Nelson County is farm country, all corn, cattle and tobacco barns, but its agritourism is specific, and it pays to know what is real before you load the car. You won’t find u-pick orchards, lavender fields or alpaca farms open to visitors around Bardstown. What you will find: a free drive-through Scarecrow Trail every fall, a pumpkin patch and corn maze with camel rides in New Haven, a bourbon distillery on a working farm with longhorn cattle, three family wineries within about 10 miles, and a farmers market two blocks from Court Square.
Farm fun near Bardstown at a glance
| Place | What you do | Season | From Court Square |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bardstown Scarecrow Trail | Drive past local scarecrows, vote for favorites | Sept. 25 to Nov. 6, 2026 | About 1 mile |
| Boone’s Country Pumpkins | Pumpkin patch, corn maze, animals, rides | Fall weekends; call for 2026 dates | About 11 miles south |
| Preservation Distillery + Farm | Farm walk, longhorns, bourbon tasting (21+) | Year-round | A short drive |
| McIntyre & Family Winery | Fruit wines, berries, patio | Tuesday to Sunday | About 6 miles east |
| Springhill Winery | Estate wines on an 1857 estate, events | Tuesday to Saturday | About 10 miles northeast |
| Bardstown Farmers Market | Produce, eggs, honey, flowers, baked goods | April through October | Two blocks |
The Bardstown Scarecrow Trail
Every fall, the driveway of the J. Dan Talbott Amphitheatre in My Old Kentucky Home State Park fills with scarecrows built by local artists, businesses, schools and families. In 2026 the Scarecrow Trail runs Sept. 25 to Nov. 6, open daily until dusk. It is free, you drive through at your own pace, and donations to the Stephen Foster Drama Association, which puts on The Stephen Foster Story every summer, are encouraged. Public voting runs through Oct. 31, and category winners are named after that.
Go in the last hour of daylight on a weekday, when the light is warm and the line is short. It is a quick loop, which makes it an easy add-on after a mansion tour next door. The rest of the season’s events are in the fall in Bardstown guide.
Boone’s Country Pumpkins, New Haven
The one full-scale pumpkin patch near Bardstown sits on New Hope Road outside New Haven, about 11 miles south. Boone’s Country Pumpkins goes well beyond a field of gourds: there is a corn maze, gemstone mining, train rides, a kangaroo jumper, a playground, a petting zoo, a parakeet encounter and camel rides. Yes, camels, in Nelson County.
In past years Boone’s opened every weekend from about Sept. 20 through Halloween. Its site had not posted 2026 dates, hours or prices by late September, so call (502) 827-4294 before you go. Wear shoes you don’t mind getting muddy in the maze.
New Haven is also home to the Kentucky Railway Museum, which runs its Fall Break Express on Oct. 1, 6 and 8, 2026 and its family-friendly Trick and Track Express on Oct. 24 and 31. Pumpkins in the morning and a heritage train ride after lunch make a very good fall Saturday. Details are on the Kentucky Railway Museum page.
Preservation Distillery + Farm
For a working farm with a bourbon twist, go to Preservation Distillery + Farm on Sutherland Road. It is a 40-acre former tobacco farm where the old tobacco barns have been put back to work, most of the land grows corn, and a small herd of longhorn cattle grazes about six acres and eats the spent grain from the stills. The distillery says the land was once worked by Wattie Boone, one of the first documented bourbon makers in what is now Bardstown, around 1776.
Tours and tastings start at $24, and the patio looks out over the pasture. Visit Bardstown calls it Kentucky’s first woman-owned craft distillery. It opens at 9:30 a.m. every day (closing at 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 4 p.m. on Sunday), the earliest Sunday start in town. Tastings are strictly 21 and over; if you are bringing younger travelers, read the guide to distilleries for non-drinkers and families and call ahead at (502) 348-7779.
Wineries: fruit wines and an 1857 estate
Bardstown is bourbon’s town, but the countryside east of it makes wine, and a winery afternoon is a gentle change of pace.
McIntyre & Family Winery
The winery on McIntyre Lane, about 6 miles east, is owned by Tommy and Debbie McIntyre. They make homemade fruit wines, sell fresh berries, give tours and tastings and have a patio with country views. Hours are Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 6 p.m. Call (502) 507-3328 or check the winery’s Facebook page before you drive.
Springhill Winery
Springhill, on Springfield Road near Bloomfield, occupies a family-run 1857 country estate and makes small-batch estate wines. Its site lists hours of noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and noon to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday, with last pour 15 minutes before closing. The fall calendar is busy: the season’s last Grazing & Tasting on Sept. 26 (noon to 5 p.m., live music from 2), a Women’s Wellness Weekend Oct. 2 and 3, and the Words with Wine book club on Oct. 7. You can also sleep there; see Springhill Winery Bed & Breakfast.
Chuckleberry Farm & Winery
Chuckleberry, a family-owned spot near Bloomfield, pours handcrafted fruit wines and porch cocktails in a tasting room with a bar the family built themselves, and it welcomes kids. Its old website no longer works, and its listed address has moved from downtown to the country, so check the Chuckleberry Facebook page to confirm it is open, and for current hours, before you go.
Before you pour
Wine tastings are 21 and over, and country roads plus pours are a bad mix, so choose a driver before you leave town. The breweries and wineries guide has more on where to drink locally.
Bardstown Farmers Market
For the actual fruits of Nelson County’s farms, go to the Bardstown Farmers Market at 200 E. Flaget Ave., two blocks from Court Square. From April through October it opens Tuesday, Friday and Saturday mornings, with a record 25 vendors in 2026 selling eggs, honey, vegetables, fruit, plants, cut flowers, herbs, baked goods and jellies. Saturday brings the biggest crowd of vendors; arrive by 9 a.m. for the best selection. The 2026 season wraps up Oct. 31.
Farm traditions on the calendar
Kentucky’s farm culture shows up best at its gatherings. The Nelson County Fair in mid-July runs evenings only, with 4-H and produce exhibits in Samuels Hall, the Foggy Bottom Petting Zoo, a rodeo and truck and tractor pulls; gate admission was $15 in 2026. Late August brings Buttermilk Days downtown. Both are covered in Nelson County Fair and Buttermilk Days. Down the road in Springfield, the Sorghum Festival is set for Oct. 2, 2026.
Farm-made treats come from an unexpected source: the Trappist monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani, 12 miles south, sell their Gethsemani Farms fruitcake and bourbon fudge, and both sell out around the holidays.
What you won’t find, and what to do instead
Plenty of travel lists assume every Kentucky town has an apple orchard or a lavender farm. Around Bardstown, none operate as visitor attractions, and neither do alpaca farms. No public guided trail-ride stable in Nelson County could be confirmed either; riders who bring their own horses head to the 24-mile trail system at Taylorsville Lake State Park, about 45 minutes north.
So build a fall farm day from what is here: pumpkins and the corn maze at Boone’s in the morning, a train ride in New Haven, a slow drive back past tobacco barns, then the Scarecrow Trail at dusk. Families should pair this page with things to do with kids.
