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

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.

Daniel Boone was a great man that explored and found a lot of good things all around Kentucky and…read morefellow states here's his grave historical marker

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

Harrison is the goat and the tour is just amazing i highly recommend and again harrison is mr aura…read morehimself

Fun tour on a hot day! We did the Ultimate Queen City Underground Tour with Eric B.. and he was…read moreawesome! Eric B did a great job in trying to keep us in the shade. Much appreciated. He was VERY knowledgeable and very easy to get along with. The length of the tour was perfect and ended with the best part - the underground. I won't spoil it .... but it was VERY COOL.. if you are nerdy like that. Would I go back? Yes, but for a different tour with, hopefully, the same guide.

Beautiful cemetery with amazing view of the river. Boon's grave clearly marked and interesting…read morehistory. Worth driving through the cemetery to see how lovely and peaceful it is, especially with the vista. Gravesite really nice.

The grave of Daniel Boone located in a Frankfort Kentucky cemetery is marked off for visitors to…read morecome pay homage to the famous American settler. The grave itself sits behind a small fence and sits right on top of a hill/cliff that offers wonderful views of the city. The grace is shared with Daniels wife Rebecca as well. Overall a unique and interesting thing to check out when in the Frankfort area.

This is the most disrespectful person I have ever met in my entire life . I've traveled with my…read morehusband for the past 8 years different States cities and even small towns for his job . I needed a ride one day and came across this lady Shannon ask her to pick me up at 12:30 because I had an appointment at 1:00 it was a 20 minute drive . She had plenty of time to get me to my appointment at the capital but decided she need to pick up another Rider on the way which was 10 Mi out of the way . Needless to say I was late for my very important appointment at the Capitol building there in Frankfort Kentucky. I have to visit Frankfort because of my job and will always rely on Uber or Lyft to give me to where I need to be because this lady Shannon is not dependable . If you have a job and you are depending on Happy Trails Shannon which is never happy to get you to where you're going you might as well just chalk it up and call you a Uber or Lyft that's not very professional either but Uber and Lyft is way more professional than happy trails Shannon . After speaking to a few coworkers at the meeting I had to go to that day I have heard so many bad things so the next part is just hearsay but it came from more than one person that are locals to Frankfort . She is continuously late picking you up and continuously late getting you to your job appointment whether it be a doctor or just dropping someone off at a friend's house she is always late . If she makes a mistake like falls asleep and forgets about you she blames it on other people that work for her . She's supposed to be a nice Christian lady but there's nothing Christian about the gossip that I heard in the backseat of her vehicle on the way to my appointment to the Capitol . I'm just trying to save people from being late to their very important appointments since Frankfort is the state capital of Kentucky and people are coming in and out of Frankfurt for various reasons . Shannon you could be much better at your job if you wasn't trying to do 15 other things and the gossip and the Christian thing that we had a conversation about in your vehicle during my ride does not sit right with me I let you know that the day of and I'm letting you know that now . Happy Trails needs to be a gossip columnist because because that's all you are about . Hope this saves professional ppl so you don't ever have to be humiliated in front of your employees like I was when I showed up late to my meeting because Shannon thought she was saving a few dollars in gas by picking up the other rider b4 dropping me off. This is not only dangerous to riders but to ppl she picks up with other riders already in her vehicle.

The Kentucky Military History Museum admission is included with admission to the Old State Capitol…read morebuilding. Our family visited last week. The building, complete with turrets, served as the second state arsenal after fire destroyed the first building near the Old State Capitol. Architect Nathaniel Cooke designed the arsenal in the 1850s. The arsenal was captured by the Confederates during the Civil War but later reclaimed by Union troops. Today, the building serves as a museum of weapons, artillery and memorabilia from early U.S. wars through present. I found, of most interest, the stories and memorabilia of Kentucky residents that served in various wars. There are two floors of museum, which are accessible by elevator or stairs. The museum is immaculate. A curator is available to answer questions. Free parking is available in their dedicated lot. The museum is worth a visit if you like military history.

Was in town exploring a couple of distilleries and decided to stop in the museum on the way out of…read moretown. Wish we would have stopped in earlier so we could have checked out the other museums in the area. There are lots of weapons in the museum and lots of stories told in the artifacts. We will have to come back to explore the other museums.

