Most of these attractions are in or near downtown Frankfort. Most are within walking distance of one another. And most are near stops for the Frankfort trolley and/or the Frankfort Transit bus system.
Below I list 16 attractions that are in or near downtown, followed by some details about each. The subheadings for them include Internet links to webpages with more information.
1. State Capitol Building (Free)
2. Kentucky Floral Clock (Free)
3. Capital City Museum (Free)
4. River View Park (Free)
5. Leslie Morris Park at Fort Hill (Free)
6. Daniel Boone's Grave and Frankfort Cemetery (Free)
7. Buffalo Trace Distillery (Free) (Even as a teetotaler, I enjoyed the tour.)
8. Liberty Hall Historic Site ($6 for adults, $3 for ages 5-18 years old)
9. Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History ($8 for adults, $6 for youth ages 6-18 years old and veterans)
10. Old State Capitol Building (Admission charge included at no additional cost with #9 above)
11. Kentucky Military History Museum (Admission charge included at no additional cost with #9 above)
12. Rebecca Ruth Candy Factory and Museum (Admission $5 for tour)
13. Governor's Mansion (Free)
14. Kentucky River Boat Tour (Free)
15. Frankfort Trolley and Transit (Trolley Free, Transit 25 cents)
16. Frankfort Visitors' Center (Free)
Details About the Attractions
1. State Capitol Building (Free)
Free guided tours of Kentucky's magnificent state capitol building are offered. The beautiful rotunda with its statues and columns is marvelous, as is the dome.
The building's artwork, Senate chamber, House of Representatives chamber, and Supreme Court chamber, and other features make visiting it a wonderful experience for children and adults. The tour guide also pointed out the location of the governor's office on the first floor near the rotunda, but it is not part of the tour.
A nice display features small designs for each of Kentucky's 120 counties.
I urge persons in Frankfort to seek to take a tour which lasts approximately an hour. The guide for my Tuesday, April 3, 2018 tour provided much information about the building and its history, as well as patiently answering my numerous questions. I'm not sure what the size limit is for tours, but I took the 11 a.m. tour and was the only one there, so I got a one-on-one personal tour.
You do need to present a photo ID and go through a security screening before entering the building. But it proceeded fairly quickly.
The photos below show some of the beauty of the capitol, but my photos do not do it justice.
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| Kentucky State Capitol Building, photo taken June 27, 2018 |
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| Statue of Abraham Lincoln in Kentucky State Capitol Building Rotunda, photo taken April 3, 2018 |
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| Statue of Henry Clay in Kentucky State Capitol Building Rotunda, photo taken April 3, 2018 |
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| Statue of Jefferson Davis in Kentucky State Capitol Building Rotunda, photo taken April 3, 2018 |
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| House of Representatives meeting room in Kentucky State Capitol Building, photo taken April 3, 2018 |
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| Senate meeting room in Kentucky State Capitol Building, photo taken April 3, 2018 |
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| This display in the Kentucky State Capitol Building features designs for each of Kentucky's 120 counties, photo taken April 3, 2018. |
2. Kentucky Floral Clock (Free)
Seeing the large outdoor clock with beautiful plants and a fountain is a nice experience and costs nothing. By viewing it at different times of the year, one can appreciate a variety of beautiful plants, since the plants in the clock change. The photos from three of my visits in 2018 indicate this.
A walkway goes completely around the clock. Several other beautiful plants can be seen as one walks around the clock. Some of those are shown in one of the photos.
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| Kentucky Floral Clock, photo taken October 10, 2018 |
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| Kentucky Floral Clock, photo taken June 27, 2018 |
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| Kentucky Floral Clock, photo taken April 3, 2018 |
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| Kentucky's Floral Clock, a view of some of the plants behind it, photo taken Oct. 10, 2018 |
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| This plaque near the Kentucky Floral Clock contains information about it, photo taken April 3, 2018 |
3. Capital City Museum (Free)
The museum features a wide variety of educational and entertaining exhibits that cover various aspects of Frankfort's history.
Among many other things, the museum includes parts of hollow wooden logs that were used in an early Frankfort water system. The museum also has the copper ball that was on top of the capitol dome until being replaced by a new one.
