My Old Kentucky Home State Park

My family and I visited My Old Kentucky Home on Easter Sunday and during the Victorian Mourning in October. I highly recommend visiting! Such a beautiful sight to see & a lot of great information given by the tour guides. No photos allowed inside (bummer, but I understand) but you can take as many as you want outside.

We recently visited My Old Kentucky Home State Park and took the guided tour of the historic home — an experience that was both beautiful and deeply moving. Our guide, Kit, was passionate and incredibly knowledgeable about the history of this exceptional place. She shared the story with grace, warmth, and genuine enthusiasm, especially when speaking about her hero, Rebecca Carnes Rowan, whose life she recounted with great care and admiration. The most unforgettable moment came when Kit sang “My Old Kentucky Home” in parts, explaining the meaning and history behind each verse as she went. As one of the professional actors in The Story of Stephen Foster, she sang with remarkable talent and emotion, bringing the song — and the history — to life in a way that touched us deeply. The grounds of the home, with their old and towering trees, offer a sense of peace while also carrying a somber weight — a quiet reminder of the difficult history of slavery connected to this place. This balance of beauty and historical truth made our visit even more meaningful.

Wonderful place to visit to understand Kentucky history and the family that hosted their cousin Stephen Foster at their “Kentucky Home.” Wood work in this mansion is so beautiful.

My Wife and I visited the mansion for the Shadows on the Hill program for the third time this past weekend. As always the actors did a terrific job of providing a history of the property and the tragedies that have occurred there. We were also finally able to attend the program on 19th Century Funerary Customs. Our Guide Kit did a great job on this one as well and her depth of knowledge on the topic was very impressive.

My wife and I toured the house and grounds on 12/13/2025. Beautiful place and my wife and I had a wonderful time. The tour was great, and Jose, our tour guide was AMAZING. Because of his prsessence and incredible story telling everyone was listening intently, even the small children that were on the tour. The house was decorated beautifully for Christmas. One thing that did disappoint and I did not understand is why pictures were not allowed inside. Place the devices on silent, but allow pictures. People love to revisit places they have seen or been through the joy of photo's.

Great historical tour at My old Kentucky Home. They have people who walk you through the first and second floor and explain the history of each item. It was informative and interesting. No photos or videos are allowed inside.

I'm a Kentuckian, born and raised. I was in Bardstown for another event in August and after 66 years, I figured I might as well visit My Old Ky Home. I was not disappointed! The visitors center is well kept and offers a video of Stephen Foster which is VERY INFORMATIVE. The staff at the center were very nice and hospitable. I was pleased to learn that the history of slaves on the 'once plantation' was well represented. The tour of the 'home' was exceptional. It was truly like stepping back into that time. The tour guides, Jose and Richard, were exceptional! They were very well versed in facts and were eager to answer questions that my sister and I had. They made our whole visit well worth it. Thanks go out to Jose and Richard for doing such a great job! I TOTALLY recommend the visit for young and old (however if you are older, I think you appreciate it more).

We really enjoyed the tour of the home. The gentleman on the downstairs portion of the tour sang My Old Kentucky Home beautifully, he was very friendly and knowledgeable of the home. The lady on the upstairs portion of the tour could've been more friendly. She was dry and honestly a bit mean to some of the guests for asking reasonable questions. Overall, we really enjoyed the home, the tour, and the grounds.

Our group of friends ventured from Louisville to Bardstown to enjoy a full day of adventure in this lovely town. We participated in an afternoon tour of My Old Kentucky Home and received a group rate of $12 per person since we purchased at least 10 tickets. The tour of the home is self-guided and typically takes less than an hour and then can allow extra time if needed to check out the grounds and/or the gift shop. On this day, however, we had a wonderful tour guide who was impressive with her knowledge about the house and the residents. The house is beautifully maintained and the grounds are also pristine. The visitor center had seating with the option to view a film while waiting. There is also a gift shop filled to the brim with a multitude of items. Plenty of parking. Restroom facilities are well maintained. Overall, a well maintained historical property.

On a recent trip to Bardstown, the wife wanted to see Federal Hill, the manison in "My Old Kentucky Home State Park". According to KY legend, Stephen Foster wrote the song "My Old Kentucky Home" that became the offical state song, while staying at Federal Hill. The park has a beautiful visitors center and the staff in the visitors center was very welcoming and quite knowledgeable. Unfortunately, the timing didn't work for us to take a tour of the manison (hours are on the hour and last 45 minutes). We missed the 2pm tour and couldn't do the 3pm tour since we needed to be back in Louisville to pick up the grandkids. We did, however, take a walking tour of the grounds and we got to see the outside of the manison, the gazebo, the spring house and the Stephen Foster statue. We were there on a beautiful (70 degree) day in February. Despite today's beautiful weather, the gardens still thought it was winter. We want to come back when the gardens are in bloom and when we have time to take a tour of the manison. Admission to the state park and the grounds is FREE. There is a charge for a guided tour of the manison.