I've visited here in a few field trips with my daughters over the years on there 3rd grade field…read moretrip to the Capital. The governors mansion is always a highlight of the field trip for the class. Lots of history and sites to take in on the visit. Te tour guides always do a good job of handling not only the class and questions but keeping it fun and interesting for the kiddos and adult chaperones such as myself

This is the Executive Mansion, Home of the Governor and Kentucky First Lady, located at the Capitol…read moreComplex. Located at 704 Capitol Avenue in Frankfort. Regularly scheduled public tours of the mansion are available Tuesdays and Thursday from 9 to 11am we were there on a Friday so was not able to go inside. The mansion officially opened with a large party on January 20, 1914, 96 yrs ago tomorrow. The mansion has 25 rooms, including 2 dining rooms, a grand ballroom, a commercial size kitchen, sunroom, and private living quarters for the Governor and his family The mansion is 80 ft wide and 200 ft long. Made of brick covered by limestone to match the Capitol building. Put on National Register of Historical Places in 1972. The first Governor's mansion is located downtown and built in 1798. There is a formal garden with fountain, very BEAUTIFUL in the spring and summer...definitely going back then to check it out. The current mansion took 2 yrs to build and cost $75,000 to build. Governor James B McCreary and his family were the first to live there. He was the 27th and 37th Governor of Kentucky. It is a tradition when the new Governor and family moves in to the home, they are greeted with a country ham, biscuits and a white cake...thus is a traditional meal for decades. The mansion was inspired with French influences by architect CC and EA Weber. Inspired the French chateaux, Petit Trianon, located at Versailles created by King Louis XV for his mistress, and later given to Queen Marie Antoinette by King Louis XVI.

A lot of fun! I wish it was longer! I'd been wanting to do…read morethis for ages and finally had a travel buddy who was interested in active outdoor fun thangs to do so we booked this to do on our way to the Gorge for a gal's week away. These are electric-assisted pedaled car things and it is really quite easy to do. You actually have to work the most to not go too hard or fast because there is no resistance except for the first few pedals to wake up the electric-assist. The scenery was absolutely lovely. The guides were warm and welcoming. You end up at the entrance to the railroad bridge over the river that you can see from Wild Turkey, which was a slight bummer...I would have DIED to go across the bridge, but I get it. Safety and whatever. LOL. It simply was a lovely time in gorgeous nature and I wish it was longer. Now I need to visit every Rail Explorers location and do them ALL. Hot tip: do considering bringing a towel or a booty pad to sit on. I wore black athletic pants so my sweaty butt from the hard plastic seats wasn't terribly noticeable. But you might benefit from some material between you and the seat.

For our anniversary weekend, 32 years!, Wifey scheduled a surprise trip on Rail Explorers…read more It was one of those "Just drive. I'll tell you where to go" situations. Five years ago, we rode the Bluegrass Scenic Railroad, so I was a little surprised when I pulled into the same parking area and walked through the train platform. While I certainly wouldn't have minded riding the train again, she quickly said, "Nope. Not this time." As it turns out, you have to walk through the railway platform to get to Rail Explorers. And then we found ourselves checking in. I'd seen ads for Rail Explorers before and thought it looked pretty cool, so this was a very unexpected treat. Check-in is easy. The gift shop doubles as the check-in area, and, importantly, it's air conditioned. Keep that in mind. After checking in, we waited for the safety briefing. There are plenty of Adirondack chairs, tables, and umbrellas for your waiting comfort. All red. The Adirondack chairs are comfortable, but getting back out of one can become its own recreational activity. The seats are kind of low once you settle in, so keep someone nearby who loves you enough to help haul you back to a standing position. Each seating area also has a fire pit, making it a very pleasant place to wait for your ride/exercise session of the day. After the safety briefing, you board your rail car. Each one is labeled with the name of your party. There are Duo bikes with two side-by-side seats and Quad bikes with four seats. Once seated, you can put your belongings in the basket between the seats, buckle up, and start pedaling when you get the thumbs-up. The bikes are motor-assisted. This is important. Once you begin pedaling and reach a certain speed, the electric motor kicks in and helps you along. So no, you are not sentenced to an hour of Leg Day just to keep the thing moving. The motor does quite a bit of the work. You'll top out around 10 mph, and the breeze you create while moving feels surprisingly nice, especially on a warm day. The trip is an out-and-back route and takes roughly 45 to 60 minutes each way. When you reach the turnaround point near the bridge, you'll get off and have about 15 minutes to stretch your legs while the staff turns the rail bikes around on the track. After disembarking the Unexpected Leg Day Machine™, there are chairs, benches, and umbrellas where you can relax. You also get a great view of the now off-limits bridge and surrounding scenery. It's actually quite beautiful. We were told that during dusk and evening excursions they sometimes have fires going at the turnaround area, which sounds like it would make the experience even better. After your little intermission, it's back on the bike for the return trip. The motor assist really shines along the few slightly uphill portions of the route. Under normal circumstances, an incline means "pedal harder." Not here. The motor contributes quite a bit, so you never really feel like you're fighting your way uphill. About another 45 minutes later, you're back where you started. And then your ride is over. :( The staff was excellent throughout the experience. Friendly, organized, and clearly having fun with what they do. Honestly, it looks like it would be a fantastic summer job, assuming I were younger and significantly more ambitious. Rail Explorers was A LOT of fun, and nowhere near as torturous on my legs as I had imagined. One important piece of advice: Wear good walking or running shoes. Trust me. Your feet will send you a thank-you note later. All in all, it was a fantastic anniversary surprise, and I'd absolutely do it again.