Hiking Trails in Kentucky

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Site - I did one trail in this small park called the Boundary Trail. It is approximately .3 miles and begins near the sinking spring which is just stairs down a hole to some water, however it is really cool temperature-wise down there so it's a good place to cool off. On the hillside just above this is the monument that holds a replica of the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, and there's not much to really look at. Anyhow, the trail goes into the woods briefly and comes out near where you started, passing the site of Boundary Oak, an old tree that used to be there that would mark boundaries of properties.
Big South Fork National River and Recreational Area - This large park encompasses both Kentucky and Tennessee in the east central parts of those states. I hiked the Blue Heron Trail (6.5 miles). It was early September and it was really hot, but the bugs were not too bad that day. The trail begins and ends at the Blue Heron Mining Community Parking area. My fiance and I chose the trail that starts out near the coal tipple. It climbs up the mountain and finally levels off near a place that they call "Cracks In the Rocks" which is exactly that. It was kind of neat I suppose. The trail then continues on and about a mile into it, you come to the first overlook, which is quite spectacular. The only problem is that it's an overlook where they've built a deck and people can access it from the road. I'm more of a rock outcrop guy. Anyhow, it was still nice, and you could see the Big South Fork gushing below.
The trail continues on for about another mile or so and you come to the second overlook, which is equally as nice, but again, it's one of those deck ones. After this, you retreat into the woods for an awful long time. And the woods are really thin due to pine tree damage by the pine beetles. Eventually, you start to ascend and you enter into this odd meadow. Watch for the trail signs here because there is a horse trail that runs near here and you might miss the trail. It literally winds around in the meadow instead of cutting straight across and it seems like just a way to add miles on. Well, you must watch your footing here, because I tripped and fell because some of the grass covers some descent size rocks.
Eventually, you end up along the river and there is a place you can access the water. Also, when you interesect the horse trail, if you backtrack on that trail there is a maybe 10 foot waterfall there, not big but still nice. Anyhow, after you come to the water, in about a half a mile or so, you get to Devil's Jump, and in order to see it, you have to follow a faint trail that leads out of the woods into the rocky area. You climb over all of these large boulders and eventually, you get to see it. It's really not all that impressive, but every map I know marks it. It's apparently a tough rapid, almost like a waterfall. Well, after that, you get back on the trail, and in about a half a mile, you are back at the parking lot.
Carter Caves Resort State Park - This park is located about 10 miles away from Grayson and is a great park if you are into geology, as the name of the park will imply. My fiance and I did the Three Bridges Trail. But we started out at the welcome center and took the Natural Bridge Trail to get there. It follows a gravel road to the picnic shelter and then follows the creek. It goes under the bridge, and it is quite unique and then the trail curves up and around to the top of the Natural Bridge, where a road runs over it. Now if you are hot and you want to cool down, there is a trail on the other side of the creek. You can take this trail about a quarter of a mile to a cave opening. You'll know you're approaching there because you'll feel the temperature drop. This is a great place to relax and cool off. Anyhow, back to the trail. At the top of the Natural Bridge, when you get to the road you take a right, and then walk up the hill until you get to the trail intersection. We took a right here and then followed the trail on up the hill. This trail was suprisingly tough with some steep sections. After some ups and downs you get to Smokey Bridge which is a bit larger than the Natural Bridge. The trail goes over this bridge then heads towards Raven Bridge, where you need to to take a left at the blue marker, a thing that we didn't do so we missed the bridge. But we still continued on to the Fern Bridge, which wasn't as cool as the other ones. Along the way there are little views from small rock outcrops, nothing spectacular, but views nonetheless. The trail finally finishes off on the other side of the welcome center near a cave entrance.
