Opinions on Bardstown? (Louisville, Danville, Berea: neighborhood, live in, restaurants)

[censusdata]

Re Bridge tolls... last I heard both I-65 bridges and the new I-265 bridge to the east will be tolled, $2 per car for all except those who cross an average of once a day, then it's $1 per crossing. The I-64 bridge connecting New Albany and NW Louisville will NOT be tolled. The old bridge (2nd St US 31) won't have a toll either

Berea is interesting. The older Main St area is nice but not as large as Bardstown, etc but it has an artsy / eccentric vibe and is know as an arts and craft hub. It's liberal by rural KY standards right in town but the larger area is pretty conservative. The college there only has 1,500 students who must live on campus so the town isn't overran by parties. If you're into hiking it's great, there's a large park with 10 miles (estimate) of trails just outside of town. The areas to the south and west of Louisville also have hiking, the hills are just a little shorter.

Berea is about as far from Lexington as Bardstown is from Louisville. Btown isn't too far from the southern suburbs of Louisville but is pretty long drive to the East End or Indiana. Last I checked US 31E hasn't been improved much between Mt Washington and Bardstown. The main road to I-65 N (KY 245) is an improved 2 lane road with shoulders.

[EricOldTime]

Originally Posted by censusdata

Re Bridge tolls... last I heard both I-65 bridges and the new I-265 bridge to the east will be tolled, $2 per car for all except those who cross an average of once a day, then it's $1 per crossing. The I-64 bridge connecting New Albany and NW Louisville will NOT be tolled. The old bridge (2nd St US 31) won't have a toll either

Berea is interesting. The older Main St area is nice but not as large as Bardstown, etc but it has an artsy / eccentric vibe and is know as an arts and craft hub. It's liberal by rural KY standards right in town but the larger area is pretty conservative. The college there only has 1,500 students who must live on campus so the town isn't overran by parties. If you're into hiking it's great, there's a large park with 10 miles (estimate) of trails just outside of town. The areas to the south and west of Louisville also have hiking, the hills are just a little shorter.

Berea is about as far from Lexington as Bardstown is from Louisville. Btown isn't too far from the southern suburbs of Louisville but is pretty long drive to the East End or Indiana. Last I checked US 31E hasn't been improved much between Mt Washington and Bardstown. The main road to I-65 N (KY 245) is an improved 2 lane road with shoulders.

Jefferson Memorial Forest has hiking trails? I read somewhere recently that they are trying to somehow connect Iroqois and I guess Jefferson Memorial with hiking trails of some kind? Or bike trails? Have you guys read anything about that?

census - Do you remember of Bardstown had cobblestone streets? I don't know why but that's the first thing that pops in my head when I think of Bardstown. I can't really think of any other town around there where I was that had streets like that. I'm almost certain it's Bardstown if my memory serves my right. I know I've been there a few times with mom and dad.

[toryturner]

Originally Posted by censusdata

Re Bridge tolls... last I heard both I-65 bridges and the new I-265 bridge to the east will be tolled, $2 per car for all except those who cross an average of once a day, then it's $1 per crossing. The I-64 bridge connecting New Albany and NW Louisville will NOT be tolled. The old bridge (2nd St US 31) won't have a toll either

Berea is interesting. The older Main St area is nice but not as large as Bardstown, etc but it has an artsy / eccentric vibe and is know as an arts and craft hub. It's liberal by rural KY standards right in town but the larger area is pretty conservative. The college there only has 1,500 students who must live on campus so the town isn't overran by parties. If you're into hiking it's great, there's a large park with 10 miles (estimate) of trails just outside of town. The areas to the south and west of Louisville also have hiking, the hills are just a little shorter.

Berea is about as far from Lexington as Bardstown is from Louisville. Btown isn't too far from the southern suburbs of Louisville but is pretty long drive to the East End or Indiana. Last I checked US 31E hasn't been improved much between Mt Washington and Bardstown. The main road to I-65 N (KY 245) is an improved 2 lane road with shoulders.

So of the two, Berea and Bardstown, which would you consider more "rural"?

[EricOldTime]

Originally Posted by toryturner

So of the two, Berea and Bardstown, which would you consider more "rural"?

Berea is alot closer to the mountains of Kentucky I know that much....

[rbryant]

Originally Posted by toryturner

So of the two, Berea and Bardstown, which would you consider more "rural"?

Berea for sure.

