Clermont, about 30 minutes northwest of Bardstown, gives you the best short day trip in the area: a morning tour at Jim Beam, lunch at the distillery’s Kitchen Table, and an afternoon under the trees at Bernheim Forest, where three enormous wooden giants hide along the trails. The two sit side by side in the Bullitt County knobs, so you park twice and drive almost nothing in between. Budget about $30 a person for the Beam tour and a suggested $15 per car for Bernheim, and you are home by dinner.
Why Clermont is the easiest day out of Bardstown
Most bourbon day trips mean an hour or more in the car. Clermont is roughly 16 miles from Court Square, the shortest hop to a big-name distillery campus outside Nelson County. It also solves the problem every bourbon trip runs into: too many tastings and nothing else. Here the afternoon is a forest walk, which is good for the non-drinkers in your group, good for the driver, and good for anyone who has seen enough rickhouses for one weekend.
Take KY 245 northwest out of Bardstown. The road runs through rolling farmland before climbing into the wooded knobs around Clermont. Beam and Bernheim are both right off it.
Morning: James B. Beam Distilling Co.
Jim Beam bills itself as the world’s No. 1 bourbon, and the family whiskey story here goes back to about 1795. The Clermont campus is big, polished and busy, a real contrast to the small family distilleries back in Bardstown.
The 2026 production pause. Beam paused distilling at its main Clermont distillery from January 1 through the end of 2026, as WDRB reported. The visitor center, tours, restaurant and gift shop stayed open, bottling and warehousing kept running, and the small Fred B. Noe distillery on the same campus kept making whiskey. Beam’s own site notes that “not all areas of production are in operation.” Ask when you book what the tour covers during the pause. If an old online listing says “temporarily closed,” ignore it and trust the official visit page.
The tour. The core experience is Beam Made Bourbon, a tour and tasting that runs about 75 to 90 minutes, with a guided tasting at the American Outpost. A February 2026 listing put it at $30 plus tax for adults, but prices shift, so confirm on the booking page. Tastings are 21 and over with valid ID. Knob Creek fans can look for the fill-your-own-bottle option.
Hours. Beam is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern, except that it closes on Tuesdays in January and February. It closes on Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Phone (502) 543-9877.
For the full breakdown of tours, prices and tips, see our Jim Beam page.
Lunch: The Kitchen Table
Book the earliest tour you can, then walk over to The Kitchen Table, Beam’s on-site restaurant, which serves Beam family fare and cocktails Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Reviewers note it sometimes closes for private events, so check before you count on it, especially on weekends. If it is closed, Isaac’s Café at Bernheim (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) is a short drive away and makes a fine plan B.
Eat a real lunch. You have just tasted bourbon, and you are about to walk a few miles.
Afternoon: Bernheim Forest and Arboretum
Bernheim covers more than 16,000 acres of forest, meadow and prairie, and it is one of the finest places to walk in Kentucky. The list of highlights is long, but a first visit should cover these:
- The Forest Giants. The artist Thomas Dambo built three huge sculptures from repurposed materials in 2019. Reviewers name them Mama Loumari, Little Nis and Little Elina. Finding them on the trail is the whole fun, for adults as much as children. This is the most popular walk in the park.
- The Canopy Tree Walk, a boardwalk that reaches 75 feet above the forest floor. It is the best view of the fall color from inside the trees.
- The Visitor Center, described by Bernheim as Kentucky’s first LEED platinum building, with a café and maps.
- The Fire Tower, Big Prairie and the Meditation Trail if you have energy left. Families should also look for Playcosystem, the nature play area.
Bernheim asks a recommended admission of $15 per car for non-members. Grounds are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; the Visitor Center and Isaac’s Café keep 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. hours. In 2026, Bernheim closes on Thanksgiving (November 26), December 24 and 25, December 31 and January 1, 2027. Weekends in peak fall color fill the parking lots, so arrive by early afternoon. Our Bernheim Forest guide goes deeper on trails and seasons.
The day at a glance
| Time | Stop | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 a.m. | Leave Bardstown on KY 245 | About 30 minutes |
| 9:30 to 11:00 | Jim Beam tour and tasting | Book ahead; 21+ to taste |
| 11:15 | Lunch at The Kitchen Table | Wed to Sun; check for private events |
| 12:45 to 4:00 | Bernheim: Forest Giants, Canopy Tree Walk | $15 per car suggested |
| 4:30 | Optional: Four Roses in Cox’s Creek | Wed to Sat until 4, Sun 12 to 4 |
| 5:00 | Back in Bardstown | Dinner downtown |
Wednesday through Sunday is the sweet spot, when The Kitchen Table and Four Roses Cox’s Creek are both open.
Add Four Roses on the way home
The Four Roses Warehouse and Bottling Facility at 624 Lotus Road in Cox’s Creek is about 12 miles from Court Square and a natural third stop on the loop back. Its 60-minute tour covers the aging warehouses and bottling line, with a tasting at the end. It keeps Wednesday to Saturday hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday noon to 4 p.m., so you need an early Bernheim exit to fit it in. Only do it if you have a sober driver; two tastings in one day is plenty.
Driving and drinking
The drive is short, which makes it tempting to skip planning. Don’t. Kentucky’s legal limit is enforced on these rural roads, and the knob roads around Clermont are curvy. Choose a designated driver or book a car; our guide to bourbon tours and transportation lists options, and drinking responsibly in Kentucky covers the rules for visitors.
Is it worth it?
Yes. For a first-time visitor with one free day, Clermont gives you a major Bourbon Trail campus and a genuinely great outdoor attraction for very little driving. It also slots neatly into a longer plan; our three-day Bourbon Trail itinerary uses it as one leg, and the day-trip routes page maps the loop with Four Roses. For everything else within reach, see the day trips hub.
