Of course, you can’t visit a dairy farm without trying the ice cream. Chaney’s makes its homemade ice cream using milk and cream from its own Jersey cows, with a huge selection of traditional and more unusual flavors that changes seasonally. It’s phenomenal and there are so many great flavors to choose from including a Kentucky favorite Bourbon Crunch made with Maker’s Mark. Other notables include the Big Red Rumble with red velvet cake and fudge, the Cookie MOOnster which is blue and has real cookies and Oreos, or Cow Tracks featuring Snickers and caramel.
If you’re hungry for more than dessert, Chaney’s also serves lunch and dinner, with sandwiches, soups, salads, burgers, kids’ meals, and other casual options.
Check for Seasonal Events
Chaney’s also hosts seasonal activities and special events throughout the year, including fall corn maze activities and its popular Ice Cream & a Moovie nights, so it’s worth checking the event calendar before you visit.
🪐 See a Show at WKU’s Hardin Planetarium
📍 Location: 1501 State Street, Bowling Green, KY
🌐 Website: Hardin Planetarium at WKU
⭐ Best For: Families, astronomy lovers & a unique free experience
⏱️ Time Needed: About 1 hour
🎟️ Admission: Free for regular public shows
You don’t have to be an astronomy buff to enjoy a show at the Hardin Planetarium on Western Kentucky University’s campus. Inside Kentucky’s oldest planetarium, visitors can explore the night sky beneath an immersive 40-foot dome with a 360-degree projection. Best of all, regular public shows are completely free.
Unlike planetariums that simply play a pre-recorded program, Hardin’s team creates most of its own shows, combining real science with engaging storytelling. Presentations are led by an astronomer or other specially trained individual meaning the audience can ask questions and interact with them throughout the show.
Depending on when you visit, the experience may continue outside the dome. Observatory Nights offer telescope viewing of the night sky after select evening programs when weather cooperates, and special solar observing events let visitors safely get a closer look at the sun through solar telescopes.
✨ Pro Tip: No tickets or advance reservations are necessary for the public shows, but you should still check the Hardin Planetarium website before your visit to confirm the current schedule. Shows are typically offered Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.
🎵 Don’t Miss: Keep an eye out for occasional special ticketed events. Hardin Planetarium has hosted immersive full-dome music experiences such as The Dark Side of the Moon: 50 Years in a Heartbeat, pairing Pink Floyd’s music with visuals projected across the entire dome. I attended a similar Pink Floyd planetarium show at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles back in the late ’80s, and I still remember how much I loved it. It was such an awesome experience.
🚂 Visit the Historic RailPark & Train Museum
📍 Location: 401 Kentucky Street, Bowling Green, KY
🌐 Website: Historic RailPark & Train Museum
⭐ Best For: Train-loving kids, railroad enthusiasts & history buffs
⏱️ Time Needed: About 1–1½ hours
You don’t have to be a train enthusiast to appreciate Bowling Green’s Historic RailPark & Train Museum. The museum is housed inside the city’s beautifully restored 1925 Louisville & Nashville Railroad Depot, built from locally quarried Warren County limestone that actually whitens as it ages.
But the real fun is getting out of the depot and climbing aboard the trains themselves. Visitors can tour seven restored railcars representing different eras of American railroad history, including a 1911 L&N Presidential Office Car, a 1949 Pullman dining car named for Bowling Green native Duncan Hines, a World War II hospital car, and a rare segregated railcar that offers a much more sobering look at the history of train travel in America.
Guided railcar tours help bring the stories behind the trains to life, while inside the museum you’ll find exhibits and a large model railroad depicting recognizable Bowling Green landmarks.
✈️ Explore Aviation Heritage Park & Museum
📍 Location: 1825 Three Springs Road, Bowling Green, KY
🌐 Website: Aviation Heritage Park & Museum
⭐ Best For: Aviation enthusiasts, history buffs & families
⏱️ Time Needed: About 1–1½ hours
🎟️ Admission: Free
Aviation Heritage Park & Museum is one of Bowling Green’s best free attractions, combining an outdoor collection of historic military aircraft with a newer 12,000-square-foot indoor museum. What makes the collection particularly interesting is that each aircraft helps tell the story of an aviator with ties to South-Central Kentucky.
Outside, you can get an up-close look at fighter jets and helicopters including an F-4 Phantom, F-111 Aardvark, F9F Panther painted in Blue Angels livery, a Huey helicopter, and even a Sea King helicopter configured as Marine One.
Inside, you’ll find even more aircraft and aviation history, along with interactive exhibits and four flight simulators. One of the highlights is NASA T-38 Talon #901, a supersonic jet used to train astronauts during America’s early space program. Suspended overhead is a 1940 Piper J-3 Cub honoring pioneering aviator Willa Brown.
Even if you’re not a serious aviation buff or historian, the combination of real aircraft, personal stories, interactive exhibits, and flight simulators makes this a fun attraction to add to a Bowling Green itinerary.
🥕 Shop the Summer Reading Farmers Market
📍 Location: SOKY Center Pavilion, 636 Center Street, Bowling Green, KY
🌐 Website: Summer Reading Farmers Market
⭐ Best For: Families, fresh produce & shopping local
⏱️ Time Needed: About 30–60 minutes