[Cattknap]

Bardstown over Berea....much closer to Louisville...much more charming, more varied shopping (Berea has a lot of arts oriented shopping), better restaurants in Bardstown, more charming historic neighborhoods. Berea is definitely more rural than Bardstown - Bardstown is close enough to the Louisville airport, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Costco, Nordstrom Rack, major shopping centers, great restaurants, etc.

[johnsonkk]

Originally Posted by EricOldTime

Jefferson Memorial Forest has hiking trails? I read somewhere recently that they are trying to somehow connect Iroqois and I guess Jefferson Memorial with hiking trails of some kind? Or bike trails? Have you guys read anything about that?

census - Do you remember of Bardstown had cobblestone streets? I don't know why but that's the first thing that pops in my head when I think of Bardstown. I can't really think of any other town view there where I was that had streets like that. I'm almost certain it's Bardstown if my memory serves my right. I know I've been there a few times with mom and dad.

The new and upcoming park system is linked here:The Parklands of Floyds Fork
It's a interconnected park system whose plan is to start at one of the parks near I64 and Floyd forks river and be a continuous path for bikes or hiking all the way to Jefferson memorial park, which already has many miles of trails and road networks, shelters, etc. The plan to cover the non- park areas from the east edge of memorial forest park to the west edge of the Floyd forks park (31E or known as Bardstown rd) is somewhat rough plans at this point. I hadn't heard there was any plan to connect to Iroquois park. Iroquois park is a fun running and hiking park but it's beat up by the locals that use the spray park, picnic areas, and occasional vandalism. The view of downtown Louisville from the top of Iroquois is really amazing. It's the farthest north in the city at that elevation. I still believe the route to the top is closed most days but not all the time.

For biking, Jefferson memorial only has a few paths where Seneca has much better Mt bike trails. The ultimate Mr bike trails are a few miles outside of Louisville at Ft Duffield park near West Point, Ky. That park has hosted national Mt bike races at that park.

The Jefferson memorial forest is one of the largest urban parks (its owned by the city of Louisville) in the county at 6,400 acres.

[rbryant]

Originally Posted by Cattknap

Bardstown over Berea....much closer to Louisville...much more charming, more varied shopping (Berea has a lot of arts oriented shopping), better restaurants in Bardstown, more charming historic neighborhoods. Berea is definitely more rural than Bardstown - Bardstown is close enough to the Louisville airport, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Costco, Nordstrom Rack, major shopping centers, great restaurants, etc.

I can't argue with this. Berea has a couple of cool arts districts, one directly across from the college, the other further down off US25. Berea does have a great sidewalk and trail system, and a nearby forest that is awesome for hiking.

Bardstown over Berea in many ways though, including restaurants, shopping and cool neighborhoods. As catknap mentioned, Bardstown is within a 30-40 minute drive to Louisville and all it offers.

To me, Berea does not really compare to bardstown. A more fair comparison would be Danville vs Bardstown, IMO

[censusdata]

Originally Posted by EricOldTime

Jefferson Memorial Forest has hiking trails? I read somewhere recently that they are trying to somehow connect Iroqois and I guess Jefferson Memorial with hiking trails of some kind? Or bike trails? Have you guys read anything about that?

census - Do you remember of Bardstown had cobblestone streets? I don't know why but that's the first thing that pops in my head when I think of Bardstown. I can't really think of any other town around there where I was that had streets like that. I'm almost certain it's Bardstown if my memory serves my right. I know I've been there a few times with mom and dad.

Jefferson Memorial has many miles of hiking trails, probably 50+ miles. Most don't interconnect but loop for 5 miles. There is one trail that is 12 miles one way (Siltstone). I haven't heard about an Iroquois to JMF connector but they are planning a paved loop around the entire city (Louisville Loop). The western section is already complete and runs from Valley Station to Downtown. A small section is now complete along Floyds Fork. The loop will run through JMF and connect it to the Farnsley Moorman House trailhead to the west and the Parklands southernmost park near Bardstown Rd.

Cairo IL has cobblestone streets, but they don't help much lol. I don't remember any cobblestone streets in Bardstown, not saying there aren't though

[toryturner]

Originally Posted by Cattknap

Bardstown over Berea....much closer to Louisville...much more charming, more varied shopping (Berea has a lot of arts oriented shopping), better restaurants in Bardstown, more charming historic neighborhoods. Berea is definitely more rural than Bardstown - Bardstown is close enough to the Louisville airport, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Costco, Nordstrom Rack, major shopping centers, great restaurants, etc.

Bardstown is definitely where we will begin our search. It sounds like what we are looking for but close enough to go shopping in Louisville. Thank you for your advice.