In November I did the Box Canyon Trail that lies outside the main park on KY-209 near the Cascade Cave. It is .75 miles in length, and is kind of interesting. It's a simple trail that ascends to the top and then comes back down. There is a huge rock overhang that you pass on the way up. And if it just rained, then there is a possiblity of seeing a 60 foot high waterfall (very small though, this guy's website has a picture http://www.jamesarchambeault.com/kentucky/wky33.htm). It then climbs down and you are back to where you started.
Cumberland Falls Resort State Park - This park is located in southern Kentucky, and is quite nice. I took the Camper's Path, a trail of about a half a mile. This trail climbs down some steps and winds its way down to Cumberland River Trail. You take a right on this trail until you reach the bridge that goes across the Cumberland. You follow State Route 90 until you reach the Eagle Falls Trail. This trail is 1.5 miles and I highly recommend it. You follow the banks of Cumberland River and eventually you get to Cumberland Falls. This waterfall is huge compared to others in the are, sometimes getting as wide as 200 feet, and it's around 65 feet high. The trail then starts to climb, and you come to a tree with the biggest growth I have ever seen in my entire life. There is a path that leads up to a Gorge Overlook that has a nice view of the area. Afterwards there is a little turn out that leads to a great view of the falls. You then continue on, and the trail stars to go down, until you reach a staircase that leads down the banks of the river. But when I was here, it had just flooded, and this area was filled with debris. But my fiance and I scrambled over these massive piles and got a view of the 25 to 30 foot Eagle Falls where the water is turqoise due to what I'm told is higher copper content (You can even see some underneath the falls). The trail then loops around and meets itself and you can walk back the way you came.
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park - This park is located not too far from I-75. The park has only one road, so most of it has to be accessed on foot. I took the Wilderness Trail to Cumberland Gap, which was about a half a mile. There is nothing spectacular there, just a sign, but there is a lot history in that gap. It looks awful strange because there are no trees growing there but that's because there was a road that ran through it less than a decade ago. I then took the Tri-States Peak Trail. It climbs up to the top where there is a litte plaque you can stand on and be in three states (Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee) at the same time. There really isn't a view except for a little one through the trees.
Daniel Boone National Forest - Two trails that I have done are the Buck Creek Trail, and the Tater Knob Trail. It was an August afternoon, and it had rained earlier that morning. The Buck Creek Trail starts out off of the Zilpo Scenic Byway. It winds down the mountain to a trail that runs along Buck Creek. Now despite raining that morning, it was dry as a bone. The trail winds along the creek, and it is here that you notice that this is also an equestrian trail. And of course, because of the horses, it is muddier than hell. So I spent most of the time dodging the manure and mud, but then a new complication arrived, gnats. The worst I had ever seen! It was so bad, I contemplated going back. I had them buzzing around each ear and trying to get in my eyes. Eventually, I took out a towel, saturated it in bug spray and put it over my head like a bonnet (This is after I had used bug spray a couple of times. This helped a little, but they were still around my eyes. The trail then passes through some meadows, and can easily get lost sometimes but I think that all of the other trails lead back to the main one. Well, after 1.75 miles, you get to Tater Knob Trail. It starts off very steep, going to the ridge. You follow the ridge for a while and then the trail gets steep again, ascending to the Tater Knob Fire Tower parking lot. You cross the parking lot and there is an interesting sign to read if you are a history-type person. Then you go up the stairs. You scramble over some rocks, and then the there are more stairs, and they are steeper. Scramble over some rocks, then there are more stairs. Scramble some more rocks, and there are yet, more stairs. Finally, you reach the base of the tower, and then you climb even more stairs to a total elevation of probably 1425 (The hill is 1388), which is a total climb of over 600 feet, not bad for east central Kentucky. But the view is suprisingly nice. There was a nice breeze, and I could see the storm clouds coming in the distance (Although it never did rain that day). I eventually climbed down, and decided to take the Zilpo Scenic Byway back, but I do not recommend this. I thought it was going to be short, and it wasn't even close to that. The road went on forever, and I later figured out that it was around 4.25 miles-and it was only 2.75 the other direction. But, at least I didn't have to deal with the gnats.
