Our family was in Lexington for Easter. Due to covid we spent Easter morning touring horse farms…read more What a wonderful morning. Our guide had an answer for every question we asked him. He was a pleasure. We do appreciate that he gave up his Easter morning to do a tour.

August 24, 2017 Just…read morehad an outstanding tour of Lexington horse area with tour director David Leet. It was just great. More information, sights, sounds, what an afternoon! Highly recommend, and quite reasonably priced.

On Tap Tours made our bourbon tour far more stressful than it should've been. Communication fell…read moreapart after my initial payment -- I spent over a week trying to get basic updates with no response. It wasn't until I escalated repeatedly that someone finally got back to me, promising to "make it right" and offer a discount for the disorganization. That never truly materialized. Our drivers showed up late, weren't informed of the itinerary until the night before, and we were charged for 15 guests even though only 13 attended (offered a partial refund for the missing 2). Two vans arrived when one would have been enough -- a clear sign of poor planning. Our Buffalo Trace tour wasn't at the time requested, and our group got split, likely due to late booking. If you're just looking for a ride between distilleries, this company might do the job. But if you want a stress-free, well-organized experience with honest follow-through -- look elsewhere.

My friends and I did the Brewery tour for a birthday celebration, we had so much fun!!…read more Our tour started at West Sixth around noon. The tour included 3 beers and a walk through of the brewery. Our tour guide was so much fun and even had cupcakes for our friends birthday! After West Sixth we got on the party bus. Bill, the party bus driver, was waiting for us. He was so friendly and immediately told us about the coolers and passed us the aux cord. Bill drove us to the distillery district where we went on tours at Wise Bird and Ethereal. We spent around 2 hours in this area which was nice because we had the option to get food. From Ethereal we went to Rock House Brewery, then to Mirror Twin! At each brewery we got a tour and small explanation on how they made their beer. We also got plenty of samples at each brewery. Mirror Twin was our final destination. We arrived just in time for the UK game! Part of our tour included a small seating area for our friends to watch the UK game! Everybody at Lex on Tab was so friendly and accommodating- I would recommend this tour to everybody!

We enjoyed the relaxing and informative cruise on the Kentucky River. Daryl, our tour guide, shared…read moreinteresting stories about the River, Kentucky history and bourbon making. He was friendly, engaging and humorous. The round trip ride lasted about 90 minutes. The boat was very nice with bench seating and the ride was smooth. We sat upstairs in the open air to enjoy to scenery. A bar tender will take drink orders and deliver beverages to your seats. Drink prices are reasonable. Drinks can also be ordered and purchased on line. (I think snacks were also available). We booked our cruise several months in advance with tour and tasting tickets at Buffalo Trace Distillery. Two members of our party backed out and we were able to cancel their reservations (thankfully) the week before and get a refund. We started with our visit to Buffalo Trace. We arrived about an hour early so we could shop at the distillery and we were glad we did because we did not have time to shop after the tasting and getting to the boat. The tight timeline between the tasting and the boat departure was the only downside to the trip. I recommend the cruise, but plan on going at least an hour early to the distillery to shop.

We celebrated my husband's 90th birthday with a Kentucky River Tour, along with our daughter, who…read morewas visiting from Denver, CO, with her teenage daughter. Our daughter had spent part of her growing-up years here in Frankfort, where my husband and I have lived for 50+ years. She enjoys introducing her Colorado daughter to the beautifully forested, living beauty of Kentucky's natural world. Before departing the dock, we enjoyed browsing in the gift shop, with a great assortment of caps, tee shirts, memorabilia, and some Ale8! Upon boarding the boat, the crew offered a bourbon service that would rival most any local selection. We all enjoyed lovely bourbon refreshments! Together with visitors from Tennessee and other nearby states, we learned some Kentucky River geography and history, along with equine, bourbon, and horse racing history. The captain was skillful and knowledgeable, as she cruised the riverboat on the sunny Sunday afternoon. The tour guide was a true font of history with amusing anecdotes of his personal career in the bourbon industry and his overall knowledge of the Commonwealth. Treat yourself, your family and your friends to an altogether enjoyable, educational, and Kentucky-based adventure-- spend some time on the riverboat! You'll be glad you did! Date of experience: July 2026

Staff was welcoming, informative and provided great insights into what was available to visit in…read moreCity based on personal interests shared and what was open during date of visit.

After we settled in to our AirBnb we headed to the visitor's center. Excellent decision! So many…read moregreat brochures, and the staff was very friendly and answered a lot of questions. What I really recommend is that they have a brochure that highlights the restaurants in the area. They had sections on local eats, BBQ, date night, etc. and it really was our go-to for the entire weekend. All the recommendations and reviews were spot on, and it made our trip so enjoyable! It's located right in the heart of the city too, so you are right by so many things to see and places to eat!

