Pittsburgh to Louisville drive: Best road trip stops, distance & time
The best road trip stops on the Pittsburgh to Louisville drive are Columbus, Cincinnati and Big Bone Lick State Park. The distance from Pittsburgh to Louisville by car is 390 miles, with a 6h driving time.
Planning a Pittsburgh to Louisville road trip itinerary
The Pittsburgh to Louisville drive takes you from a massively underrated city in western Pennsylvania to the heart of Kentucky.
This guide picks out the best three stops on a Pittsburgh to Louisville road trip. However, the journey can be broken down into three sections: The Pittsburgh to Columbus drive, the Columbus to Cincinnati drive and the Cincinnati to Louisville drive. Click through on those three guides for more ideas of what to see and do.
Things to do in Pittsburgh and Louisville
Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania is a monstrously underrated city, with a series of stellar attractions. Get great views from the top of the Duquesne Incline, enjoy the globally-themed rooms at the unmissable Cathedral of Learning and become immersed in pop art at the Warhol Museum.
You can explore Pittsburgh with a hop-on, hop-off bus pass. Pittsburgh experiences include bike tours full of stories, guided whiskey-themed walks and craft beer sampling on a multi-brewery tour.
For Pittsburgh hotels with great reviews, try the Italian villa-style Priory Hotel or the often good value Drury Plaza Hotel Pittsburgh Downtown.
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.
Pittsburgh to Louisville distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Pittsburgh to Louisville is 390 miles. You can expect a driving time of around six hours. The quickest route is along I-70 and I-71.
The best stops on the Pittsburgh to Louisville drive are Columbus, Cincinnati and Big Bone Lick State Park.
Pittsburgh to Louisville road trip stops: Columbus
Columbus is the capital of Ohio, and has a series of worthy attractions. None are top tier must-sees, but several are pretty darned good.
In Columbus, a three day attractions pass covers most of the top sights. These include the Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens and the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. For other Columbus experiences, try scavenger hunts, a town tour aboard the Trolley Pub and the Legoland Discovery Center.
Best attractions between Pittsburgh and Louisville: Cincinnati
Cincinnati is the biggest city in southern Ohio, with a wealth of attractions. Among the more distinctive are the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the American Sign Museum.
Top Cincinnati activities include underground tours – some with beer tasting – and food tours by streetcar. You can also try baseball history tours, indoor skydiving and guided ghost walks.
Pittsburgh to Louisville drive: Big Bone Lick State Historic Site
Big Bone Lick State Historic Site offers short hiking trails and picnic tables, but the bison herd tends to be the big attraction here.
Bison haven’t lived in Kentucky since the 1800s, but the herd at Big Bone Lick harks back to the Ice Age. It’s a link to the historic site’s other key difference – several fossils have been found in paleontological digs here. The Diomara Pit recreates what has been found and the Visitor Center tells the story.
More Pittsburgh road trips
Akron to Pittsburgh | Allentown to Pittsburgh | Baltimore to Pittsburgh | Buffalo to Pittsburgh | Chicago to Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh to Cincinnati | Pittsburgh to Cleveland | Columbus to Pittsburgh | Dallas to Pittsburgh | Denver to Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh to Detroit | Pittsburgh to Fort Lauderdale | Harrisburg to Pittsburgh | Houston to Pittsburgh | Indianapolis to Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh to Nashville | New York City to Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh to Niagara Falls | Pittsburgh to Philadelphia | St Louis to Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh to Tampa | Washington DC to Pittsburgh.
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 | Knoxville to Louisville | Louisville to Lexington KY | Louisville to Memphis | Louisville to Nashville.