This Storybook City In Kentucky's Bourbon Country Offers Bluegrass Roots, Comfort Food, And Lincoln's Legacy

If there are three things Kentucky is known for, they're bourbon, bluegrass music, and delicious Southern comfort food. While you can find these elements in many towns and cities throughout the Bluegrass State, there's only one place where they all converge. This spot also happens to be the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln: welcome to Hodgenville.

To find this storybook city on the map, you'll want to triangulate from Elizabethtown, the under-the-radar Kentucky city with postcard-worth landscapes, and Bardstown, the city known for being the bourbon capital of the world. Hodgenville sits at the intersection of Highways 61 and 31E, making it easy to get to for travelers.

While being Lincoln's birthplace helps put Hodgenville on the map, this city would be a great travel destination regardless. For one thing, it's the home of the state's longest-running country music venue. Plus, it has a charming downtown area with fantastic food and shopping to elevate any vacation experience. Visitors heading to Kentucky should definitely stop by and find out what makes Hodgenville such a special place.

When visiting Hodgenville, it's hard to overstate how much Lincoln's legacy permeates the entire city. Locals are proud of their most famous resident, and there are multiple sites where you can learn more about his historical impact on the community and the country at large. The best place to start is at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park. Here, you can take a tour of the area and visit Lincoln's boyhood home. In town, there's the Lincoln Museum, which is perfect for anyone who wants to learn as much about the man as possible.

Next, there's Joel Ray's Lincoln Jamboree, which is on the southern outskirts of town. The Jamboree is Kentucky's longest-running live country music show, having started in 1954. The signature bluegrass show takes place every Saturday at 6:45 p.m., but the venue hosts other musical acts and events throughout the week (at time of writing). The Jamboree also has its own family restaurant, making it easy to grab dinner and then enjoy the music.

Speaking of food, dining in Hodgenville is great if you love Southern homestyle cooking. The Lincoln Jamboree restaurant has some fabulous fried chicken and biscuits, but the downtown area is also full of hotspots. Highlights include Jackson Legacy Barbecue for mouthwatering pulled pork sandwiches, Laha's Red Castle for juicy burgers, and the 16th Restaurant for chef-crafted dishes like ribeye steak, salmon, and honey biscuit shrimp.

Hodgenville is just south of Louisville, and only a 45-minute drive from the Louisville International Airport. While you're in the big city, you can check out Cherokee Triangle, one of Louisville's best neighborhoods with a walkable arts scene, before heading down. The only official "hotel" in Hodgenville is the Lincoln Lodge and Campground, which is just outside the Lincoln Birthplace National Park. Otherwise, there are a couple of vacation rental options in the city.

While the Lincoln Museum and other historical sites are the main attractions, you can explore more of the downtown area by taking a walking tour. The city has a printable map you can download on visithodgenville.com, complete with markers for all of the points of interest you can discover. There is also a scavenger hunt option if you want to flex your deduction and investigative skills while enjoying this charming city.

Interested in a more rural escape? Hodgenville is teeming with local farms, as the area is a major crop producer for the region. So, you can take a tour of various farms and buy fresh eggs, milk, meat, and produce. If you visit during the fall, Crawford Farms Pumpkin Patch is a fantastic family-friendly option with all kinds of seasonal activities, including a petting zoo and hayrides.