#64 best destination in the world

Kentucky Kingdom, Louisville

Best time to travel: April-June, late Oct
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Opened in 1987, this amusement park is known for its record breaking roller coasters, such as T3, the first Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster in North America

Speed Art Museum, Louisville

Best time to travel: April-June, late Oct
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Opened in 1927, this museum is the oldest and largest museum of art in Kentucky
  • The museum offers visitors a variety of art experiences outside its collection and international exhibitions, including the popular late-night event, After Hours at the Speed
  • The focus of the collection is Western art, from antiquity to the present day

Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory

Best time to travel: April-June, late Oct
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Opened in 1996, this museum and factory tour showcases the story of Louisville Slugger baseball bats in baseball and in American history
  • The museum contains the world’s largest baseball bat, batting cages, and an exhibit where museum-goers can hold a game-used bat from Hall of Fame players such as Babe Ruth and Ken Griffey Jr.

Green River Bluff, Echo River Springs, Sinkhole and Heritage Trail, Mammoth Cave National Park

Best time to travel: May-Sept
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Ease of travel: Moderate
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Park containing the longest cave system known in the world, with more than 420 miles of surveyed passageways, which is nearly twice as long as the second-longest cave system, Mexico’s Sac Actun underwater cave
  • Since the 1972 unification of Mammoth Cave with the even-longer system under Flint Ridge, the official name of the system has been the Mammoth–Flint Ridge Cave System
  • Established in 1941

Red River Gorge, Slade

Best time to travel: April-June, late Oct
Walk difficulty: Easy
Ease of travel: Moderate
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Canyon system on the Red River, and the gorge lies within the Daniel Boone National Forest
  • The intricate canyon system features an abundance of high sandstone cliffs, rock shelters, waterfalls, and natural bridges and arches
  • The multitude of sandstone and cliff-lines have helped this area become one of the world’s top rock climbing destinations
  • Because of its unusual and rugged nature, the Red River Gorge features a remarkable variety of ecological zones

National Corvette Museum, Bowling Green

Best time to travel: April-June, late Oct
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • The National Corvette Museum showcases the Chevrolet Corvette, an American sports car that has been in production since 1953
  • It is located in Bowling Green, and was constructed in 1994
  • The museum is located only a quarter mile from the Bowling Green Assembly Plant, where Corvettes have been made since 1981
  • Patrons can, through their local Chevrolet dealership, add a package option which can give them a VIP tour of the Corvette Museum and assembly plant and patrons can have the option to build their own engine for their Corvette

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park, Hodgenville

Best time to travel: early June-late Sept
Walk difficulty: Easy
Ease of travel: Easy
Cost ($-$$-$$$): $

  • Designated park preserving two separate farm sites in LaRue County, where Abraham Lincoln was born and lived early in his childhood
  • He was born at the Sinking Spring site south of Hodgenville and remained there until the family moved to the Knob Creek Farm northeast of Hodgenville when he was two years old, living there until he was seven years of age