I have also hiked the Cave Run sections of the Sheltowee Trace and I have only one thing to say...DO NOT EVEN BOTHER HIKING THIS TRAIL!!! This trail is beyond repair and absolutely horsed out. It has turned into one big quaqmire of muck, mud, water, and horse crap. However, I did talk to 2 bikers, who sd the very end of the this 11 mile section is not too bad. But if you are willing to brave all of this, there is a place called the sinks, a natural arch, and Carrington Rock overlook. Now I saw none of these things because I was so worn out from slipping and sliding in the pits (the trail is surrounded by thorn bushes, so you really can't hike right next to it either). But apparently they are beautiful. Now I suppose if you are riding a horse, you can get to this. And if you are, then I will say to you from the bottom of my heart that I do not like you, and if I had it my way, you guys wouldn't even have trails at all. You are worse than the ATV people, because unlike you guys, their vehicles don't shit all over the place...
Fort Boonesborough State Park - This park is located near the grounds of Daniels Boone's Famous Frontier Outpost. The Fort itself is a quasi living history museum that costs 6 dollars to get in, and I think is worth it, being a history major and all. The only trail is The Nature Trail which is probably no more than .75 miles long. It winds down the hill and crosses a small creek. It comes out near the River Museam, and you can make it a loop and follow a paved pathway that climbs back up to the fort.
Grayson Lake State Park - This park is located near Grayson, and is famous for its lake and high cliffs. There are only two trails here, and to do a loop, you have to do both of them. Starting at the Campground is the Beech Hemlock Trail which descends a hill and there are some nice views of the lake from some cliffs along the way, and if you are jumper, these might be prime jumping ground for you. If you are looking to get away from it all, then this isn't the trail. It passes by a golf course, and you often hear the speedboats on the water even when you don't even see it. But on to the trail, it passes a golf course then and comes to a fork to the Lick Falls loop. I took a right since it would put the waterfall at last. Eventually the trail does leave the golf course and the lake behind and you enter the woods for quite a while. You cross Buckeye Branch and contine on the ups and downs of small hills until you come up the highlight, Lick Falls. Now, there is no good way to view this, except from the water. They have a little overlook place, but the view isn't too good from there. But the water is deep, and if you are in the mood for an 80 to 100 foot jump, then you could get a better look at this. But if you don't want to jump, like I felt, you just continue on your way. The trail then follows the lake until you meet back to the fork and then take the Beech Hemlock Trail back.
     There are other trails in the Wildlife Management section.  There is a National Recreational trail, and is quite nice. It's 1.8 miles and passes by small waterfalls and eventually makes it way down the Litte Sandy River.
     In another section of the WMA, there are the Api-Su-Ahts Trails. These consist of 4 looped trails 2 starting near Camp Webb off of KY -1492, and 2 from Frazier Flats. Loop number one is around 3 miles. It is a horse trail so you know what to expect. It follows Deer Creek for a mile or so then turns left and ascends a hill. Then it goes up and down up and down, and you really see nothing of interest. It finally comes back to the parking lots.
     Loop number 2 is 7.8 miles. It is the longest and most difficult trail in the Grayson Lake area. You start out at the parking area off of 1492. You follow the horse trail and when it rains it can be difficult to cross without waterproof boots. Eventually you reach a gravel road and proceed up a hill and pass the intersection with loop one. Shortly thereafter is the the offshoot to Loop 2. It follows a small stream and then climbs up a hill. It descends the hill and reaches a remote portion of the lake. It eventually comes out on an old road that was flooded when the lake was dammed. You follow this trail along Greenbrier Branch all the way up to the top of the hill, where you take a right. The trail goes further up and there are some rock formations on the right with no views, but nifty little rockhouses that sheltered me from the torrential winds that were occuring that day. Eventually you reach an area that was recently logged which is ironically bad because when it was cut, there would have been fantastic. But now you can barely see anything. It continues to follow the ridge until it comes to an intersection with Loop 1, where you can proceed on the rest of Loop 1 to reach the trailhead.
