The 39 best parks and gardens in Lexington (2024)

Interesting to see the horses and the barns. Good amount of walking to get to it all. We went in fall which just was beautiful . The different buildings to see the history of different things was cool to see and read about.We watched some of the shows withthe horses and that was worth seeing so pay attention to the time. My granddaughter enjoyed going on a horseback ride which is an extra cost for that but she loved. Worth going to and experience it.

Magnificent horses! The museum was awesome. The horse show was short, but sweet. You can get up close and personal with the horses after the show. Wear your walking shoes! It is very spread out. Unfortunately the trolley was not working. Also some of the other shops were not open. Make sure you take the survey and get your free gift from the gift shop! $6 parking. $20 admission

We stopped at the Saddlebred Museum first, which I would recommend. You can buy tickets there for the rest of the park, and it's less busy. The staff was all very friendly, some with golf carts offering to help shuttle people from barn to barn. We missed the meet and greets, but still met a police horse and a draft horse named Gus (we were told he's a fan favorite and understand why). I was excited that there was a restart on site, but the food could've been better. Overall, we had a great time, and our kids (all ages) had a great time, too.

So much fun! The ability to get up close and personal with such beautiful horses was amazing. The staff were all extremely friendly and educational. We loved the visit.

Great park to see former champions and maybe learn a little more. They have a nice set up for kids, but this park is for all ages. Former Derby winner Funny Cide steaks the show. Paul, who you'll find very near to Funny makes the experience exponentially better. He is very knowledgeable and gives the park and Funny a voice worth hearing. Highly recommend.

First time here at the horse park. What a lovely day to visit such a lovely place. We enjoyed a carriage ride by the two draft horses as the lovely tour guide explained the park.This place is amazing. This park is so large it would take a whole day to see it all. We enjoyed the museum. It showed the history of horses, the racing trophies and the Derby clothes that people wore throughout the years.We took pictures with Funny Cide the 2003 derby winner. Thank you to the officer who introduced us to her horse.

Lovely place to walk and enjoy the many horse breeds that are represented there. It is a beautiful park with pony and horseback riding available. There are museums and many barns to get up close and personal with the horses. I went there for an event that brings horses and riders from all over the world.

Wonderful place to visit if you are in the least interested in horses. I visited for BreyerFest, an event for model horse collectors like me. Visited with husband and another couple who are collectors. I will say that in July you will likely be subjected to some pretty miserably hot conditions for most of the park, but the visitor center & other buildings are well climate controlled, including the Alltech Arena where many large events take place. Visitor Center has nice gift shop with something for everyone, including cold drinks & snacks. It also has nice clean restrooms. Leashed dogs are welcome nearly everywhere in the park, but be aware of your pet’s needs for cooling down in the Summer. There are fun things for kids to do, such as pony rides, opportunities to pet animals and a playground. I plan to return in nicer weather to experience some things that I missed, such as the museum & trail rides. There is a large campground with water & electric and also primitive tent camping. We tried to stay there, but waited too long to book, so RV sites were full. Next time I will book far in advance & go in Fall or Spring!

So glad we decided to go here! We had a great day. The gentleman in the Champion Barn shared some of his knowledge and brought one of the horses out for us to see. We went horseback riding around the park. The gift shop has a lot of cute stuff. We did the scavenger hunt in the museum and got a blue ribbon for finding everything. I would recommend stopping by!

Absolutely a must-see! We stayed at the campground next-door for three days which was nice. We went to the horse park not knowing exactly what it was. It was amazing! So many horses to see and pet. So many helpful people to talk to. I would give it 10 stars!

It's a nice place. Giant museum. Tons of cute horses but this pretty lady was a pleasure to meet. Her name is lovely and she's 15yr old supervisor of the park if you see her, feel free to pet her.

I unfortunately called this place after hours right before the sun was completely down. I don’t think I got the traditional experience, however I did walk around the property. I got to see some of the Hall of Fame horses relatively close, got to see the stables up close where they held some of the horses and learn some history about the sport.This property was massive and seemed to be very well-kept. I don’t know too much about it, but it was pretty fascinating and I would absolutely love to come back another time during the day and get more of the traditional experience.If you’re looking for a unique experience I think this is definitely a good place to go if you’re not from Kentucky. It seems there’s a lot of local heart poured into this sport and facility.

