Discover the Unexpected in Kentucky

Snap a selfie with the sunset glowing over Kentucky Lake. Stay in a cliff-suspended cabin in the heart of Red River Gorge. Get up close and personal with free-roaming horses in Appalachia. Join a sea of music fans in a four-day bluegrass festival. Find new experiences for every style and interest in the Bluegrass State. Discover your next unforgettable vacation in Kentucky.

Bourbon Culture

Looking for can’t-miss nightlife? Louisville is home to some of the best bourbon bars in the world. Beneath Whiskey Row, Hell or Highwater offers craft cocktails in an intimate speakeasy-style lounge. This popular downtown spot fills up quickly, so be sure to make reservations.

Go for cocktails at a speakeasy hidden within a glass-blowing studio and art gallery in Lexington. The cocktail menu at Trifecta: Glass – Art – Lounge rotates along with the art in its gallery space, offering something new each visit. 

For a hands-on bourbon experience, head to Bourbon & Billets inside the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory. Learn about the history of the bourbon industry before blending, bottling and labeling your very own bottle of Kentucky bourbon.

Horses

Horse lovers won’t find a better destination than Kentucky. From visiting retirement horse farms and touring legendary tracks to learning all about equine care practices and feeding the horses at an adoption facility, Horse Country Tours offers more than 20 behind-the-scenes tours.

Eastern Kentucky is home to herds of wild and free-roaming horses. Join The Appalachian Horse Project on an adventure into the Appalachian Mountains, where you’ll head up the mountain roads in search of these herds. Some of the horses are even friendly enough to pet and feed. Be sure you have your camera handy — the horses and surrounding Bluegrass scenery make for pretty stellar photo ops. 

Glamping

Want to get away from it all but still enjoy the comfort of a posh hotel or relaxing B&B? Plan a trip to Cadiz, where Nine Pines Retreats specializes in glamping. Choose between eight safari tents or two geodesic domes. Each fully furnished accommodation comes equipped with a queen bed, a refrigerator, Wi-Fi, a TV, a full bathroom and a private deck. The domes even include heated whirlpool tubs. Hiking trails, fire pits and barrel saunas add to your luxurious nature escape.

If you’re planning on exploring the famed climbing routes of Red River Gorge, reserve a treehouse or “cliffhouse” with Red River Gorgeous in Stanton. Relive those childhood memories of your treehouse slumber parties in your choice of 11 one-of-a-kind accommodations perched high up in the trees or suspended on the sandstone cliff faces.

Live Music

Live music lovers and festival fans are in luck. Kentucky boasts some of the best music festivals and concert venues nationwide. For more than 30 years, the Master Musicians Festival has brought together an eclectic group of songwriters and performers from all genres to Somerset each year. Willie Nelson, John Prine, The Avett Brothers and Jason Isbell are just a few of the famed past performers to grace the stage of this two-day summer festival.

Log Still Distillery hosts live music every weekend from May through October at its outdoor concert venue, The Amp. Stop inside the Gethsemane’s tasting room for a glass of house bourbon, gin or whiskey. Then, take your seats for a national-touring act surrounded by the sunset-soaked greenery of central Kentucky at this open-air theater.

Fully immerse yourself in the music of Kentucky at the four-day ROMP Music Festival. This bluegrass celebration invites you to bring your instruments to Owensboro for songwriting workshops and jam sessions before watching some of the genre’s biggest names take the stage — and don’t miss the after-parties.

Bluegrass Beauty

No trip to Kentucky is complete without taking in all of that Bluegrass beauty. In Grand Rivers, book a stay on Kentucky Lake at Lighthouse Landing Resort and Marina. Your lakeside cottage is the perfect base for local shopping and dining and your favorite water sports. Commemorate your stay with a picture at the lighthouse. It’s the perfect spot for selfies and photo ops, especially at sunset.

Find more picture-perfect views at the Pine Mountain Overlooks near Whitesburg. Take in the seasonal sights, from fiery fall colors and snow-covered peaks to the lush greens of spring and summer, at five mountain overlooks. This eastern Kentucky attraction provides some of the most scenic vistas in the state.