Where: Various sites across Kentucky
When: year-round
If you like: gardens, the outdoors and sports
Why you should go: Not that plant lovers need another incentive to visit the Bluegrass State’s most incredible green spaces—the beautiful landscaping and abundance of blooms are enough—but the folks behind the new Kentucky Garden Trail sweetened the pot with a treasure hunt of sorts. For each garden you visit along the statewide network, you collect a stamp in a “passport.” You’ll receive a gift after six destinations; hit all twelve and you’ll get an even grander gift. But more importantly, you’ll have wandered miles of serene trails, taken in native planting ideas for your own garden, and witnessed such highlights as the 1861 ginkgo tree at Louisville’s Cave Hill Cemetery, where Kentucky icons Muhammad Ali and “Colonel” Harland David Sanders rest eternally. The trail’s website shares itinerary ideas for making a day or weekend around each garden. In Lexington, for example, the tallgrass prairie, wetland, and forest settings of the Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky put you within easy reach of bourbon and horses, with the Distillery District and Keeneland just a hop-skip away.
G&G tip: Kim Hydes, who helped found the trail and is the executive director of Oldham County Kentucky Tourism, recommends visiting the Yew Dell Botanical Gardens this summer after gardeners completely redo the native plots around the site’s stunning stone-and-brick castle.