Beautiful, good parking. No pictures allowed inside the home. They do sing the song though

Our tour guide, Charlie, was amazing. From singing "My Old Kentucky Home" acapella for an opener to educating us on the family, lifestyle and deaths of the home's occupants, this was a wonderful tour. Sadly photos are not permitted in the home, not even fleshless photos, so the photos you see here are actually photos of postcards.

The storytelling on this tour is phenomenal. You get to know the house, the family, and the history of the area while enjoying the beautiful interior of the Rowan mansion. We had two kids with us (age 7 & 12), and they each were fully engaged throughout the short tour. Note: You can't pre-book tours online, and they can fill up, so go well in advance of your desired tour time.

I came to a performance of A Christmas Carol within the house. This will be on my list for the future as it was so good! You walked into the house and met the storyteller who set the scene. And then, as you moved through the house - you encountered Marley, Scrooge as well as the 3 ghosts. The actors were amazing and it really got me into the holiday spirit. I'll definitely come back for this again.

Really enjoyed our visit to My Old Kentucky Home State Park! My fiancé and I stayed in Bardstown for a few days so we decided to check out this state park since we had heard good things. So glad we did! We walked into the visitor center and had no issues booking a tour. We took a causal stroll around the grounds before heading to the beautiful mansion. There we had Kit show us around the house and gave us the history of the Rowan family, who owned built the house in 1795. She was so kind and informative! You learn about the Rowan's and their cousin, Stephen Foster, who was inspired by the house for his song " My Old Kentucky Home." We appreciated that they also include the history and stories of the enslaved people who lived and worked on the grounds. This is a must visit when in Kentucky!

A great stop while visiting Kentucky. The mansion tour was a great exposure on lifestyle and history. The grounds are great to walk through. But I highly suggest taking a tour of the Rowan Mansion. There are a lot of little known, yet amazing stories hidden within those walls.

This is a very good tour. Our tour guide was fantastic and even sang the Kentucky theme song! The home is beautiful, interesting and contains so much history. The grounds are pretty and we enjoyed walking around after the tour. It's definitely worth seeing.

This is a fantastic state park, and a great stop to balance out a trip of bourbon distillery tours and tasting. We did the guided tour with Kit of the mansion - we ended up having a private tour since no one else came for our tour time slot. Kit was absolutely fantastic and guided us through the history of the Rowan family - the good, the bad, and the curious. Kit has a beautiful voice and sang the famous song, My Old Kentucky Home, to us in front of the painting of the song's composer, after explaining the full history and context of the song to us. I left our tour with a strong appreciation for the rich history of the family and the time period in this part of Kentucky. One thing I especially appreciated was the added context about the enslaved people who worked under the first generation of this family. Given the ugly realities of slavery, it is easy to gloss over or omit this history. I really appreciated the thoughtful consideration and research into these individuals and what their lives may have looked like. Kit talked us through what in the house was original vs. reproduction or restored, and why some of the stylistic choices may have been made. We also were able to enjoy some of the Christmas decorations, and the evolution of how the family celebrated over the years. A highlight was the quirky and quite frankly, kind of bizarre, Christmas cards from the time period. This is a must stop attraction - and the tour is absolutely worth the money... especially if Kit is your guide. She really made the experience!

Cool historic building located in Kentucky with lots of history. I usually go every 10-15 years as a reminder of its history. The tour takes about 35-40 min. Our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. My only knock would be it's a little pricey for what it is. But it is a really pretty and peaceful landscape.

My Old Kentucky Home State Park is really beautiful. We recently drove our motorcycle into Bardstown and randomly decided to stop here for a break and to stretch our legs. We didn't opt for a tour, but we walked into the gift shop to check it out, and they have lots of great stuff! Really cute items if you're looking for something to remember your trip, and great stuff to use as gifts. They have lots of merchandise to shop, including clothing, candy, homegoods, art, and more. We continued through the welcome center to the walking paths and checked out the cemetary, gazebo, gardens, carriage house, and mansion. It's a great spot for a walk! Even without a full tour we had a nice time leisurely walking the paths and reading the information posted along the way. The grounds are really beautiful, and we plan to return in the summer to check them out again then. If you're in the Bardstown area and looking for something free and easy to do, that can be done within almost any time frame, (if you're not taking the formal tour) I definitely recommend My Old Kentucky Home State Park.

