Plan a fall outing around horse racing, festivals, or Halloween activities.
Cynthiana has a skeleton adoption agency. In this small town about 30 miles north of Lexington, decorating yards and businesses with skeletons has become a fall tradition.
Across Kentucky, towns give visitors plenty of reasons to stop in October. Lawrenceburg cooks burgoo, a slow-simmered stew of meats and vegetables. Mount Sterling turns downtown over to vendors for a gathering that dates back to 1794. Wilmore has a festival named for its ginkgo trees, whose fan-shaped leaves turn yellow in fall.
Farther north, Covington and Newport offer an art and light show, underwater pumpkins, and a haunted boat.
Here are nine ways to plan an October outing in the central and northern regions of the Bluegrass state.
Central Kentucky
1. Spend an afternoon at Keeneland
What: Keeneland Fall Meet
Where: 4201 Versailles Road, Lexington
When: Gates open at 11 a.m. on race days, Oct. 2-24, with no racing on Mondays and Tuesdays. The first race starts at 1 p.m.
Cost: General admission is $7 on Wednesdays and Thursdays, $10 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Reserved seating costs extra.
A day at Keeneland can begin at the paddock, where visitors watch horses, and horse handlers prepare for each race. Watch there first. Then head trackside to see them run.
The track is in Lexington, at the center of Kentucky’s horse country. The Keeneland Fall Meet includes 17 racing days, with races on dirt and grass. Admission covers the public areas, including the paddock and trackside viewing, but it does not include a reserved seat.
Book online before you go. Free parking in The Hill and Meadow lots includes courtesy shuttles. On race weekends, The Hill also welcomes tailgaters for music and food.
2. Follow the skeletons in Cynthiana
What: Cynthiana’s Halloween displays
When: Throughout October, visit in the daylight to see outdoor displays. Guided activities have separate schedules.
Where: Downtown Cynthiana and surrounding neighborhoods in Harrison County, about 30 miles north of Lexington.
Cost: Free to view outdoor displays from public streets and sidewalks. Guided ghost walks and other ticketed activities cost extra.
Cynthiana’s connection to horror goes beyond its October decorations. “The Walking Dead” comic book co-creators Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore are town natives.
Start your skeleton tour downtown, then explore nearby neighborhoods. Stay on public sidewalks when viewing displays at private homes. For a guided outing after dark, check Rohs Opera House’s booking calendar for a ghost walk.
3. Get a taste of burgoo in Lawrenceburg
What: Anderson County Burgoo Festival
When: Oct 16-18. Check the festival schedule for daily hours.
Where: Main Street in downtown Lawrenceburg, west of Lexington. Live music and activities center on Century Bank Park, 44 Anna Mac Clarke Ave.
Cost: Free admission. Food and rides are extra.
Lunch is a good reason to visit Lawrenceburg during the Anderson County Burgoo Festival. The small city west of Lexington devotes three days to the Kentucky stew, a slow-cooked mixture of meat, vegetables, and seasonings. Recipes vary from cook to cook.
The festival spreads along Main Street, with craft vendors, food, and children’s carnival rides. Century Bank Park hosts live music and activities, so you can plan a meal and look around the booths between performances.
4. Spend a day at Mount Sterling Court Days
What: Mount Sterling Court Days
When: Oct. 16-18
Where: Historic downtown Mount Sterling, east of Lexington at Interstate 64, exit 110
Cost: Food and merchandise are sold individually.
Mount Sterling Court Days grew from a practical arrangement: Court sessions brought people to town, and the gatherings gave them a chance to buy, sell, and trade. The city sits where the Bluegrass meets the Appalachian foothills and traces the tradition to 1794, when people came to sell their crops, trade horses, and swap goods and services.
Today, about 1,500 vendors fill downtown with antiques, crafts, food, guns, and knives. The event takes over downtown for three days on the third weekend of October and draws more than 200,000 people.