We enjoyed our visit. There is a lot to see. It was neat going in the different barns and looking at all of the horses. The shows through our the day are a must see so you get a glimpse of the horses in action and learn a lot more. The museums are very detailed and informative. They have a ton of reading. Be prepared to walk. It takes a bit to get from A to B.Overall we enjoyed our time and it was well worth the stop. Overall we did expect to see more horses. With name we expected every paddock to have a horse. Horses were only in barns and there were some empty stalls. It was a cooler day when we visited.

Very cool experience! Tickets are for a two-day admission and you definitely could spend two days here. Events are held about every 45 minutes.

We had the BEST time. I think the Big Barn was the overall favorite but all stops were fantastic. I do wish they showcased a few more breeds during the breed show- we were enjoying it so much! If planning a trip, check the events calendar and you may be able to catch a competitive horse show while visiting- which we loved. Highly recommend!

Fantastic venue for beginner and experienced riders, or just people who appreciate equestrian sports. We were there for the Kentucky Spring Classic and enjoyed seeing riders of all levels with amazing access. And Rolex Stadium was amazing!

I recently visited the Kentucky Horse and had a really good time. The museum tour was very informative. I have never seen such beautiful horses. The staff is very warm and welcoming. I highly recommend anyone visiting Lexington to go to the Kentucky horse park

Beautiful place, full of history with race horse and show horse. I love the Big Barn because I love the draft horses since they are so gentle. I would definitely love to Come back.

The trail riding area was HORRIFIC. Over 20 horses left in a tiny pen with tack on for hours at a time. They were sad, looked sickly, some were clearly lame and one especially was so under muscled that you could clearly see its spine. Then they put a saddle on it that was way too far up the neck. Tack was dirty, saddle pads were ripping to shreds, and tack was ill-fitting. They loaded up the beginner trail riders and sent them into this packed pen full of angry horses kicking and biting horses with riders on them. They also physically tied a draft horse foal to its mothers halter, both were freaking out and stressed, posing a huge risk for mom and foal. The staff we met here (so far) have no idea what they are doing. The landscaping was not kept nearly as well as other farms we visited. Very disappointed. The stables were almost completely empty at 3:30 even though they said they close at 5:00. Absolutely ridiculous.

My fiancé took me here for my first Southern Lights experience, and it was absolutely magical!They had so many different displays, a lot of which were seemingly animated (had lights flashing on and off to depict movement)! My fiancé said it is usually very busy though, especially around Christmas time, so it may be wise to buy tickets in advance.Once we got to the park, it was really cool! There was caramel corn, cotton candy, and a free petting zoo. We got to go around the park itself, and see where the horse races happen. We also went to their gift shop to purchase a classic Blue Monday Chocolate, and some souvenirs for some friends. I definitely recommend this place for a winter festivity!

We have been going here for Southern Lights for years. It has become a traditional between me and my brother. The lights are very good, but I do have to say there aren’t many new additions. It appears to be the same scenes over and over. The walk through the park is nice and they seem to offer new vendors and attractions along with some of the traditional events. The food and drinks in the cafe are pretty pricey. You kind of have to pick and choose what you want to spend on without paying an arm and leg.

Wow!! This place is amazing. I imagine in the spring and summer it's rather busy. We went in late fall early winter, and it wasn't very crowded, which made for an excellent visit. We got to learn all about horses, see amazing pieces, and even pet real winners. Check out this sculpture of secretariat, zoom in on it, and all the metal is horse related shapes!! It's such a wonderful place with amazing staff!

I'm not a horse guy, but I still enjoyed my visit. It's like a living museum of horses. They have retired champions, rare breeds, draft horses, police horses, a great museum dedicated to the history of the Arabian breed. My favorite part was the breed barn. They have breeds from the US and from around the world.

A beautiful place, full of equine history! We went here for the Liberty Festival but made time to drive around the grounds to see the beautiful views. You must stop in and take the tour of the museums and barns. Lastly, we visited the final resting place of the great Man O' War and War Admiral.

Coming from out of town, I was only vaguely aware of the importance of horses to Kentucky and Lexington in general, but learned quite a bit about equines and their history.The negative I think of this is there is A LOT of reading in the museums, to the point where it becomes very hard to pay attention and retain everything.Seeing the old horses in person and talking with their caretakers was very interesting.A good time overall!