Kentucky and Tennessee Bourbon Tours

[prism16]

We are planning a trip through Pennsylvania to the Kentucky and Tennessee Bourbon Tours. Does anyone have any travel advice to these destinations. We are a 25ft Sprinter Chassis Motorhome and are not towing anything. We are planning to leave down east Maine the last week of July.

Thanks

[elkhartjim]

Parking may be an issue at some of the distillery's.

 

[hermanmullins]

Jim,

Getting in with a 25 footer want be the problem however getting out might be (hic). 😊

Herman 

[obedb]

Wat do you want to see in PA?

[hermanmullins]

Little black buggies and lots of great Amish food. 

Herman 

[elkhartjim]

After about 4 distillers and visiting the sample rooms in each one, a wise person would call a cab, Herman.

 

[tbutler]

As one who loves to visit wineries and also has visited several of the distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, I have a strict policy, taste and spit.  It breaks my heart to spit out a fine wine or a great bourbon but that is the only way if you are the driver.  At least I'm getting to taste the product which is the objective of tasting.  I usually inform the person at the tasting counter that I am the driver and will be spitting out each tasting so they don't think I'm being dismissive of their product.  By the way, bourbon is a Kentucky thing.  If it isn't from Kentucky it can't be labeled bourbon.  The Tennessee Whiskey Trail is a separate entity.  You can't beat these two tours for liquor tourism unless you go to the Napa Valley.

As to the distillery tours, they have bus and RV parking at many locations.  You can go on-line to get information from each distillery and if there is a question about parking, call to find out what arrangements they have for parking RV's.  A 25' motorhome isn't that much larger than some pickup trucks.  I don't think you will find any problems.  If you can park in two regular spots at Walmart, you should be fine.

We did find that campgrounds were fairly sparse in the Bourbon Tour area.  You might plan your itinerary ahead so you have campgrounds available each night.  We found that a visit to a distillery will take from two to four hours without rushing.  A good tour may make that a little longer.  Some places, you have to purchase tickets for tours and they may not be available for the next tour.  Avoiding holidays and weekends might minimize that.  I think you can purchase tickets at some distilleries in advance, on-line.  Enjoy!

For those going to the FMCA Convention in Indianapolis, you won't be far from Kentucky and Tennessee!  Great side trip if you are so inclined.  And, oh yes, Prism16 welcome to the forum.   If you leave Maine a few weeks earlier you could attend the FMCA Convention!  It's a can't miss experience to do one of these large RV gatherings at least once.  Would love to see you there.

[kaypsmith]

The sprinter chassis is a class B which is the perfect MH when you don't want to tow and still go almost anywhere. Many of the dually's are about the same size. Just for information purposes for those that don't know, most do, some do not.

[tbutler]

Now for on-the-way information.  We did about the same travel though in slow motion two years ago.  My brother lives in Eastern Kentucky so we made a stop at the Jim Beam Distillery south of Louisville.  We drove across Kentucky on several small highways to London, KY where my brother lives.  Leaving his home on I-75 north, we picked up I-64 in Lexington.  From there we connected with I-79 and then I-68.  We visited Harper's Ferry National Historic Park, 

We stopped in Harrisburg, PA for maintenance at the Cummins shop.  For those with a Cummins engine I highly recommend this Coach Care Location.  They gave us the best service we've ever received from Cummins.  Out of Harrisburg he headed for the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.  Taking I-81 and I-88 got us into New York.  The one problem we encountered was on I-81, there was extensive one lane construction going on and we were caught in a huge long traffic jam.  That was two years ago, someone from eastern PA can give you an update on this project. 

From Cooperstown we headed east through southern Vermont on Hwy 9 and New Hampshire on Hwy 101.  Both were scenic and we made a number of sightseeing stops along the way.  We ended up staying at a campground in northern MA for a family reunion in Hampton, ME.  From there we took I-95 north through down east Maine and on into Canada. That was the beginning of our first trip to Newfoundland and Labrador.

That is a look at one way to get there and some of the interesting things you might stop to see or visit on your way, depending on the amount of time you plan to be out on this trip.

[wildebill308]

Another fun thing to see in the area is the Kentucky Horse Park. 

http://www.kyhorsepark.com/

Bill