Visit Smiths Grove, Kentucky
Kentucky is scattered with hundreds of small towns. In fact, over half the cities in the state have less than 1,000 residents! Take a 15 minute drive north of Bowling Green to visit Warren County's second largest city of Smiths Grove. We like to refer to it as our little Mayberry!
Vintage Shops & Historic Downtown
For many, a visit to Smiths Grove is like a step back in time, full of revitalized historic buildings, small cemeteries, churches and a slower pace. For others, it seems a lot like visiting grandparents or other family living in rural America, full of honest, hard-working folks, a variety of agriculture and quirky finds. Stroll along Main Street until a storefront pulls you in or an architectural style piques your interest! Some great shops to check out include Foxhole in the Grove, Marigold Vintage, Garden Patch on Main, Quarter Moon Antiques, Main Street Antiques, Psycho Granny's Quilt Shop, and many other boutiques!
Also worth checking out to pair with the beautiful scenery, are dozens of sweet wines from Bluegrass Vineyards and a collection of moonshine and rum from Balance Distilling Company! Click their links to see their hours, and buy a few bottles to take back home with you.
Buc-ee's: A Roadside Attraction
Newly opened in 2024, visitors enjoy stopping by popular roadside attraction, Buc-ee's! Located immediately off Exit 38 on Interstate 65, the Buc-ee's Smiths Grove currently holds the record for opening a location in their smallest town yet. After visiting this roadside mecca, venture further into town to take in the local eats and vintage shops only found in historic Smiths Grove.
Cycling and Outdoor Adventure
Aside from shopping and history, Smiths Grove is also a cyclists' haven as it is located along U.S. Bike Route 23, a 109-mile route from the Kentucky/Tennessee border that ends at Mammoth Cave National Park. This route also connects to U.S. Bike Route 76 that mostly follows the TransAmerica Trail. Find more information and maps of these routes from the Adventure Cycling Association at https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/us-bicycle-route-system/maps-and-route-resources/.
John Carpenter and Halloween
For horror fans, going to Smiths Grove is like visiting the epicenter of horror movie lore! Former Bowling Green resident and Master of Horror, John Carpenter, named the fictional sanitarium from which Michael Myers escapes in Halloween the "Smiths Grove Warren County Sanitarium." More about that and our "Reel Sites, Real Scary" Driving Tour can be found on our John Carpenter microsite here.