To save $$, we’re staying in a hotel on the east side of Louisville and then driving to the horse park. I’ve read the news that the Lextran buses to the horse park stop at the Marriott Griffin Gate which I “think” is the last stop before KHP.
We’ve stayed at the Holiday Inn right next to the Griffin Gate last time we were there for Rolex in 2007 and so we’re wondering if it’d be possible to park anywhere near there and just catch the bus.
Really don’t want to have to druve all the way into downtown to park and ride all the way back out. Not sure about parking at the airport and riding over either.
If we decide to just park at the KHP parking - which way should you come in? I’d appreciate any ideas. Thanks!
Supposedly it’s $8 to park downtown and $2 for the shuttle. Cheaper than the parking lot and the drop off is at the KHP itself. There aren’t any good public lots along Newtown in my recollection, outside the Circle it’s businesses, UK’s Coldstream Research campus and large hotels which will likely have parking control, inside it’s more businesses, gated lots like for Lexmark and IBM and residential.
The Lexington Herald Leader put out a 40 page insert today, Sunday 9/19 which I CANNOT find online, it does have a $1 price tag in the bottom corner so perhaps it’ll be available for purchase. It has a lovely aerial view of the park and map of the event, and it claims there will be signage directing drivers from Lexington and points east (I64/75 Winchester direction) up Newtown Pike and drivers from the west (I64 Frankfort direction) up I75. The poor souls from Georgetown and points north are I guess depending on the good graces of their hotel or their own autos.
Lextran does have a website with WEG route info, times etc… and the Legacy bike trail is now open and receiving rave reviews.
Thanks! I imagine it might take a couple of days for a special insert of that size to go online - I’ll keep an eye out for it.
Yes, I scanned the area via google satellite maps and parking looks pretty spare. Hubbie and I will probably spend the first day in the area on a reconnaissance mission just to see wazzup and what options we might have.
Will definitely be packing the walking shoes and am very tempted to pack the bikes!
The bikes might be a good alternative - there is a map of the legacy bike trail at mylegacytrail.com (or org, can’t remember) and it indicates two trailheads with parking at Coldstream off Citation - kinda too far to walk for the bus on Newtown but could be a great option. Google satellite is a little old and things are changing so fast.
If I have time I’ll do a drive by on my way to work and see how large and hard to use the bike trail parking lots are.
Your recon will be invaluable - Dh and I spent a week here before we made the decision to move and it was very helpful to have a basic idea where things were!
I’m trying to convince my friend to bike in on the Legacy Trail. I went to the Legacy site to find a map of the trail but couldn’t find it. Anyone with a trail map? I want to see how close it is to our hotel.
http://www.mylegacytrail.com/images/map.pdf This has to be the crappiest map I’ve ever seen, but here it is. I drove down Citation today traveling easterly, looking left and right, and by God there it was, running parallel to Citation about a quarter mile from Newtown Pike. I found the larger of the two Coldstream trailheads listed on the map after going around in circles for a while - it was out on a no name boulevard on the edge of the campus and had 20 dedicated parking spots and 2 handicap spots as well as probably a mile of on street overflow - Coldstream is an expansion zone so has lots and lots of currently unused space. The folks I talked to had just gone to the KHP and back - they said a great deal of the trail is on private easements and not connected to any public streets so your best spot to pick it up would probably be at the intersection of Newtown Pike and Citation or at the trailheads. It’s so new I don’t think it will show up on google maps but I’m off to look.
OK, I found significantly better resolution using Yahoo maps, Mcgrathiana Parkway Lexington KY, and you can see the little parking lot and the oldest part of the trail, unfortunately the newer part goes south to the YMCA and is not even a dirt path in this imagery. Ugh. I don’t have a bike anymore or even a skateboard, and not a whole lot of free time to walk it before this weekend. Any local takers?
One thing I noticed on the site is that they say it is open from dawn to dusk. While that will work some days, for some events, it might close too early - such as the freestyle, starting in the evening, or Final 4. When are dawn and dusk these days in Kentucky?