Jesse Stuart State Natural Park - This park is located in Northeastern Kentucky in Greenup County near the city of Greenup. There are about four trails in this 700 acre nature park named for Kentucky's famous poet. The ones I did, or well partially did were the Shingle Mill Hollow Loop Trail, The Seaton Ridge Loop Trail, and the Seaton Ridge Spur Trail. All together this is aproximately 2 to 3 miles, and it makes for a very quiet and peaceful hike. You start off at the parking lot, and I took the trail left and it slowly climbs a ridge, and then follows an old pipeline for a bit until it comes to a meadow homestead, where there is an old barn and a dilapitated house Jesse Stuart used to write in. It is really quite neat, The doors had been torn off long ago and you can actually go inside to see. From here, I took the Seaton Ridge Loop Trail. This followed the ridge for a bit until I got to the Seaton Ridge Spur Trail. This is about a third of a mile long to the end, and all it merely does is follow the ridge which gets more narrow and more narrow until it starts to offer views here and there through the trees of the Ohio Valley.
The trail dead ends and you walk back to the main trail, and continue to follow it passing some stands of pine trees and some old mature trees. The trail then proceeds to go down and up, down and up, and down and up until you finally come back to meet the Shingle Mill Hollow Trail. You take a left, and still make your way to the top of the hill and cross the pipeline swath to where the trail continues on the other side. It then goes down the hill and crosses a brief marshy area on a little boardwalk. You then gain sight of the parking lot and the trail is finished. Oh, and if you go, make sure you sign in right when you start the trail so they can continue to get funding of this place. Although it has nothing spectacular, this park is still quite peaceful, and I did enjoy it.
Mammoth Cave National Park - I have hiked a couple of trails at this national park not including the caving tours I have been on (which I do recommend by the way). A popular trail is the Turnhole Bend Trail. The trail is about 7.5 miles long and is an out-there-and-back trail that runs a ridge most of the way and ends up at the turnhole bend of the Green River. There is really nothing exciting about this trail; just a simple stroll through the woods. However in order to get to this part of the park, you have to take the ferry across the green river and I thought that was the coolest thing since Snicker's Bars, and I imagine if you have kids, they will think it's pretty cool too. It takes up to three cars and is attached to a master cable overhead and it slowly inches your car across the river. And the best part is it's FREE!
On the south side of the green river I have hiked the Green River Bluffs Trail which is about a mile long hike that descends from the visitor center about half way down the mountain and leads to a nice overlook of the Green River. In addition to this trail, there are also a variety of other short hikes leading to such features as sinkholes and sand caves. So if you are looking for a short day hike, I would say just park at the visitor center and start from there.
Natural Bridge Resort State Park - I can only recall hiking one trail here, and I believe it was The Natural Bridge Trail. It's about a half a mile, and is quite steep, climbing up to the Natural Bridge, where there are spectacular views below. I then took a trail on the other side of the bridge that wraps around to another rock outcrop that you saw when you were on the bridge. Both afford great views and I highly recommend them. If you choose, you can continue on what's called the Laurel Ridge Trail. It continues to Lover's Leap overlook which is awesome, it seems like it's straight down. You then can acess another trail that goes downhill and eventually completes a loop.
Yatesville Lake Wildlife Management Area - In this park I did the Cherokee Loop, located on the far western side of the management area. It is a total of 2 miles, and there's not much to see. It starts off on a gravel path then follows an old road overgrown with tall grass up the hillside. It is nearly all in the open, with very little tree cover to give one shade. At the top of the hill you see an old strip mine field complete with dried up wildlife ponds. The trail goes through this area and descends the hill to a small pond. It eventually reaches a duck hunting area and you follow a gravel road back to the trail head.