Check out my family friendly recommendations for lodging, attractions and more in and around the unique southern city of Lexington, Kentucky!
We had an amazing second half of our Kentucky trip visiting the Red River Gorge area and Lexington Kentucky. After leaving Louisville and Mammoth Cave, we ventured east to the gorgeous and scenic Red River Gorge area. The entire Red River Gorge area is full of scenic mountain views and hiking trails.
HIKING RED RIVER GORGE
Thankfully we had an amazing weather day when we visited the Red River Gorge area. We took a one mile hike up to the Natural Bridge which is definitely a workout. You can take a much easier route up to view the natural bridge by way of the Skylift and even find shorter hiking routes up to the bridge. If you want to view the area by car there are tons of roads around the gorge area…just be careful. The roads are winding mountainous pathways with limited visibility around each curve. Amazing views just a bit of white-knuckle driving if you know what I mean.
We made it to the top!
Insider Tips: bring extra water OR find a mountain stream and just fill up your empty water bottle when needed like we did! Our kids ages 6, 5 and 3 managed the hike (the 3 year old had the least amount of complaints!). If you’re hungry after the hike, head to Miguel’s Pizza where you’ll enjoy delicious pizza and hang with the rock climbers.
LODGING IN LEXINGTON
After leaving the Red River Gorge area we headed to Lexington for the last two days of our trip. We stayed at the Clarion Lexington North Hotel, conveniently located just outside downtown Lexington and just minutes from the Kentucky Horse Park. It’s the perfect place for families. There is a huge “fun dome” area attached to the hotel that includes a large pool, hot tub, fitness room (for adults), arcade games, and even a small basketball court. We swam in the pool every day we were there, especially on one of the rainy days. Breakfast is included in the stay and it was well worth it. After having breakfast at other hotels we definitely had something to compare it to and this breakfast buffet was amazing. Their staff was also extremely friendly and accommodating to all the guests.
ATTRACTIONS
Kentucky Horse Park
This famous horse park is home to several retired famous race horses and includes several attractions and horse shows all focused around caring for the horse, racing and more. This park is great for all ages. Our kids loved the hands-on children’s barn and interacting with the ponies and draft horses.
Dan and I were pleasantly surprised that our oldest actually volunteered to brush this pony. By the end of the day, this non-animal lover decided he liked horses and said he really enjoyed the day. This gave us hope that just providing exposure to our kids (even with resistance at first), can open their eyes and minds.
Insider Tips: Get there when the park opens and make sure to grab a brochure at the visitor center than include a map and a schedule of the days events. However, when you purchase tickets they are good for two days so you could also take your time and enjoy the park for two days. And dress for the weather – most attractions are outside!
Explorium of Lexington
This children’s museum located right in downtown Lexington, was a huge hit with our kids. It’s full of hands-on exhibits and activities that were new to us. Their favorite part was definitely the bubble room where they could play with all different sizes of bubbles, even inside the bubbles.
Our kids also “walked” on the moon and our daughter was especially excited to “ride” the horse as a jockey.
My husband’s favorite part was definitely this hands-on ever changing topography map made of sand.
Insider Tips: Visit during the weekdays to enjoy much slower crowds!
Additional Attractions in Lexington
Horse back riding: of course in the horse capital of the world there are plenty of places for lessons. We plan to visit again when our kids are old enough to enjoy riding lessons (one of my favorite activities that I have the least opportunity to enjoy!).
Distillaries: if we visit again without children we would love to explore the many bourbon distilleries as well as craft distilleries found in Lexington.
Aviation Museum of Kentucky: this museum was on our list to visit but we ran out of time. It’s full of aircraft exhibits covering over 20,000 square feet including restored and newer aircraft to explore.
Historical sites: Lexington is full of historical sites including the Mary Todd Lincoln House, Hunt-Morgan House, and Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate just to name a few!
I hope this gives you some insight to the unique and historical city of Lexington Kentucky as well as the adventurous Red River Gorge area.
Disclaimer: I was not compensated to write this post, however we were provided with discounted lodging by Clarion Lexington North Hotel and complimentary attraction tickets from the VisitLEX, Lexington’s Convention and Visitors Bureau. And as always, all the opinions and thoughts expressed are my own.
This Family Friendly Trip to Kentucky: Part 2 {Lexington & Red River Gorge} post first appeared on Chocolate Slopes.
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