Louisville stops on the Kentucky Garden Trail

Waterfront Botanical Gardens sits on 23 acres in the Butchertown neighborhood and opened in October 2019. | Photo by Steve Grider

You’ve heard of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and the Urban Bourbon Trail, and now it’s time to meet the Kentucky Garden Trail, a collection of 12 gardens and arboreta across nine counties in the Bluegrass State. Here’s a closer look at the 3 Louisville gardens featured on the downloadable passport.

The Water Wall at Waterfront Botanical Gardens is 20 feet long and was designed to symbolize the flow of the nearby Ohio River. | Photo by Steve Grider

Waterfront Botanical Gardens
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Built atop a former city dump, Waterfront Botanical Gardens turned a landfill into a stunning landmark. Visitors can explore five acres of native plant and pollinator gardens, plus see a rotating bonsai display, garden sculptures, and a fountain made with blue tiles from Italy. The garden is growing in phases, with a new Japanese Garden under developed.

Must see: The black granite “Water Wall” feature in the Mary Lee Duthie Garden has 237 nozzles that create a cascade effect. It’s a great spot for photos.

UofL's campus is home to over 2,500 trees representing over 130 species. | Photo by Kentucky Garden Trail

University of Louisville Belknap Campus
Recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as a “Tree Campus USA” for over a decade, UofL’s investment in aesthetic landscaping and diversified tree planting is a sight to behold — plus, it’s the most fitting location for Cardinal bird watching. The Tree Tour features 33 native and historical trees along the 1.75-mile walk.

Must see: The three Harpers Ferry Flowering Dogwoods near Ekstrom Library descended from a tree on the grounds of the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Abolitionist leader John Brown and his men raided the armory in 1859.

Some of the trees in Cave Hill are older than the cemetery itself, dating back to the early 1800s when the land was still a farm. | Photo by Steve Grider

Cave Hill Cemetery & Arboretum
Cave Hill is the final resting place to over 135,000 Kentuckians, including Muhammad Ali and Colonel Sanders, but it’s also home to a collection of over 600 different tree and shrub species. Since 2014, Cave Hill has maintained official status as a Level II accredited arboretum and was featured on PBS’ “World’s Greatest Cemeteries.”

Must see: The Satterwhite Memorial Temple — aka “Temple of Love” — is the largest monument in Cave Hill. It features a statue modeled after Marie Antoinette in the gardens of the Petit Trianon at Versailles made of Italian pink marble. You can see it in Section C of the cemetery.

Looking to go over the garden wall? Explore Louisville’s great outdoors, which includes 18 famous Fredrick Law Olmsted-designed parks and parkways.