[QUOTE=dressagetraks;5110848]
When are dawn and dusk these days in Kentucky?[/QUOTE]Sunrise/Sunset ~7:30
Figure 30 minutes before/after for dawn/dusk, so 7am/8pm
Hey, if you haven’t already packed and started on the journey, I drove and poked around the rest of the trail. Obviously coudn’t see all of it, this is what I did see.
There is a traihead at Aristides Rd, right behind Embassy Suites and across from Marriot Griffin Gate. On your bike, turn on Aristides, hop up on the sidewalk, turn right, pass the little lake on your right, then the dog park (parking at the dog park, maybe 20 cars maximum and no on street) and you’ll be set to meet up with the main trail.
The main trail parallels Newtown Pike south of Citation and makes a zig over New Circle, crossing most likely on Lexmark’s private overpass, and then comes back out to run parallel to Newtown Pike, where it turns in and goes behind the YMCA on Loudon. There are 100+ parking spots at the Y.
The folks staying at any motel along Newtown have it pretty good - the shuttle bus and access to the bike trail (although the motels north of the freeway might be sketchy to get down to the Embassy suites - Newtown is BUSY, lots of 18 wheeler traffic).
I’m staying near Shelbyville, west of the Horse Park, and this is what the folks at the media centre told me about catching LexTran – if you take I-64 east to the last of the three Frankfort exits (Frankfort/Versailles), turn left for about 2 miles, then turn right on 421, you can follow 421 right into downtown Lexington and follow the signs to the Patterson /Cox parking lot, near Rupp arena, to catch the LexTran bus direct to the Horse Park. Parking is supposed to be free there so you would only have to pay the $2 for the bus. It’s a bit of a backtrack but not as bad as to the main terminal.
Please note I am only passing this along as it was told to me – I have not tried it yet, and am not a Lexington native, so cannot verify if it’s actually correct!!
We are staying at the Quality Inn Northwest on Newtown Pike, just about at New Circle Road. The $2 shuttle bus stops at the Marriott, also on Newtown Pike about a mile north from our hotel.
Is this likely to be safely walkable? Or should we take the #4 city bus from our hotel to the Marriott shuttle stop? Or a taxi? We do have a car, tho $2 (times two) and about a mile walking one way seems perhaps better than $20 plus a mile walking one way plus the possibility of extremely annoying traffic. Or is it better just to suck it up (both WRT $$$ and traffic) and take the car?
If you like to walk, the bike path passes behind the Quality Inn area (Tachibana etc right?) and you may be able to walk out your motel and go straight to it - I didn’t go down that little service road that the Quality Inn is on to try to find the bike path, otherwise you are out on the shoulder of Newtown Pike for roughly 1/4 of a mile before the bike path is close enough to cut over to it. The bike path cuts away at Citation, then you have a little bit of fence jumping to go through the Red Cross parking lot, and a couple of others before you get to the actual Marriot lot - I have no idea where the shuttle will actually stop. Your motel may have some options too, you never know!
I used to use this route coming home from visiting my MIL in Frankfort - I stayed on the freeway longer but the intersection with 421 there @Midway is uncontrolled and crosses traffic so not that safe - getting off at Frankfort and travelling 421 is safer, direct and very pretty! Coming back to Shelbyville it is a great freeway onramp at Midway, just not so good going to Lex, get on 421 in Frankfort.
Remember it is still a narrow country type road with no shoulders in spots.
The Cox lot is a right turn at the light after the historic Lexington cemetary, then a left - streets all redone in the last two months so I’m no longer 100% familiar with it and I don’t think any of the maps are either, LOL!, however the parking lot didn’t get moved, you should be able to see it.
There is new WEG signage up, green rectangles oriented long ways down, WEG on the top half, parking and a little arrow on the bottom, there should be some there if you were directed to use the lot by the media center.
Give yourself plenty of time - my home to Shelbyville took us a little over an hour and we did 75+ on the freeway, we’re further but with WEG traffic I just can’t say whether your time will be the same.
