Our Story

Birthplace of an original Kentucky delicacy, Beer Cheese, Winchester is home to Always Original experiences. From the Beer Cheese Trail® and the Beer Cheese Festival to touring Ale-8-One, home of “Kentucky’s Official Soft Drink,” and sites relating to Kentucky’s favorite explorer, Daniel Boone—including the very spot Boone first saw Kentucky’s famed Bluegrass region—Winchester and Clark County have so much to offer.

Downtown Winchester, with its unique elevated sidewalk and distinctive late nineteenth-century storefronts and structures, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Locally owned shops, restaurants and wineries—plus a distillery, brewery and roastery— original arts experiences, historical and cultural attractions and hiking trails and driving tours offer visitors fun and enriching activities. Overnight accommodations include well-known brand hotels and unique lodging, such as a historic log cabin and a working cattle farm.

With a population just under 20,000, Winchester retains a home-town feel but offers big outdoor adventure nearby. Hike, camp, rock climb and rappel at nearby Red River Gorge. Watch living history demonstrations at the site of the fort Boone built in 1775 at Fort Boonesborough State Park. Canoe or kayak the Kentucky River Palisades. See Kentucky in all her natural splendor on guided tours of Lower Howard’s Creek Nature and Heritage Preserve. Try wild bird hunting at Quail Point Preserve and Recreational Hunt.

The county seat of Clark County, Winchester was founded in 1792—the same year Kentucky achieved statehood—and named for Revolutionary War hero George Rogers Clark. It is located 30 minutes east of Lexington.