Whitehaven Welcome Center

Would have paid for our family to see the «Free tours every half hour, 1 – 4 PM when available» Unfortunately, we had to peek into the windows to see this gem as it was one of those «unavailable» times.
However I would stop to use the bathroom here again (as this is a gorgeous rest stop) if nature called but it was disappointing to not be able to see inside the house. The visitor center closes at 4 so we missed it on our way into the state too.

Very nice place and friendly people. The tour was informative and interesting. They even gave our son a goodie bag.

So after a few hours of driving on I-​24, I made a visit to what I thought was your typical restroom/​vending machines rest area. Wow was I in for a surprise. This is a rest area, yes but it’s far from your typical rest area. The Welcome Center is inside this historic house. The restrooms were clean and there is a visitor’s information center to read up on brochures.
Great stop if you go down I-​24.

SO nice! What a wonderful, FREE historical nugget right here in Paducah. I highly recommend it…

One of the nicest rest stops along Interstate 24 or any Interstate. This old house was about to be torn down when I was a kid living in Paducah. We stopped by the other day and the transformation is outstanding. This is truly souther. There are many brochures available for the state and the rest rooms were spotless the day we were there. About the brochures — seems like just about every little community has a brochure and is adverting there is a lot to see and do in the community. NOT TRUE — some of them are way over exaggerated. Checked into the cost of those brochures and many are being paid for by an extra tax imposed — on you guessed it — us travelers and tourist. One little town taxes eat in meals an extra 3% on top of the atet tax. The reason is to pay for their tourist promotions — however I noticed the manager or director takes a hefty salary first. Frankly I don’t think this is avery good way to try to get me to come visit your town. No such tax in Paducah, at least fro now.

If you enjoy labyrinthine excursions from Westbound I-​24, this is your stop. I have it on good authority that this is a historic home that acts as a rest stop, but it is also home of the worlds most bizarre exit method, as well as the strongest hand driers in history.
When the XLerator Electric Hand Dryer says «Feel the Power» it is not joking. You can literally feel the power as you stand at the urinal 10 or 12 feet away. Fear the power might be more appropriate!
As for the exiting, you have to exit, exit again, loop around, and then exit to the Welcome Center. Not very welcoming from the Westbound lane!
We did not have the «Pleasure» of touring the house, but the woman on staff was kind enough to inform us of a bridge closure and suggest an alternate route to our destination.
As rest stops go, not too bad.

This Welcome Center was a brilliant idea: combine a beautiful, restored, historic home with an Interstate rest stop and Kentucky welcome center. Unfortunately, when I visited on a Tuesday afternoon in June the house portion was closed. You could use the bathrooms (which were very clean), pick up some brochures, and walk around outside, maybe sit on a bench. But you could not view any rooms of the house. The sign outside said that tours were offered every day from 1 – 4, but inside a handwritten sign indicated that tours were now only offered on Thursdays from 2 – 4. (pout) I suppose state budget cuts are to blame… It is a real shame. I would have paid a couple dollars to tour the house, rather than just look at the furniture through a window.