One room of this museum features a recreation of Dr. E.E. Hume's office as he was treating Kentucky Governor Goebel after Goebel was shot. This room is located in the actual place where the office was.
In addition to many permanent exhibits, there are temporary exhibits. I noticed changes between my two visits, one in spring 2018 and one in autumn 2018.
A small gift shop just inside the entrance to the museum offers several books for sale. Visiting the museum is free.
4. River View Park (Free)
This park features artwork, plaques with historical information, a walking trail, an amphitheater, a gazebo, picnic tables, at least one grill, portable toilets, and nice views of the Kentucky River. The hiking trail extends on both sides of the river.
I enjoyed walking the trail on the side of the river nearest Capital Plaza on October 10, 2018. It was a nice quiet, peaceful walk, with only a few others there. Visiting the park is free, and the Frankfort Farmer's Market is held in part of the park at certain times.
5. Leslie Morris Park at Fort Hill (Free)
This park features walking trails in a beautiful forested setting. One trail contains historical plaques telling about the two forts that were on the hill during the Civil War, as well as a nice view of downtown Frankfort. Two other trails focus more on nature, providing views of an osage orange grove, two sinkholes, a cave entrance, bird houses and a bird blind, a meadow designed to attract butterflies, and some beautiful nature scenery, with markers that provide information about some of these attractions.
One way to reach the park is to drive up to its entrance in a car. As an alternative, visitors can walk up the steep hill on a trail that is an old road which was used to bring materials up Fort Hill during the Civil War. The trail is called Military Road, but it actually predates the time the forts were built according to one of the employees in the park. This foot trail is the way I went on my visit on October 3, 2018. It is a fairly steep hill and perhaps a 30 minute walk that begins by climbing some steps from Wilkinson Boulevard up past some apartment buildings located near Capital Plaza to the road itself. Construction work where the Capital Plaza Tower was torn down prevent access to the original beginning point of this access path.
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| View of downtown Frankfort from Fort Hill in Leslie Morris Park, photo taken Oct. 3, 2018 |
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| Part of a Dry Laid Stone Fence on Fort Hill in Leslie Morris Park, photo taken Oct. 3, 2018 |
A log cabin originally built in 1810 that was moved eight miles to the park, has been remodeled to look as a tavern/inn might have in 1860. One room of it looks like a general store, and one upstairs room looks as a guest room might have. Restrooms for park visitors are in the lower level of this building, and the city employees who work them offer water and Gatorade. Visiting the park is free.
6. Daniel Boone's Grave and Frankfort Cemetery (Free)
The monument that marks Daniel Boone's grave is nice to see. Also, an overlook near Boone's grave offers a great view of the Capitol building. The cemetery features beautiful trees and a nice overall setting. I enjoyed visiting this on October 3, 2018. Visiting is free.
7. Buffalo Trace Distillery (Free)
I'm a teetotaler, but I still enjoyed taking a free tour of Buffalo Trace Distillery, which claims to be the oldest continually operated distillery in the country. It even operated during the Prohibition producing alcoholic beverages for medicinal purposes. Distilleries were a major (the biggest?) source of revenue in Frankfort in its early days.
I took what is called "the trace tour" which gave me a chance to see employees bottling one of the company's products, as well as enter one of the warehouses where barrels of alcoholic beverages are stored to age. The guide, Carey, assured me that the fumes from the barrels that were aging would not intoxicate me.
The tour also included a short video about the history of the company and the manufacturing process. My tour had perhaps 25 or 30 people on it, and Carey (the tour guide) offered several opportunities to ask questions. He and answered numerous questions from me and others.
The tour took about an hour and ended with a tasting. I am a teetotaler, so I did not participate in the tasting, though I watched the others. By the way, the tasting does offer root beer for those who choose not to imbibe in alcoholic beverages.
Children on the tour must be accompanied by an adult. This tour does not require reservations, but the distillery offers some other tours that do require reservations. The other tours (also free) probably offer much more historical information as well as access to many other parts of the distillery to see the processes they use. The Visitor Center offers some of their alcoholic beverages for sale, as well as shirts and other souvenirs.
