My Old Kentucky Home State Park is Bardstown’s signature stop: a guided tour of Federal Hill, the three-story brick mansion Judge John Rowan finished in 1818, where more than three-quarters of the contents are original to the house and a costumed guide sings the state song before you leave. Tours start every hour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., cost $18 for adults, and need no reservation for individuals. The 235-acre park around it adds an 18-hole golf course, a brand-new free disc golf course, picnic grounds and the amphitheater where The Stephen Foster Story plays in summer.
What you see on the mansion tour
Federal Hill was built by John Rowan and his wife, Ann Lytle, on land that was a wedding gift from her father. The rear section dates to 1795, and the five-bay main block was completed in 1818 with enslaved labor. Look for the Flemish-bond brick fired on site, the 13-foot ceilings and ash floors, and the mantels and windowsills carved by a free Black craftsman. The house was the center of a plantation of about 1,300 acres, and it hosted the Marquis de Lafayette, Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay.
The collection is the real surprise. The park says over 75% of the mansion’s contents, from paintings and furniture to tools and personal items, belonged here, which is rare for a house museum of this age. Guides cover the Rowans’ long run in the house (the family held it until Madge Rowan Frost sold it in 1922) and the people they enslaved. The park documents at least 54 people enslaved by Judge Rowan over his lifetime, with a peak of 39 in 1830, and its research on the enslaved families names them. A burial ground lies southwest of the mansion.
Then comes the moment everyone remembers. At the end of the tour your guide, in period costume, sings “My Old Kentucky Home.” Whether Stephen Foster ever stood in these rooms is unproven (his brother said he visited, historians can’t confirm it), but hearing the song in the house that gave the park its name lands anyway. The full story, including the 1986 lyric change, is on the Stephen Foster and the song page, and the family history is under Federal Hill and the Rowans.
After the house, walk the formal gardens and outbuildings: the smokehouse, historic kitchen, carriage house, cabin and springhouse.
How much does My Old Kentucky Home cost?
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Adults (18-61) | $18 |
| Seniors (62+) | $15 |
| Children (6-17) | $12 |
| Children 5 and under | Free |
| Veterans with ID | $14 |
| Active military with ID | $10 |
| Motorcoach groups | $14 |
| School groups | $5 |
The park also sells small-group experiences through its admission page: a Mint Julep Class ($35, a demonstration plus your own cocktail), a Culinary Class ($25, the tour plus a class on three biscuits with farm-made jams), and Tour & Lemonade or Tour & Cider ($20 each, with cookies). These are aimed at groups of 10 or more, so book them about two weeks ahead.
Hours, tickets and timing tips
Tours run daily on the hour, and the last tour begins at 4 p.m. Eastern. From January 2 to March 15 the mansion keeps winter hours, Wednesday through Sunday only. The gift shop is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Tuesdays in January and February). The park closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, and it is open on Easter Sunday.
Each tour holds 25 people, first come, first served. On fall weekends, Derby week and festival weekends, hourly tours fill, so buy advance tickets online or arrive for the 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. slot. Same-day tickets are sold only in person at the visitor center. The mansion tour involves stairs; call 502-564-1915 before you go if mobility is a concern.
Golf, disc golf and the rest of the park
The Kenny Rapier Golf Course, named for a Bardstown native who served as state parks commissioner, first opened in 1933. It plays to par 71 and 6,351 yards from the back tees, with newly renovated bunkers and bentgrass greens, and the state bills it as the top course in the Kentucky park system. The golf page has the booking link; call the pro shop at (502) 349-6542 for green fees, which are not published online. Rental clubs and carts are available, and state rules ban outside alcohol and personal coolers on the course. For more rounds nearby, see golf in Bardstown.
The newest addition opened the weekend before September 22, 2026: Tulip Grove, a free nine-hole disc golf course built by the nonprofit Naturally Bardstown in the park’s picnic area, with a “Nature Notes” sign at every hole. The back nine and a two-mile hiking path are planned.
The rest is simple, pleasant park: a picnic area with grills, a playground, a rentable shelter and two tennis courts near the amphitheater. Birders can listen for great horned, barred and screech owls, which the park lists year-round, along with eastern bluebirds and red-tailed hawks.
The campground is closed for renovation
The park’s campground on Loretto Road is closed. A $4 million overhaul announced in January 2025 promised 39 full-service sites, a new bathhouse and new utilities by late summer 2025, but in September 2026 the park still shows “the campground is closed for renovations” and ReserveAmerica cannot take bookings. Don’t plan a trip around it until the park posts a reopening date. The camping and RV guide covers the private campgrounds west and northwest of town.
Events at Federal Hill in fall and winter 2026
The house runs a strong seasonal calendar. “Weep No More,” a look at Victorian mourning and funeral customs, fills October 1-31. Shadows of Federal Hill, lantern-lit ghost tours on October 23 and 24, costs $27 for adults and $20 for ages 4-15 and adds a scare garden, hayride and s’mores (details here). “An Old Kentucky Christmas Carol” plays December 4, 5, 11, 12, 18 and 19. Next door, the free Bardstown Scarecrow Trail lines the amphitheater drive from September 25 to November 6, open daily until dusk. The fall in Bardstown guide puts it all together.
Is My Old Kentucky Home worth it?
Yes, even on a bourbon-focused trip. It’s the one place in Bardstown where the town’s founding families, the Kentucky state song and the history of slavery in the Bluegrass meet in a single house, and the guides handle all three. At $18 it costs less than most distillery tastings, it takes a morning rather than a day, and it’s a mile from downtown. Kids 5 and under are free, which makes it an easy family pick.
How to get there
The park entrance is at 501 E. Stephen Foster Ave. (US 150), about a mile east of Court Square: roughly a 3-minute drive or a 20-minute walk along Stephen Foster Avenue past several motels. Parking is free. The golf course and closed campground are reached from Loretto Road (KY 49) on the park’s south side.
Pair it with
Make a full day of the east side of town. Tour the mansion in the morning, eat lunch downtown (the best restaurants in Bardstown guide has options within a mile), then spend the afternoon at Civil War Museum Row on Broadway. In summer, finish with The Stephen Foster Story in the amphitheater, a short walk from the mansion. If you want to stay within walking distance, the motels along East Stephen Foster Avenue are the closest beds; compare them in where to stay.
