Before last week, I had never been to Bowling Green, KY, and honestly never knew much about the town, except it was the home of Western Kentucky University. After spending four days in Bowling Green as a guest of Bowling Green Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, I now know it is full of love for Corvettes & the hometown baseball team, interesting history, beautiful caves, great pies & more!
Bowling Green is packed with a variety of attractions, events & things to do - not to mention awesome restaurants, wineries, breweries & distilleries and would make a great vacation spot for a long weekend. It's situated just a little over an hour north of the Nashville, TN airport in western Kentucky. Here are my top picks for a long weekend vacation in Bowling Green, KY:
1. Take a farm tour, enjoy outdoor activities, special events & grab some lunch at Chaney's Dairy Barn. This multi-generational farm offers tours April - October of their new dairy barn, milking robot & farm operations, as well as an outdoor bounce pillow & Barnyard Playground. Grab some cornbread with your lunch and leave room for some dessert - Chaney's Dairy Barn's ice cream wasn't named #1 Ice Cream in Kentucky by USA Today for nothing!
2. If a place is 'cool' enough to be a Jesse James hideout, it's 'cool' enough for me! According to legend, Jesse James hid out in Lost River Cave after robbing a bank in nearby Russelville & kidnapped a local doctor to help his wounded friend. If you want to see where Jesse allegedly hid out, book a trip on the underground cave boat tour - which is a one of a kind way to experience this amazing cave! Your cave boar tour guide will share all kinds of cool facts about not only the cave, but soldiers, wagons & horses that mysteriously vanished decades ago. A trip to the Butterfly House is also in order during warmer months to get up close & personal with some beautiful monarchs. The trails are open to the public, Lost River Cave kindly asks for you to give a heads up at the gift shop so they can keep track of how many people are enjoying the area daily.
3. The Bowling Green Hot Rods, the Class A farm team for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, call the Bowling Green Ballpark in downtown Bowling Green 'home'. It's a beautiful ball park with great food & drinks and sports a Kids Play Area that opens at the start of the game & stays open until the 7th inning. Tickets are available online, with the full schedule being found here.
4. Car lovers will go crazy for a visit to the National Corvette Museum, which is conveniently located across the highway from the Corvette Assembly Plan. If the museum name rings a bell, that's because in February 2014 the floor in the Skydome collapsed 30 feet into a sinkhole, swallowing eight Corvettes with it. The eight Corvettes were recovered and are on display in the completely remodeled (and floor strengthened) Skydome, where the outline of both the cave in and sinkhole are outlined. The museum is an amazing place to find out where the only 1983 Corvette can be found, see tons of Corvettes on loan from Corvette owner across the USA & check out the evolution of the famous Corvette.
5. For those ages 10+, a trip to the Corvette Assembly Plant is a must do! Along the hour long tour, you'll see each Corvette assembled according to the order from the owner and will catch a glimpse of the 'marriage' and 'birth' of the Corvette. The tour is perfect for everyone from Corvette enthusiasts to those who don't know what a clutch is.
6. A stop downtown for lunch or dinner at Mariah's should be a requirement of every visit to Bowling Green. The chicken & buttons came highly recommended and will not disappoint. The menu has something everyone will enjoy, as well as four great options for kids.
7. Corsair Artisan Distillery offers family friendly tours of their distillation process of gins, rum, vodka and absinthe, as well as sampling of their spirits in the gift shop. These folks are the real deal and know the ins & outs of not only the distillation process, but what goes in their spirits, and how to make a pretty awesome Vanilla Bean Vodka. Your trip to Corsair isn't complete without a skip across the street to Mary Jane's Chocolates, where the chocolates are unique, amazing and a treat for yourself or to take home to share.
8. Beech Bend Amusement Park offers go karts, kiddie rides, roller coasters & everything in between for all levels of thrill seekers. Splash Lagoon is an awesome water park area with a variety of slides to cool off in during the hot Kentucky summers. There are also great restaurants & live entertainment.
9. If you love a good pie or dessert or some fried catfish, you'll surely want to stop by Boyce General Store, which is also home to the Pie Queen, Brie Golliher! Brie grew up just down the street from Boyce General Store (and can even tell you a funny story about the ceiling there!) and now is the proud owner along with her husband Brad & their two small kids. It has an old time feel, where you walk in and instantly feel comfortable & relaxed, and has the most amazing catfish you'll ever have. Brie is also one heck of a baker and knocks out some amazing pies & cookies - best of all, the Kentucky Pie!
10. If you're one for history or fun facts, the Kentucky Museum is a great spot to stop. There are art, cultural & historical exhibits that reflect the deep love for Kentucky's fine history. Find out all you never knew about Duncan Hines (he was a real person!), effects of the Civil War in Kentucky, art exhibits & more!
11. The Historic Railpark & Train Museum is a train lover's dream come true! Not only is the building itself gorgeous, but it's filled to the brim with a special kids' room to play in, guided railcar tours & exhibits. The railcar tour is a one of a kind experience and a true throwback to how travel by rail used to look. The mail car is fascinating, sorting the mail on a train must've been something!
As you can see, Bowling Green is more than just a college town, it's is a great spot to visit for a multi-generation family trip, girlfriends getaway, or with yoru special someone! Check out #visitBGKY, #gearedforfun or #BGboondoggle on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to see more photos of our amazing trip to Bowling Green. For more info, or to plan your upcoming trip to Bowling Green, check out Bowling Green Area Convention & Visitors Bureau!
The Bowling Green Area Convention & Visitors Bureau hosted Macaroni Kid for a three-day press trip. Accommodations and most meals and activities were complimentary. No other compensation was received in consideration of this article and all opinions are that of the writer.