The Buffalo Trace Distillery's website states that the Trace Tour (which I took) is open to visitors of all ages, but persons must be at least 12 years old to take three of their other tours.
TripAdvisor lists this distillery as the top attraction in Frankfort. The large number of people there when I visited about lunch time on Wednesday, October 10, 2018 indicates its popularity, too.
But, while I enjoyed the historical and educational aspects, as a teetotaler I probably did not appreciate it as much as many others do. I do hope to take one of the other tours they offer that provides more historical information on a future visit to Frankfort, though.
8. Liberty Hall Historic Site ($6 for adults and $3 for ages 5-18 years old)
Tours of Liberty Hall and the adjacent Orlando Brown house are offered at 1:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday midMarch through late November according to a brochure I got at the Frankfort Visitors' Center. Tours begin at the John Brown house. John Brown was a founding father of Kentucky. Reservations are not necessary. The tour cost $6 for adults and $3 for children of a certain age.
I took the tour on April 3rd, 2018 and was blessed to have two tour guides. Since it was Megan's first tour she was accompanied by an experienced tour guide, Kate. I enjoyed the tour, seeing the furnishings (some originally belonging to the family and many others from the period they lived there), as well as learning more about the Brown family history. Seeing the furniture in various rooms, art work, the laundry building, the kitchen, garden/grounds, etc., was impressive.
The guides provided much Brown family information, even mentioning a ghost that supposedly appears from time to time, and included some historical information about that period of Frankfort's early history. Personally, I especially enjoyed visiting one room upstairs that has been converted into a library containing many shelves of old books that had belonged to the Brown family.
9. Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History ($8 for adults, $6 for youth ages 6-18 years old and veterans)
Visitors can see an impressive display of a huge variety of Kentucky history artifacts and information.
This facility of the Kentucky Historical Society's displays cover from prior to colonial days to the 21st century. I urge persons who get the opportunity to seek to visit it.
Among many other things, one hallway features individual pictures of Kentucky's governors and brief biographical information about them.
The $8 admission charge I paid would be a great value just for taking the self-guided tour of this building. But the charge also includes a guided tour of the Old State Capitol Building and a self-guided tour of the Kentucky Military History Museum, both of which are discussed in following sections of this article.
I devoted two or three hours to looking at the displays in this building on June 27, 2018, and I still did not see everything. The museum includes a gift shop which is one of the things I did not visit due to limited time.
10. Old State Capitol Building (Admission charge included at no additional cost with #9 above)
The entrance foyer, artwork, and overall architecture are impressive. But, this building contains much beauty to see, including the furnished House of Representatives and Senate meeting rooms, as well as one of the two cloak rooms. Two large gas chandeliers (one in the House chamber and one in the Senate chamber) remain, but they have been converted to electric.
The building may only be visited by guided tours that begin in at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History. See that section for admission information and price.
I was the only one there for the 1:30 p.m. tour on Wednesday, June 27th. My tour guide Steve provided much information about the history of the building, as well as patiently answering my numerous questions. Some of the other regularly scheduled tour times probably have several more people. Also, during the school year, special tours for students attract large crowds at times according to Steve.
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| Chandelier in Kentucky Old State Capitol Building, originally gas lit, but now electric, photo taken June 27, 2018 |
11. Kentucky Military History Museum (Admission charge included at no additional cost with #9 above)
This two-story building contains a variety of weaponry, from cannons to pistols, as well as uniforms. I especially enjoyed listening to parts of a few of the oral histories on tape. The museum even featured some uniforms and equipment of military medical personnel.
The two persons at the reception desk were friendly and probably would have willingly answered several questions from me, but due to my arriving about 15 minutes before the 5 p.m. closing time on my visit Wednesday, June 27, 2018, I focused on seeing the exhibits.
See the section above about the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History for admission information and price. Self guided tours of the Kentucky Military History Museum begin there.
12. Rebecca Ruth Candy Factory and Museum (Admission $5 for tour)
I enjoyed touring the facility on Wednesday, June 27, 2018. It was nice seeing the conveyor belt pieces of candy ride down for coating with chocolate, as well as the process where creme interiors are dropped into individual piece size candies before the chocolate is added.