The Mansion Tour and Visitor Center receives 5 Stars! Elizabeth sang "My Old Kentucky Home" a capella beautifully! Both Docents Elizabeth and Molly shared the history of the mansion in excellent style! Great history here! The campground is 3 stars. We selected this campground since it was in the center of the Bourbon Trail. We love to stay at state campgrounds BUT we were surprised by its condition. No one greets you when checking in. You just have to find your spot. The sites are very close together. The bathrooms are outdated, dark, and in need of updating. Our site was littered with cigarette butts. This campground needs some serious TLC to be ranked as one of the top five state campgrounds. The one good thing is that the water in the showers was hot!

I cannot comment a whole lot on the actual venue / tour. Being a state park, I assumed the location would be a good little walk for my dog and I. I didn't know anything at all about this location so when we pulled up, we found a "trail" which was meant for golfers. We kept walking around trying to find the trails many state parks offer. Obviously we didn't find any but we meandered over to the home and gardens and gazebo. A little unassuming but it would be interesting to take the tour and learn some history.

Nice tour. You get a feeling for what it was like living in Kentucky 200 years ago. A special treat - our first guide gave us a lovely rendition of "My Old Kentucky Home".

Drove over here today while my girls and I were in Bardstown walked around the campus a little bit saw the golf course saw the welcome center saw the house itself walked around had a good time took some pictures have not purchased a tour so I can't comment on that but the atmosphere the ambience of scenery for sure is a must see

A lovely tour with beautiful views. The staff were very friendly and knowledgeable. The October tour includes a tour with a mourning theme.

The house is wonderful, and so is everyone there. The tour guides were very friendly and knowledgeable. I even booked my ticket for the wrong day, and they let me move it up. Great information on the area, nice little gift shop. I cant say enough.

I've driven by this part of Kentucky history countless times. Finally, I decided to make the mansion and grounds tour as part of one of my Bardstown weekend getaways. The mansion is located near the visitor center, but the campground (which has its own Yelp page) and the theater are at separate, but nearby locations. Tickets for a tour of the mansion run $10 per adult, but there are discounts available. Shockingly, they offer $1 off for AAA members. You purchase the tour tickets inside of the visitors center and then meet every hour on the hour, at the front steps of the mansion. Kitt was our amazing tour guide. She was so passionate and knowledgeable about the history of the mansion and grounds. She even sang "My Old Kentucky Home" during the tour. My husband wasn't as impressed with the tour as much as I was. He said that he was disappointed that the history, family and even Stephen Foster himself weren't native Kentuckians. That was surprising to us all. My only disappointment was that the name of the seasonal theme was "Meadows In The Bloom", but aside from the blooming dogwood, I didn't see any blooming flowers. Although the grounds were beautiful, they weren't "in bloom". I would definitely recommend the tour though, especially if you're on the Bourbon Trail. It's close to several stops on the trail a good way to break up the boozy adventures.

This is an absolutely fantastic historic house tour. It really exceeded my expectations. It was interesting the entire time and I loved the singing of "My Old Kentucky Home", our tour guide had a beautiful voice. The house is furnished as it would have been when the Rowan family lived there and many of the objects you will see belonged to the family. The house is well taken care of as are all the objects inside. I really had a great time and was so glad we came here. Also, the young woman in the visitor services building was so friendly, kind, and welcoming!

This was a unique and professional thor that was told with great interest by a knowledgeable, enriching tour guide with a lovely singing voice.

What a great tour! Everyone in our party of four thought that this really exceeded our expectations. It starts out with the tour guide singing a song to the group. The tour really went into the details of the history of the house and its occupants, and the meaning of the various artifacts in the building. Our tour lasted a whole hour and concentrated on mourning rituals as part of the Halloween season. This was really fascinating and something I knew nothing about. Small children might run out of patience on this tour - if your kids have a short attention span they may want to skip it, but if they can pay attention for the full hour they will learn a lot. The surrounding grounds were really pretty. We toured them *after* the house tour, which turned out to be the way to do it because they explained a lot of the history during the tour and things like the cemetery made a lot more sense after the tour was over.

The facility is easily accessible restrooms and concessions. Ticket will call not very visible and there's a gift shop. Parking is 500 or more away, you will have to walk to the facility from parking. Seating and stage is good.

I absolutely loved this place! The tour was great and the guides were dressed in period costumes and really knew their history. They were also very willing to take questions, which made the experience even more personal and enjoyable. If you have time to take the tour, I highly recommend it.