I can't say enough good things about the second annual Horses & Hospitality event, sponsored by…read moreHorse Country. Last year all the participants gathered at Keeneland for fantastic food, networking, and learning opportunities, before venturing out to a variety of thoroughbred farms. Audra and I experienced the wonder that is Taylor Made, and although it wasn't my first farm tour, it was one I'll never forget. This year, COVID did away with the large group gathering, but the farm tours were able to take place as scheduled. The majority of farms are stud-centric, but - ironically - at Denali Stud you won't find any stallions or breeding sheds. More on that to come. Founded in 1990 by former New Jersey jockey Craig Bandoroff and his wife, Holly, Denali Stud is a 300-acre mare and foal property - i.e. a nursery - situated in picturesque Paris, KY. So what's with the name? I wondered the same. 'Denali' is a mountain range and Eskimo word meaning 'to aspire to greater heights,' and the word 'stud' is synonymous with 'farm' in Europe. Voila! The four barns, office, and other buildings on the property run almost completely on solar energy. Although the farm has produced many successful athletes, some of their most beloved clients date back to the humble beginnings of the farm. Craig, a passionate outdoorsman, has taken great care to curate a variety of trees around the property, carefully labeling many with their type and year planted. As he and his wife prepare for retirement in Lexington, their son and his wife have begun building their own residence on property. Our tour started at a large, centrally-located field full of mamas-to-be. And let me tell you, swollen bellies won't stop those ladies from stampeding toward you in pursuit of a peppermint and a good cheek scratching! From there we got to visit with mares and foals in an adjacent field, before venturing on to the foal bar - where the magic happens. Each stall was occupied by either a mare very close to (or past!) her due date, or a mother and new foal, and I mean NEW - a couple of the foals were only two days old! Pay close attention when you're walking through the barn, as you may recognize some high profile sires; I counted at least three babies by Tapit and one by Real Quiet. Another nearby barn houses some older foals with their mamas, and pregnant mares with less imminent due dates. While Denali Stud is the most recognizable farm in the family's portfolio, there are two others, both of which take their names from mountain ranges: K2, which is dedicated to maiden and barren mares, and Lotse, a 5-barn yearling division. Our guide was primarily Alexis - with additional input from Aly - and her knowledge of the industry, farm, animals, and many other business facets was really impressive. Passion and enthusiasm likes hers is what gets people excited about tourism, and I'm so glad Denali Stud participated in the event this year!

Horse Country provides access to thoroughbred farms and other related businesses to locals and…read moretourists alike who would not otherwise have the ability to experience them. This tour company has a variety of experiences to choose from at various prices and durations which can be booked online. Appointments are scheduled for you, but you must provide your own transportation. You will join other visitors while an individual from the farm walks you through the property, giving its history and showing some of the stallions that stand for breeding.

Hopewell is a small town museum in a historic Bourbon County building. Their exhibits are…read moredecidedly Kentucky, The opening receptions are always presented with a nice array of food, book signings relative to the exhibits, and interesting people to meet. The Spirit of Bourbon exhibit opened last night with a table of "bourbonized" treats. You can keep up with the museum's events by getting on their email list.

I would highly NOT recommend staying at Still Waters Campground based on my experience with…read moremanagement. Today I rolled through a stop sign in the campground. I understand that was my mistake, and I accepted being told not to do it again. However, what happened afterward was completely unnecessary. Instead of simply speaking with me later at the office or sending a text, management chose to chase me down in a vehicle. I was driving around the campground under the speed limit, yet I was accused of speeding because they claimed they had to drive 30 mph to catch me--even though they had to turn around before following me. What made it even more frustrating was that I was told to "lead by example" while the manager herself admitted to driving around 30 mph in a 10 mph campground just to catch up to me. That felt incredibly hypocritical. What bothered me most was the way the situation was handled. I tried to walk away to avoid escalating the confrontation, but the manager continued arguing with me. She even told me to "go get my boyfriend," as if I couldn't speak for myself. I'm a grown woman and didn't appreciate being dismissed like that. Later, after I had calmed down, my boyfriend and I went to the office so I could apologize for raising my voice and explain my side of the situation. Unfortunately, management wasn't interested in having a productive conversation and came across as condescending and unwilling to listen. It also seems like the rules are enforced inconsistently. We have watched plenty of other people roll through that same stop sign without being stopped or chased down. If safety is truly the concern, the rules should apply EQUALLY to everyone instead of selectively enforcing them. Overall, this experience left a VERY bad impression. A simple warning then walking away could have resolved everything, but instead it turned into an unnecessarily confrontational situation. Customer service and professionalism from management were extremely disappointing.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE look at the attached photos for the full review!…read moreDue to the length, it couldn't all fit in this description area. The photos will appear in the correct order when clicked on. If you don't want to read the whole thing, just know this: it's a horrible campground. The management and their long-term resident friends form a clique that gives off major high school mean girls and jock club energy.

Getting started on a two day tour of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail…read more First up, Old Forester Distillery.