Knoxville to Louisville road trip: Distance, drive time & best stops
The distance from Knoxville to Louisville by car is 247 miles, with a 3h49m driving time. The best road trip stops between Knoxville and Louisville are the Museum of Appalachia, Lexington KY and Frankfort KY.
Planning a Knoxville to Louisville road trip itinerary
The Knoxville to Louisville drive takes you from the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee to the biggest city in Kentucky.
Highlights of Knoxville include World’s Fair Park, which hosted the 1982 World’s Fair. The often-dazzling Sunsphere is the major landmark, here. You can also visit the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and Knoxville Museum of Art.
Other Knoxville experiences include ghost tours and downtown walking tours that pick out local secret spots, while serving up coffee and ice cream.
Top Knoxville accommodation options include the handily-located Graduate Knoxville, the affordable Hampton Inn and Suites Knoxville Downtown and the character-packed Oliver Hotel. To compare prices, search here.
Louisville is the biggest city in Kentucky, and has a strong range of attractions to enjoy. The Louisville Mega Cavern has underground zipline tours, the Churchill Downs race track hosts America’s most famous horse race – the Kentucky Derby – and the Louisville Slugger Factory makes the world’s most famous baseball bats. You can take factory tours and there’s a museum attached.
Good Louisville experiences include Old Louisville ghost tours, the Kentucky Derby Museum and a tasting tour of multiple bourbon distilleries. The food and history tours are also worth checking out.
Top Louisville accommodation choices include the history-drenched Brown Hotel and the art-packed 21C Museum Hotel.
Why you should visit the Kentucky Derby Museum
The Kentucky Derby Museum isn’t just about the nation’s top horse race – it’s about the phenomenon that surrounds it. Museum entry tickets include the chance to see the trophies, learn the backstories of famous winners and watch an immersive theater screening. Best of all, they also include a walking tour of the Churchill Downs Racetrack. Find out more here.
David Whitley, author of Best3Stops.
Knoxville to Louisville distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Knoxville to Louisville is 247 miles. That makes for a driving time of three hours and 49 minutes. The quickest route is along the I-75 and I-64.
The best stops to add to a Knoxville to Louisville road trip itinerary are the Museum of Appalachia, Lexington KY and Frankfort KY.
Knoxville to Louisville drive: Museum of Appalachia
The Museum of Appalachia in Clinton, Tennessee, offers an evocative feel for life in a mountain village. More than 250,000 exhibits are stored throughout the site, including musical instruments, quilts and folk arts.
But it’s the whole, rather than the individual, that counts here. The farm and village scene is brought to life with dozens of olde time log buildings.
Knoxville to Louisville road trip attractions: Lexington KY
Lexington, Kentucky, is renowned as a hub for the world of horse-breeding. However, there is much more to the city than studs.
Interesting Lexington experiences include downtown food tours, guided art walks, zipline tours through the Kentucky River Palisades. You can also try bluegrass cocktail tours, visiting a thoroughbred horse farm and visiting Mary Todd Lincoln House.
Best stops between Knoxville and Louisville: Frankfort KY
Frankfort is the relatively small capital of Kentucky. The capitol building is architecturally impressive, but the city’s real strength is its distilleries. The Buffalo Trace distillery offers tours and free tastings. You can do tours at the Castle & Key distillery, too.
For something more on a natural bent, Cove Spring Park is home to wetlands, ravines and picturesque waterfalls.
More Knoxville road trips
Knoxville to Atlanta | Birmingham to Knoxville | Knoxville to Boston | Knoxville to Chattanooga | Chicago to Knoxville | Cincinnati to Knoxville | Knoxville to Clarksville | Cleveland TN to Knoxville | Cookeville TN to Knoxville | Crossville TN to Knoxvillle | Dallas to Knoxville | Detroit to Knoxville | Knoxville to Gatlinburg | Houston to Knoxville | Indianapolis to Knoxville | Lexington to Knoxville | Memphis to Knoxville | Murfreesboro to Knoxville | Nashville to Knoxville | St Louis to Knoxville | Washington DC to Knoxville.
More Louisville road trips
Atlanta to Louisville | Bowling Green to Louisville | Louisville to Chicago | Louisville to Cincinnati | Louisville to Cleveland | Columbus to Louisville | Louisville to Dallas | Louisville to Detroit | Evansville to Louisville | Louisville to Gatlinburg | Louisville to Indianapolis | Louisville to Lexington KY | Louisville to Memphis | Louisville to Nashville | Pittsburgh to Louisville.