The distance from Louisville to Lexington KY by car is 78 miles, with a 1h10m driving time. The best road trip stops on the Louisville to Lexington KY drive are the Josephine Sculpture Park, Frankfort and the Woodford Reserve Distillery.
Finding the best things to do between Louisville and Lexington KY
The Louisville to Lexington drive connects the two biggest cities in Kentucky.
5 great Louisville experiences to book
- 🏛️ See handsome mansions and learn Louisville history – on an Old Louisville walking tour.
- 🏇 Visit the Kentucky Derby Museum – with a guided Churchill Downs track visit.
- 🍗 Taste fried chicken, BBQ and more – on a guided NuLu food tour.
- 🥃 Take a Kentucky bourbon tour – with tastings at three distilleries.
- 👻 Hear spooky tales of old Louisville – on a hugely popular ghost tour.
Good Louisville experiences include Old Louisville ghost tours, the Kentucky Derby Museum and a tasting tour of multiple bourbon distilleries. The food and history tours are also worth checking out.
For Louisville attractions, try the Frazier Kentucky History Museum, Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory Tour, Muhammad Ali Center and Kentucky Science Center.
Interesting Lexington experiences include downtown food tours and guided art walks. You can also try bluegrass cocktail tours, visiting a thoroughbred horse farm and visiting Mary Todd Lincoln House.
Elsewhere in and around Lexington, you can tour the Henry Clay Estate at Ashland, enjoy the Kentucky Horse Park and take in Civil War history at the Camp Nelson National Monument.
5 great Lexington experiences to book
- 🐎 Thoroughbred horse farm tour – Take a half day tour to a working farm.
- 🍽️ Downtown Lexington food tour – Taste the finest flavours on a guided walking experience.
- 🏛️ Mary Todd Lincoln House visit – Get the full story on a guided tour.
- 🍸 East End food and cocktails tour – Enjoy local flavours on a tasting experience.
- 🎨 Lexington art walk – See Kentucky’s creative side on this guided art walk.
Louisville to Lexington KY distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Louisville to Lexington KY is 78 miles. You can expect a driving time of around one hour and ten minutes. The quickest route is largely along the I-64.
The best stops on a Louisville to Lexington road trip itinerary are the Josephine Sculpture Park, Frankfort and the Woodford Reserve Distillery.
Louisville to Lexington KY drive: Josephine Sculpture Park
The Josephine Sculpture Park on the outskirts of Frankfort is a farm that has been turned into an art installation. Along two miles of mowed trails, there are 70 sculptures amid the forests and meadows.
Entry to the park is free, and it is open from dawn to dusk.
Private tours are available if booked in advance, but the real joy comes in free-roaming discovery.
Best stops between Louisville and Lexington KY: Frankfort KY
Frankfort is the relatively small capital of Kentucky. The capitol building is architecturally impressive, but the city’s real strength is its distilleries. The Buffalo Trace distillery offers tours and free tastings. You can do tours at the Castle & Key distillery, too.
For something more on a natural bent, Cove Spring Park is home to wetlands, ravines and picturesque waterfalls.
Louisville to Lexington KY road trip attractions: Woodford Reserve Distillery
Woodford Reserve is one of the most famous bourbon brands in the world, and the distillery is in Versailles KY. At the time of writing, distillery tours aren’t running. However, you can still visit the bar at Woodford Reserve Distillery, and take part in guided tasting experiences.
Mixology classes are also available upon reservation.
More Kentucky travel
Other Kentucky travel guides on Planet Whitley include:
- Enjoy railroad heritage at the La Grange Railroad Museum.
- The strange sinkhole history of the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
- What to know before visiting Cumberland Falls near Corbin, Kentucky.
