An update on"BOATS" as we start the 2025 season!

As we start into the 2025 season, we are working diligently through all of the historic flooding to get things moving. We have had our own sets of issues, but nothing a small business cannot work through. We have had to delay the beginning of our season for two weeks, meaning all our April tours had to be cancelled. But we are ready to get you on the water on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, and as of May 1, 2025, we will be doing just that!

Most of our tours operate on "The Bourbon Belle", our larger, 48 passenger, double level vessel with a full bourbon bar on board. However, that boat, which spends its winters on the Ohio River, is currently still "STUCK" there. It is in a marina, safe and sound, but due to damage to our Locks and Dams from the recent flooding, we are not able to get it back to Frankfort until work is done. As of now, that work is slated for late May 2025.

For this reason, we will start tours May 1st, however, all tours, until further notice, will be offered on our "Trace of Kentucky". This is our smaller vessel that is also the boat we started our entire business with in 2017. She is a 15 passenger vessel that is fully open to the elements, which provides a wonderful, clear view of all the splendor our river has to offer.  The "Trace" has very comfortable seating and, being smaller, has a very intimate experience with other guests and the interpreter/ storytellers on board. This includes the Captain!

Above is what she does have, but we need to be honest in what she does not have that "The Belle" does, so you can plan your trip and decide if you want to have an experience with us or not. She does NOT have a restroom on board, so all river tours will be limited to 1 hour in length. There is a restroom at the dock where you board and de-board for your tour.  She also does not have a full bar on board. However, if you book a tour with a bourbon tasting, we have made arrangements for us to still be able to do that.

If you have booked either our "Trace Tour" or our "Old Taylor Tour", we are limited in what parts of the Buffalo Trace Distillery tour will be offered as part of this tour. What is offered there is at their discretion. They too are working hard to clean up after historic flooding, and have had to modify their experiences, too. We ask that you be patient. There will be access to the distillery, in fact we get priority as a pre-booked option, but it may be limited.

The reason for this post is to be honest on the experiences we are offering at this point. We know for a fact that we still offer a wonderful one of a kind experience. You can go to our Trip Advisor page and read numerous reviews, all 5 Stars, that recognize our smaller boat experience. We encourage you to do this prior to your trip, even prior to booking!

Below are some photos of our smaller boat. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to call or email us so we can better discuss our options with you. We really hope that you join us for one of the most unique Kentucky Bourbon Trail experiences that exists. As things change and we are able to offer tours in a more "normal" way on our bigger boat, we will be updating as soon as we know.

Sincerely,

Captains Allison, Nathan and Clayton and the Entire Kentucky River Tours Team