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SteelPony ExpressTours

Kentucky

Kentucky Bourbon Trail

We haul your motorcycle to bourbon country. When you land in Louisville, your bike is waiting. Off the trailer. Ready. From there it's rolling bluegrass, horse farms, the Kentucky River palisades, and the one-lane Nada Tunnel into Red River Gorge, with tours at Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace, and Castle & Key.

  • 4 riding days · 5 nights
  • ~615 miles
  • Fly into Louisville, home from Lexington
  • Best: April–May, late September–October
A tree-canopied back road outside Lexington, in Kentucky horse country

Along the route

What you'll see

The stops and roads on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail ride.

  • Bourbon barrels stamped Louisville, Kentucky, resting on rickhouse racks
    Barrels aging in a Louisville rickhouse
  • A tree-lined lane winding through a horse farm near Paris, Kentucky, at sunset
    A horse-farm lane near Paris, Kentucky (Day 4)
  • Sunrise over a Kentucky horse farm with a white barn, grazing horses, and black plank fences
    Sunrise on a Bluegrass horse farm
  • A horse looking over a black plank fence in a green pasture outside Lexington
    Plank fences outside Lexington (Day 3)
  • A sandstone arch above a river in fall color in the Daniel Boone National Forest
    Sandstone arch country, Daniel Boone National Forest (Day 4)
  • Rows of whiskey barrels stacked on wooden racks inside a rickhouse
    Inside a rickhouse on the Bourbon Trail

The route

Day by day

4 riding days, 5 nights. Best time: April–May and late September–October.

  1. Day 0

    Fly into Louisville

    Evening
    Transfer to the hotel, pick up bikes, orientation. The Hot Brown sandwich was invented downstairs.
    Overnight
    The Brown Hotel (1923)
  2. Day 1~140 mi

    Louisville to Bardstown

    Roads
    KY-245 to Clermont · US-31E to Hodgenville · KY-52 and KY-49 through the knobs to Loretto and back to Bardstown.
    Stops
    Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park · downtown Bardstown, the Bourbon Capital of the World.
    Paid tours
    • Jim Beam American Stillhouse
    • Maker's Mark (dip your own bottle)
    • Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience (evening tasting)
    Overnight
    Talbott Tavern & Inn, serving travelers since 1779
  3. Day 2~135 mi

    Bardstown to Shaker Village

    Roads
    US-150 through Springfield · back roads to Perryville and Harrodsburg · an afternoon loop down to the Kentucky River palisades on US-68.
    Stops
    Perryville Battlefield, Kentucky's largest Civil War battle · Old Fort Harrod State Park, the first settlement west of the Alleghenies.
    Paid tours
    • My Old Kentucky Home (Federal Hill mansion)
    • Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill
    Overnight
    The Inn at Shaker Village, with rooms in restored 1800s Shaker buildings
  4. Day 3~150 mi

    Shaker Village to Lexington

    Roads
    US-68 and KY-33 down the palisades · US-62 across the Tyrone bridge past Wild Turkey · Old Frankfort Pike through the horse farms · US-421 into Frankfort and on to Lexington.
    Stops
    Wild Turkey overlook above the Kentucky River · lunch in Midway, a railroad town · Kentucky State Capitol.
    Paid tours
    • Woodford Reserve
    • Buffalo Trace
    • Castle & Key (the restored Old Taylor castle)
    Overnight
    The Sire Hotel, a 1916 building in the Gratz Park Historic District
  5. Day 4~190 mi

    Red River Gorge loop

    Roads
    Paris Pike past the horse farms · KY-15 to Slade · KY-77 through the Nada Tunnel, a one-lane 1911 logging tunnel · KY-715 Red River Gorge Scenic Byway · KY-11.
    Stops
    Keeneland morning workouts (April and October) · Natural Bridge State Resort Park · Sky Bridge arch.
    Paid tours
    • Natural Bridge sky lift
    Overnight
    The Sire Hotel
  6. Day 5

    Fly home from Lexington

    Morning
    Breakfast, then a 15-minute transfer to the airport. Your bike goes back on the trailer and follows you home to Des Moines.

$6,300 per rider

One Price. The Whole Trip.

Included

  • Motorcycle transport there and back from Des Moines, Iowa
  • Round-trip flights from Des Moines
  • Airport transfers
  • Historic hotels every night
  • A planned route on the best roads in the region
  • A lead guide
  • A support vehicle for luggage and tools
  • Every paid tour and admission on the itinerary

Not included

  • Food and drinks
  • Fuel
  • Bike repairs and parts
  • Your riding gear
  • The spare emergency bike, if you need it ($50/day)

Group: 3 to 6 bikes

How It Works

No two rides are the same. Every tour is built around the group that books it: the pace, the stops, how early you roll out, and whether the afternoon is one more pass or a hot spring. And we pay attention to who rides with whom. We've spent a lot of years around riders and have a good sense of who will mesh, so we match up groups that get along. Most people go home with new friends.

Every tour needs three bikes to run. Got your own crew of three to six? Book the whole tour for your group and we'll set dates that work for you.

  1. Step 1

    Reserve your spot for $200

    Pick a tour and put down a $200 deposit. It holds your place, counts toward your tour price, and is refundable any time you ask. Change your mind about which tour? Move it to another one.

  2. Step 2

    We set the date

    Once enough riders have signed up for a tour, we set the dates with the group. Every tour runs with three to six bikes. The balance is due 30 days before the tour starts.

Reserve your spot for $200See all the steps

6 more rides

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Questions

Questions? Ask Away.

Questions about a tour, your bike, or bringing your own group? Send us a note or give us a call. We'll get back to you within 36 hours.

(515) 805-7225