Dear NEXT TRAVELER to Kentucky!
Highlights/Recommendations:
1. The Ark Encounter
2. Red River Gorge
3. Churchill Downs (Home of the Kentucky Derby)

As part of a summer family roadtrip and to visit the state of Kentucky, we knew we wanted to visit The Ark and Churchill Downs. On the way to those two destinations, we found several other amazing places, like Red River Gorge, the home of Jif peanut butter, and Elizabethtown. Kentucky is beautiful with the miles and miles of rolling green hills & horse farms. We loved it!

The Ark Encounter. Visiting the replica of Noah’s Ark is unlike anything you will ever see. I was not prepared for how enormous the boat was. There’s a beautiful rainbow entrance as you walk into the area of the Ark. It is amazing to look through that rainbow entrance and see the Ark.

The entire Ark Encounter sits on 800 acres of land. I was amazed at not only the enormous size of the Ark but also the amount of space for parking, outside eating, petting zoo, displays & exhibits. I encourage you to plan for a lot of walking, especially if you will have young children or older adults in your group.

It is huge!

We were at the Ark for 3 hours. In that time, we were able to walk on all 3 levels of the boat, see depictions of how Noah’s family could have lived on the ark and possible recreations of their living quarters, see possible animals habits, watch presentations about how the animals were fed and cared for, and how light and sun were able to come into the boat. However, we could have easily spent another 3 hours and watched all the presentations and read all of the exhibits. There was so much to see. The depictions of Noah’s Ark are absolutely stunning!

After we left the Ark we walked through the souvenir shop and bought some fudge and treats and then went to the outdoor dining areas. We had burgers and tacos and there were a couple other food options. They have outside dining tables & chairs and restrooms. After eating, we walked to the petting zoo, which had a good variety of animals. The girls were even able to have their first camel rides. The entire experience was so well done. When we were leaving, our youngest daughter said, “amazing. I have such a greater appreciation for Noah!” We considered that a win for the entire experience.

The Ark is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. When you pull into the Ark Encounter, you’ll need to pay for parking. We paid $10 in 2024. After parking a shuttle bus will take you to the entrance of the Ark. We purchased tickets online before our arrival. You can either purchase online or at the Ark Encounter entrance. In 2026, the price for an adult ticket is $65, youth 11-17 $32, children under 11 are free. Visiting the Ark is not cheap. I was actually surprised at the cost. However, the experience is truly amazing. We have talked about our Ark visit so many times since we were there. The ability to understand more fully about Noah and his family and how they transported all of the animals has proved to be worth the cost of the visit.

Red River Gorge. We only discovered Red River Gorge as we were planning our roadtrip further north. We were so glad we took the time to visit the area. It is beautiful with so many areas to explore. We hiked the trail to the arch. We rode the zipline and even took the underground boat tour. Red River Gorge is in the Daniel Boone National Forest.

The zipline was fantastic. Brad and our oldest daughter did the zipline through the trees and loved it. The zipline is 300 feet high over the Gorge, has 5-line courses and is over 1,900-ft long. The view is beautiful.

A hike to the Natural Bridge rock formation is a must. When we were purchasing the tickets for the zipline, the cashier told us we could park at Hemlock Lodge and take 30 minutes off of the hike. Once we were into the hike, we realized what an incredible blessing that suggestion was. The hike to the Natural Bridge was quite steep at some points but had steps and rails. It was all worth it at the top. Absolutely incredible natural arch. The view over the gorge was stunning.

Before we left the Red River Gorge area, we knew we had to take the Underground boat tour – The Gorge Underground. The Gorge Underground is a boat tour through a 100-yr old flooded limestone mine. We had the craziest tour guide and I’m still not sure if half the things he told us are even true! It was a wild tour. Floating through the mine is fascinating. It is completely dark in some areas except for the lights the tour company has placed on the ceiling. It was a great experience that any age would love.

Kentucky is beautiful and the Red River Gorge area is part of the state’s beauty.

Churchill Downs. When we visited Kentucky, it wasn’t a race day or the Kentucky Derby race week, so we were only visiting the racetrack, Churchill Downs. Churchill Downs hosts more than 70 race days a year. Parking at the racetrack is free and the parking lot is very large. As we walked from the parking lot to the museum entrance, there is a large sign and a horse statue. It was a perfect photo spot. At the museum we bought our entrance tickets. The museum is full of displays and racetrack memorabilia. We watched an introductory video that highlighted the history of the racetrack. There were so many things to see and read. It is a fantastic racetrack museum. A museum staff member walked us from the museum, to the paddock and then to the actual racetrack. This is a fantastic article about The Paddock renovation at Churchill Downs that was completed in 2024, the various suites & clubs. We spent about 2 hours at Churchill Downs and felt we had plenty of time to see the exhibits we were interested in.

We loved Kentucky. It is a beautiful state. We wished we had more time and could have visited the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory. It’s definitely on our list for next time.