Bourbon Trail, Kentucky
Everything the RV Renter Needs to Know
Everything the RV Renter Needs to Know
Kentucky’s famous Bourbon Trail isn’t just a series of destinations on a map, it’s the purest way to experience the state of Kentucky in all its glory. Sprawling from the west to east of the state and spanning cities like Louisville, Bardstown, Lexington, and Frankfort, the Bourbon Trail gives visitors an all-inclusive experience of the Bluegrass State and its major export: the classic American whiskey that can only be made in Kentucky. If you’re planning a trip to see the Bourbon Trail for yourself, there’s no better way to do it than with a rented RV, which will serve as your home-away-from-home as well as your transportation to favorite spots along the way. Here’s everything you need to plan an unforgettable vacation to Kentucky by RV.
This list starts with what has to be the centerpiece of any Bourbon Trail vacation: the distillery tours themselves. There are too many distilleries on the trail to list here, with 18 distilleries officially a part of the trail. National favorites like Woodford Reserve, Maker’s Mark, Wild Turkey, Evan Williams, and Jim Beam offer regular tours of their distilling operations. Visit and you’ll get an insider’s look at both the high-tech production floors where corn, wheat, and rye are converted into grain alcohol as well as the massive barrel houses where that neutral alcohol slowly becomes the smoky, brown whiskey that made Kentucky famous.
It might be helpful to think about which breweries you’ll want to visit by planning geographically. The Bourbon Trail website offers a webpage documenting good half-day experiences along the trail grouped by city. For example, if you’re planning to spend a day or two in the Bardstown area, you’ll be close to Heaven Hill, Bardstown Bourbon Company, Lux Row, Four Roses, Jim Beam, and Maker’s Mark. Other cities have other collections to consider. Wherever you go, you won’t be short on options.
Most distillery tours end with a bourbon tasting included in the price. As just one example, a tour of the Wild Turkey distillery starts in the visitor’s center, leads guests through the massive factory where giant tanks boil wort to get it ready for distilling, out to the barrel houses, then back to the visitor center for a small sampling of each of the varieties of Wild Turkey, including standard bourbons, rye whiskeys, and specialty whiskeys like American Honey.
But those tour-included tastings aren’t the only way to experience Kentucky bourbon firsthand on the trail. Many of the distilleries have specialty restaurants and bars, where you can order flights of whiskey or sample craft cocktails designed to bring the spirit to life in new and exciting ways, while offering classic bourbon drinks like the old fashioned and whiskey sour. Learn more about tastings and cocktails on the Bourbon Trail here.
If your distillery tours and tastings give you the itch to get behind the bar and experiment with bourbon cocktails yourself, the Bourbon Trail is home to several classes and workshops. Get hands-on experiences designed to increase your knowledge and experience with bourbon, like Stave & Thief—offering the Kentucky Distillers Association’s only official bourbon education course.
Many of the distilleries themselves also offer cocktail classes where you’ll learn to make the most of the bottles you’re sure to collect as you make your way down the trail. Angel’s Envy offers three courses in cocktails covering everything from portioning, syrup making, and garnishing. Jim Beam, New Riff, and Bardstown Bourbon Company each offer cocktail classes as well, so you should be able to find a learning experience wherever your journey on the trail takes you. Learn more about classes and workshops available here.
Biking is a major attraction at the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. While the landscape can be rugged and filled with hills and mountains to scale, the many planned bike routes through the Bourbon Trail give visitors an unbeatable view of the gorgeous Kentucky countryside while taking them to the distilleries along the way for tours, tastings, and other great experiences.
In fact, if cycling is a top priority, you can leverage the official Bourbon Trail website for tons of information to plan either short biking excursions or entire tours that take you around specific areas and back to the comfort of your rented RV. This includes self-guided tours of varying lengths, plus organized bike tours that come in both the self-guided and guided varieties. They also offer additional services like bottle service, luggage transportation, and more. Click here to get all the information on biking the Bourbon Trail.
Speaking of that beautiful Kentucky landscape, a trip down the Bourbon Trail means you’ll never be far from the state’s amazing natural destinations, each one ripe for exploration and the kinds of outdoor activities you’d normally associate with an RV vacation. If golfing and bourbon sound like the makings of a perfect vacation for you and your family, you’ll be pleased to learn that there are official Bourbon Trail-affiliated golf courses in six of the cities on the trail, and the Bourbon Trail even makes planning easy by giving you all the info you need to find a golf course and whichever distilleries are closest by.
There are also several state, national, and other parks and natural wonders a stone’s throw from any portion of the Bourbon Trail. Explore the gorgeous Red River Gorge and get in some rock climbing and rappelling. Hit Kentucky Lake for boating, fishing, swimming, and more fun in the sun. Prefer to keep things a bit cooler? You can’t beat the year-round temperate climate deep inside Mammoth Cave. Wherever you go, you’ll find something amazing to do in nature to pair with your Bourbon Trail experience.
Elizabethtown Crossroads Campground in Elizabethtown, Kentucky is the quintessential, peaceful RV park perfect for a starting point down the Bourbon Trail. Enjoy quaint RV campsites under shady trees with full hookups. The campground’s clubhouse features heated and cooled meeting spaces, a game room, pool, and laundry facilities.
In the state capital of Frankfort, Elkhorn Campground features 120 campsites, 61 of which feature full RV hookups. The entire campground rests along the banks of the Elkhorn Creek and offers plenty of family fun, including mini-golf, horseshoes, a swimming pool, and a general store complete with hand-dipped ice cream for those hot summer days.
Lexington is a major destination along the Bourbon Trail with several stops in one city. The closest RV park to Lexington is Whispering Hills RV Park, offering premium RV campsites in a quaint setting. Enjoy the park’s pool and some excellent fishing at the on-site lake. Feel free to bring your own canoe or kayak and paddle around while you wait for a bite.
Cummins Ferry is an excellent option for anyone who likes to enjoy some sunshine on the water with their bourbon. Doubling as an RV campground and a marina, this park located near the Kentucky River Palisades puts you close to the area’s beautiful waterfalls and water activities and is near Danville—another key stop on the Bourbon Trail.
On the Western end of the Bourbon Trail just outside of Louisville is the Louisville South KOA in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. This is the largest KOA campground in the state, and it offers 90 full-hookup, pull-through RV campsites. Come for the pool and campfires, stay for unique amenities like on-site bike rentals.
Many of the distilleries on the trail have can’t-miss restaurants where you can enjoy bourbon cocktails and world-class cuisine all in one place. Of note are restaurants like the Bottle & Bond Kitchen and Bar at Bardstown Bourbon Company, Fred’s Smoke House at Jim Beam, Star Hill Provisions at Maker’s Mark, Glenn’s Creek Café at Woodford Reserve, and The Bar at Willett Distillery.
When most people think of Kentucky cuisine, it’s tough to avoid conjuring images of Colonel Harland Sanders and his world-famous fried chicken. It’s off the Bourbon Trail just a bit, but the original Sanders Café and museum in North Corbin, Kentucky is where it all began, and you can go to grab a bucket of the Colonel’s original recipe in its most original setting.
Check out the Kentucky Bourbon Trail’s restaurants page for a closer look at the best places to grab a bite along the trail.