer, when the BBQ spot that overlooks the river is also open. The only thing open in the winter is the general store, but even that alone is worth a stop into Rabbit Hash. 

Kentucky Wine Tastings 

Driving through Kentucky, we passed tons of small vineyards and wineries and had to keep ourselves from wanting to stop at every single one. Doing wine tastings at small wineries is one our favorite things to do in a new place; getting a taste for the differences in the wines each state offers. Sometimes it’s a miss and other times it’s a solid hit! Thankfully, the winery we chose to visit in Kentucky was a hit! Brianza Gardens and Winery was a beautiful vineyard, in the middle of farmland. Our campground had a brochure with a buy one, get one free tasting and so we enjoyed an hour, with the vineyard owner (we were the only ones there, given that it was the middle of the day on a Tuesday), for only $6 (plus the cost of the bottle we ended up purchasing). For $6 we got to choose 5 wines each and sample them, while asking him all kinds of questions about the wines, his process, and his decision to open a vineyard. We ended up walking away with a bottle of their Noiret, a delicious dry red made with grapes native to Kentucky. 

We then left Northern Kentucky to head south, making one awesome pit stop at Maker's Mark on the way, before arriving at our campground. Diamond Caverns RV Resort was the perfect spot! It was actually set right on the edge of Mammoth Cave National Park, which made it great for outdoor-adventure-lovers like us! The grounds were kept up, the staff friendly, and the resort quiet. It is a "pick-your-own-spot" campground (which we really like) and we chose a spot right along the tree line. We also got the added bonus of some snow flurries one night! 

Distillery Tours 

Kentucky is known for it’s whiskey and there is no lack of distilleries that you could choose to tour, however I would definitely recommend checking out Maker’s Mark Distillery. On our drive into Bowling Green, from Northern Kentucky, we passed many different distilleries, but I am so glad we chose Maker’s Mark Distillery. Our tour was wonderful, with such a great history and beautiful grounds. I’m sure some of the others are great, and we would have loved to do another and note the differences (Bourbon Trail, we are coming for you next time!), but the Maker’s Mark Distillery tour was worth every minute! The cost of the tour is $12 and includes a guided tour and whiskey tasting. 

Mammoth Cave National Park 

The shining glory of our time in Kentucky was getting to check off our second visit to a national park (this was our first) at Mammoth Cave National Park. We hadn’t planned to end up in Kentucky and had no clue that the campground we chose was actually set in the heart of the park. Diamond Caverns was a beautiful RV park in it’s own right, but the fact that it was only a 7 mile drive from the Mammoth Cave National Park Visitor center made it just that much better! Mammoth Cave National Park is home to the world’s largest (and growing) cave system. The park itself is free to visit, but if you want to tour the caves you will need to pay for our of the many tours offered. We chose to do the Historic Tour, which takes you through two miles of the 12 miles of cave open to the public. There are about a dozen cave tour options; plan ahead so that you know which one (or ones) you would want to do. You can hit multiple in one day if you plan it out ahead of time. There are less tour options available in the winter months, but the Wild Cave Tour they offer other parts of the year sounds awesome!! Tours are ranger led and cost about $12-20 per adult.

Kentucky really ended up surprising us! 

We loved our time spent exploring this beautiful state and hope to get back someday! 

Have you ever been to a state the surprised you? 

Which one was it and what did you see that made it stand out?!