My guide discussed the candy making process and pointed out various pieces of equipment used in the process.
Photographs are not allowed in the factory and visitors are instructed not to touch the candy-making equipment or lean over it for food safety reasons.
However, photographs are allowed in the small museum that visitors tour after touring the factory itself. The museum contains a variety of antique and old pieces. Most of them are not related to candy making, but many are interesting. I especially enjoyed seeing an old refrigerator that I think dated from 1927.
The short tour was interesting and worth the $5 charge in my opinion. The tour concluded with the opportunity to sample a free piece of candy. I turned down the opportunity to taste a bourbon ball (I'm a teetotaler, and yes, maybe I'm overly cautious.) But I was offered a sample of one of their other chocolates which I accepted and enjoyed. The candies are tasty, but a bit expensive. I bought two pieces, which cost over $2, which seems to be a typical price for their chocolates.
Their store offers a variety of their chocolates for sale, some of which have nuts, caramel, and/or a creme interior. The store also offers some other items for sale.
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| This refrigerator in the Rebecca Ruth Candy Factory's Museum apparently dates to 1927, photo taken June 27, 2018 |
13. Governor's Mansion (Free)
Free guided tours of the Kentucky Governor's Mansion are offered on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Phone 502-564-3449 a day in advance to confirm tours are being offered, since sometimes special events lead to cancelling tours. I have not yet taken the tour, but I hope to on a future Frankfort visit.
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| Kentucky Governor's Mansion, photo taken October 10, 2018 |
14. Kentucky River Boat Tour (Free)
Free 1 1/2 hour tours are offered from June 1 through the end of September according to a sign in River View Park. The tours begin from the River View Park Boat Landing. Reservations are necessary and are obtained by phoning 502-209-0632. The tours are limited to eight passengers and take place depending on weather and river conditions on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:30 a.m. I have not taken the tour yet, but I hope to sometime next year and feel it will be enjoyable and educational as the tour guide explains about the river and its history.
15. Frankfort Trolley and Transit (Trolley Free, Transit 25 cents)
A free trolley in Frankfort operates Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. till 2:30 p.m. from early April late October that has stops at many of the city's tourist sites. I rode it on my October 10, 2018 and found the driver, John, to be a friendly, knowledgeable person. He made my rides fun and educational. The trolley makes a round trip about every 37 minutes according to the schedule in a brochure about it, and the trolley seemed to be close to on schedule during each of my rides.
Frankfort also has a transit service with four routes that run Monday-Friday. According to a brochure about the service, it runs from about 6:45 a.m. to about 6:30 p.m. The brochure also states that there are two Saturday routes that run 8:45 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. Rides only cost 25 cents, and transfers to another route are free. I took several rides on the buses and found the drivers friendly and the buses usually close to on time.
Though it's great that the trolley and transit service are available, most of the tourist attractions I mention here are within walking distance of one another for persons in reasonably good physical shape.
16. Frankfort Visitors' Center (Free)
The Frankfort Visitors' Center is located in a building called the Gooch House on Capitol Avenue near downtown and the state capitol building. The building itself is a historic structure. But, the most valuable thing it offers to tourists is probably its variety of free information about various tourist attractions, including a free map.
The friendly person working there during my visit on April 3, 2018 was very helpful. The maps and brochures in the Visitors' Center were useful, too.
A photo of the Gooch House that houses the Frankfort Visitors' Center follows this paragraph.
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| Gooch House, Home to the Frankfort Visitors' Center, photo taken June 3, 2018 |
One Frankfort attraction that I did not discuss in this article is the Salato Wildlife Education Center. The reason is that this attraction is farther away from downtown than any of the attractions I discussed. It is not within easy walking distance of the other attractions listed, and it is located about 1 1/2 miles from the nearest bus stop of the Frankfort Transit Service. But, the Salato Center is another attraction that Frankfort visitors should consider seeing.
There are many fun, educational things to see and do in Frankfort, Kentucky that are free or cheap. I urge persons who get the opportunity to seek to enjoy several of them.
NOTE: This article was last revised on October 19, 2018.
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