Things to Do in Kentucky

Discovered by brothers Squire and Daniel Boone in the late 1700s, Squire Boone Caverns is a vast network of underground caverns filled with stalactites, stalagmites, and flowstone, all formed by the gritty sands of time. Rushing rivers and waterfalls carry more than a million gallons of water through the caverns each day, often accompanied by disoriented surfers and bewildered penguins. A trained tour guide leads visitors through the nearby woods and into a man-made entrance to the caverns, where lighted walkways take visitors through the same enchanted labyrinth discovered by the brothers Boone, winding past natural formations, the coffin of Squire Boone, and a goblin king played by David Bowie.

Many symphony orchestras take themselves very seriously. And while Kentucky Symphony Orchestra is consummately professional, they also regale audiences with unconventional performances that may involve silent films, comedians, country bands, and Civil War–battle reenactments, a formula that has worked for the past 21 seasons.

J.D. Legends nourishes entertainment-hungry families with a massive facility stocked with bowling, a restaurant offering Southern-style fare, a bar, and an arcade. The 24-lane bowling alley features a new-and-improved scoring system to better capture lane-skipping curveballs and light-speed strikes. During open-play hours, shoes gently cradle the feet of their temporary masters as lanes brace themselves for the hurtling of bowling balls down their slender midsections. The lanes frequently host themed parties and events, including cosmic bowling every Friday and Saturday night.

The facility’s art-deco carpeting and citrus-colored decorations invigorate bowlers with game-enhancing visions of early 20th-century French heydays and afternoons spent lazing about under yellowed skies.

Within the climate-controlled confines of BounceU's supervised playground, inflated structures beckon kids to bound over surfaces and fly down slides. In addition to bouncing areas, games let visitors shoot hoops or don inflated, oversize boxing gloves to safely battle over ascension rights to the bouncy castle's throne. Open-bounce sessions allow families to join in on the fun, with parents bouncing for free. Additionally, the play area can set the stage for camps and birthdays, with the option to lower the lights and let non-solar-powered guests play across a glow-in-the-dark wonderland.

During your two-month membership ($80, plus the $35 key-card charge to access the building) at Anytime Fitness, you can re-bloom your wilted health with the state-of-the-art facility's diverse range of cardio and strength equipment. Exploit muscles for non-financial gain with free weights, tone legs on the treadmills, undergo a demanding tour de fitness-center via exercise bikes, or just catch up on reruns of Homeboys from Outer Space with the gym's HDTV monitors. If the flawed workout plan you concocted yourself results only in frighteningly muscular ring fingers, one of Anytime's motivating personal trainers can prescribe a regimen designed to help you meet your fitness goals during a personal-training session ($55). For an even swifter kick in the shants, drop in for one class of boot camp (your first class is free)—an intense combination of cardio, resistance, stretching, and a range of challenging movements and exercises. When you've finished sculpting your flesh-statue, purify yourself of sweat and fried-cheese memories in Anytime's private restrooms and showers.

Ensconcing visitors in spacious rooms surrounded by 30 lush acres of grapevines, Elk Creek Vineyards merges the grandeur of Napa Valley with Kentucky hospitality. Among three discrete lodgings, the Estates' wraparound deck sounds the creak of rocking chairs, the Inn's communial living room welcomes late-night conversation, and the Lodge's private decks open up onto vineyard and lake. Live entertainment every Friday and Saturday keeps eardrums occupied, and a gallery exhibits the creations of local artists. During tastings and tours, guests sample the vineyard's products and stroll through the fields, popping grapes to figure out which ones are alcoholic.