We made only a quick stop here, but I wish we could have stayed longer to explore. The tour was fantastic and chock-full of information. The tour guide knew something about every item in the house and eagerly answered questions (even when folks asked him something he had literally just explained.) The interpretation on the signage was well-done. I would definitely return for a longer visit in the future.

Wonderful visit. So worth every penny. I wish I had the name of the docent that expertly sang "My Old Kentucky Home" Again, worth every penny.

The historical interpreters did a nice job of presenting the home. With that being said, I take issue with two things... the price of admission being as high as it is (almost 30 bucks for two people) and the fact you can't take photos inside the mansion. Look.... I worked at a popular living history site for years, with authentic homes and artifacts on display and the visitors could indulge in all of the photo-taking they wanted. There's literally no reason why photos aren't allowed, other than the fact they probably want to sell post cards. That's it. It's a nice historical mansion, and the grounds are well kept. But 30 bucks for 1 home tour where you can't even take pictures to remember the experience? I'll stick to other Kentucky experiences that are more bang for your buck.

This is one of my favorite state parks. The campground is small and very clean and it's convenient to the distilleries if you're doing the Bourbon Trail. The golf course is well manicured and challenging. My favorite thing to do is browse the gift shop. They have some wonderful, good quality gifts at reasonable prices. Of course no visit is complete without a tour of MY Old Kentucky Home. And for the true experience, go see the live version of the Stephen Foster Story. Don't miss this park if you're visiting the area.

Great looking place, with a lot of historic importance placed on the abolitionist movement. Lots of tree cover for the hotter days. The grounds sprawl much farther than you'd imagine. Good place for a quiet walk and contemplation.

I stayed in My Old Kentucky Home State Park in Bardstown, KY in 1988. It was my first time there. Me and my dad stayed overnight in our R..V. The Trojan Prince at the State Park. We also went to see the outdoor show The Stephen Foster Story while we were there. This is the OLD KENTUCKY HOME from his song. The show was good but I definitely needed to use the hand fan that they gave us. See the photo.

This is such a treasure. I've visited here once before when I was a young teen. Driving through with my husband this weekend I mentioned we should stop. The host was absolutely fabulous and gave us a wonderful tour. So much history and beautiful furnishings. I suggest highly suggest a visit to My Old Kentucky Home!

My parents live in Lexington and my husband and I live in Nashville. We have been working on completing the bourbon trail, one stop at a time, and were looking for a place to meet up between the two cities for a mother's day picnic excursion. We wanted to add a little history/culture as well as find a good spot for our picnic which led us to visit My Old Kentucky Home. We were there on a Sunday morning, and our group was given a private tour of the home, as no other guests were there at that time. Our tour guide was really fun and particularly knowledgeable when we asked her questions, both about history and the home's decor. I learned an incredible amount about old-school decorating. There are also several picnic tables near the parking lot, as well as some well-kept grounds, that worked very well for our outing. Apparently they do candlelight tours between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so that'd be a neat time to go back.

The campground is why I give this one star. We drove from Nashville and wanted a layover before driving on. This campground is nothing but the backyard of the golf cart storage area. It has only a handful of sites that are in a circle centered around the restroom/shower house. The ambience is nothing but the back of a golf course, the back of the golf cart house and a neighborhood across the street. McDonald's is just a couple of blocks up the street and the entire campground is in the middle of the city. This is not what I expected from a "State Park." We immediately moved on and drove another hour and a half north east to another state park which is much better. I do not repeat not recommend this park for any type of camping activity.

This is one of the strangest state parks I've seen. Granted, I'm not super into Stephen Foster, nor am I a Kentuckian, so please don't hold that against me. I also did not camp here, so I can't speak for that part. So other than the campground, 98% of the park is a private golf course with many signs telling you to stay out. The theatre for the Stephen Foster story is another bit, and the rest is a gift shop/event space and the tiny eponymous home. The home is only open on guided tour, and not much to look at otherwise, especially that it's sandwiched between the golf course and parking lot. Without a tour you can peek in the windows, but there isn't much in there. So other than a so-so gift shop, not much reason to go. Unless you have golf clubs or theatre tickets.

My husband and I had a great time celebrating the International Bourbon Day there during the opening Night of "The Stephen Foster Story," a Broadway-style musical. We enjoyed free drinks, appetizers, and the show. The setting was very pretty and the musical was great.

Amazing tour, and amazing prices. Only $12 per adult and less for kids and seniors. Great gift shop, and beautiful grounds. Even available for events and business meetings. Will return with our children someday.

Attended the Stephen Foster story today. It was delightful! The cast was very talented, costumes were lovely and the sets much more detailed than you would expect. Will definitely come back. 'The sun shines bright on my Old Kentucky Home!'