5. Visit Wilmore’s new ginkgo festival
What: Ginkgo Galore
When: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 24.
Where: Downtown Wilmore, south of Lexington, including Main Street and The Granary grounds at 408 E. Main St.
Cost: General admission is free. Some concerts and special events may require separate tickets.
Wilmore is adding a festival to its 150th anniversary celebration. The small town south of Lexington will hold Ginkgo Galore on Oct. 24, with art, music, and activities along Main Street and at nearby venues. The name comes from the town’s ginkgo trees, whose fan-shaped leaves turn yellow in the fall.
A morning 5K opens the day. The program includes juried art, storytelling, children’s activities, and food trucks, with music and vendors on The Granary grounds. Leave time to walk through town to check out the ginkgo trees.
6. Watch championship racing at the Breeders’ Cup
What: Breeders’ Cup World Championships
When: Gates open at 9:30 a.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday. Oct. 30 and 31.
Where: Keeneland, 4201 Versailles Road, Lexington
Cost: Trackside general admission starts at $85 Friday, $159 Saturday, or $244 for both days. Buy in advance through the official ticket site.
Keeneland closes its Fall Meet Oct. 24, then welcomes an international field the following weekend. The Breeders’ Cup brings leading thoroughbreds and jockeys to Lexington for 14 championship races over two days.
Championship racing begins at 2:55 p.m. Friday and 1:10 p.m. Saturday. The Breeders’ Cup Classic is scheduled for 6:16 p.m. Saturday.
Northern Kentucky
Along the Ohio River, Covington and neighboring Newport offer three more reasons to visit in October. Walk between outdoor art displays at BLINK, see pumpkins alongside the aquarium’s fish, or board a former dredge for an evening of scares.
7. See Covington light up for BLINK
What: BLINK art and light festival
When: 7-11 p.m. Oct. 8-11
Where: Covington and Cincinnati, on opposite sides of the Ohio River. Use the festival map to choose a starting point.
Cost: Free. Parking, food, and drinks cost extra.
For four nights, artists project moving images onto buildings and fill public spaces with light sculpture, interactive art, and live performances. The free festival spans Covington and Cincinnati, with displays on both sides of the Ohio River.
Begin in the Covington zone and build a walking route from the event map. Most projections and light installations run throughout the evening, and the event covers more than 30 city blocks across both cities. Organizers recommend exploring one or two zones per night, and most displays repeat, so there is time to linger.
8. See underwater pumpkins at Newport Aquarium
What: Underwater Pumpkin GLOW at Newport Aquarium
When: Daily through Nov. 1. Hours vary by date.
Where: Newport Aquarium, 1 Aquarium Way, Newport, at Newport on the Levee
Cost: Aquarium admission includes the displays. One-day tickets start at $25.99 before tax. Prices vary by date. Child discounts are available. Pumpkin decorating costs extra.
At Newport Aquarium, jack-o’-lanterns go underwater. The attraction, at Newport on the Levee, adds carved pumpkins and illuminated animal sculptures to its exhibits for Underwater Pumpkin GLOW. Some pumpkins also give the animals new spaces to explore.
The displays run during regular aquarium hours, making this an option for families who want to celebrate Halloween before bedtime.
9. Step aboard USS Nightmare in Newport
What: USS Nightmare
When: Selected October nights, with regular tours beginning at 7:30 p.m. Closing times vary by date. A lights-on matinee runs from 4-6 p.m. on Oct. 25
Where: 101 Riverboat Row, Newport
Cost: Regular general admission is $27 to $38, depending on the date
USS Nightmare takes the haunted house experience aboard a former working boat. The attraction occupies the William S. Mitchell, a dredge dating back to 1934 that now sits on the Ohio River in Newport.
The walk-through takes about 25 to 30 minutes, though the wait to board can run much longer near Halloween. Children younger than 10 must come with an adult. The lights-on matinee offers a gentler thrill.
