Planning travel during what is hopefully the last few months of a pandemic is hard. Not only are many things closed, but even if things are open, it’s important to understand what the options are if it’s busier than your tolerance or if the situation changes last minute. Add in an attempt to plan mostly outdoor activities and you’re also contending with the weather.
I think it’s important to stop comparing COVID travel to non-COVID travel. Instead, compare COVID travel to sitting at home.
Mammoth Cave National Park
Perhaps I’m getting to the point in my travels where it takes a lot to impress me. And perhaps I would have a different experience visiting Mammoth Cave National Park when COVID-19 wasn’t looming. But Mammoth was just fine. I’m from Ohio which isn’t all that different from Kentucky. So these beautiful forested trails aren’t that exciting to me because they look like where I grew up. But Utah was amazing because it was like visiting another planet. So if you’re from a desert or beach locale, these views may appear magical to you.
I was delighted to add another National Park to our list this spring and made much effort to get in the caves themselves, unsuccessfully. I checked the park website almost daily, called the park office three times, and checked the park social media handles regularly. Unfortunately they stopped doing guided tours of the namesake cave a couple weeks before we were to arrive. And almost immediately, the self guided tour slots filled up. I know that I can’t speak fully to the park without visiting the cave, but we did explore a few other trails and caves throughout. Sand Cave, Dixon Cave Trail Loop, River Styx Spring Trail and Green River Bluffs Trail were all just fine. There was plenty of parking at the visitor center, they were short, easy walks along the river, and we got to see all of the budding foliage as winter breaks for spring. No complaints, but nothing special. I’ll make the effort to return when I can tour Mammoth Cave itself.
Red River Gorge
In another instance of lots of effort but little pay off, I carefully researched hundreds of potential hikes in Red River Gorge and found a version of one that I was so excited about. We intended to start at the Swinging Bridge and head north to Cloudsplitter via Sheltowee Trace Trail and end up at Indian Staircase and Bison Way. But two miles into the nine-miler I planned, at the top of Cloudsplitter, lightning struck. Lots and lots of lightning. So instead of climbing down from the giant rock and finishing another 3 miles before turning around, we booked it back to our car amid rain and thunder. If it were just rain, I would have still enjoyed the whole hike, but better to be safe than sorry during a storm in an unfamiliar place. And before you assume I forgot to check the forecast, I did not. This was a surprise to us all out on the trail that day.
We did love the part of the hike we did get to do. When we come back for Mammoth Cave we will do this exact trail all the way through because it was awesome.
Hidden River Cave Tour
This experience was heavily dependent on the people in our tour group and the fact that we visited during the pandemic. Many, many screaming children and no one wearing a mask inside the waiting area was not a good start but we decided we could still enjoy the tour distanced from those families. While the cave itself is newly opened to the public (at least as far as we went into it), it’s mostly natural from water erosion throughout the centuries. The swinging bridge is neat and the domed rooms throughout are beautiful. But we decided to ditch five minutes early to leave the children enjoying screaming echoes and head back up the 250 stairs toward the surface. A nice alternative if you can’t get into Mammoth, but don’t expect anyone to wear masks here, including the employees.
Lost River Boat Tour
We were excited to take a boat tour of an underground cave river, but unfortunately with the rain the evening prior, our tour was cancelled. But I wanted to mention that customer service was excellent and we were given a full refund.
Bowling Green, Kentucky
We had planned to get lunch before our boat tour and even though it was cancelled decided it was the best spot to grab lunch and take a midday break before our Hidden River tour. Bowling Green is delightful. As the home of Western Kentucky University (a gorgeous campus), BG offered an adorable town square and loads of fun local shops to enjoy. We all loved our brunch at Spencer’s Coffee (top five favorite breakfast sandwich for me), Mary James Chocolates, and Melodies and Memories (a rad 80s record store). If you’re in the area, definitely stop by.
Lexington, Kentucky
Okay, Lexington rocks. I had been a few times as a child, but we loved everything we did, saw, ate and drank. If you’ve read my blog before, you know I love a city with a little grit and grunge. Some history and personality. And boy does Lexington have it.
No exaggeration, we got one of everything at The Futile Bakery and all of it was so yummy! For dinner we explored a reimagined industrial part on the north side of downtown Lex. Wise Bird Cider had some delicious ciders, all of which were unique without copping to blending with other fruits. We got flights so tried 12 different items on the cider list which had almost double that available. We also loved the food with one exception: the chicken tacos could have used a sauce or crema. But the charcuterie and pretzels were good and the sweet cider barbecue sauce on the wings was like nothing else I’ve had. We also grabbed a few things from Ethereal Brewing as well.
As a consolation for our Red River Gorge hike ending early, we made time to stop at Le Petite Delicat and while the macarons were fine, the toffee was fabulous! I’d definitely go back to try the tarts and cronuts.
We started the evening at Bourbon on Rye where the burger was seriously perfection and the cocktails were bougie and delicious. However, the hipster mixologists weren’t wearing masks which was concerning. Not wanting to stay long for that reason, we grabbed a few rolls and sake from School Sushi a block away. The server there confirmed that West Main Crafting Co. was the place to be. I love a good cocktail bar and the literal book of a menu at West Main left me wanting to try something totally new, until I saw the perfect drink called Bird of Paradise: gin, lime, raspberry, soda water, egg white. All of my favorite ingredients. I’ll take two please!
Definitely better than staying home, but next time I’ll just tour Mammoth Cave and bum around Lexington. There is plenty more to see in both places.
I’ve explored Louisville previously, but anything else I should add to my next itinerary in Kentucky?