Kentucky

Kentucky’s Dawkins Line Rail Trail

Posted 05/13/22 by Austyn Gaffney in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Federal, Kentucky, Tourism and Economic Development, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail of the Month

Kentucky's Dawkins Line Rail Trail | Photo by Tamara Hicks

The Dawkins Line Rail Trail is Kentucky’s longest rail-trail. The 36-mile crushed-stone path is now open to bicyclists, hikers and horseback riders; a short, paved portion is also available in Royalton. The trail takes visitors on a journey back in time as they wind through the bright green Appalachian forests of Breathitt, Johnson and Magoffin counties.

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Kentucky's Dawkins Line Rail Trail | Photo by Tamara Hicks

Kentucky’s Dawkins Line Rail Trail

Posted 05/13/22 by Austyn Gaffney in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Federal, Kentucky, Tourism and Economic Development, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail of the Month

The Dawkins Line Rail Trail is Kentucky’s longest rail-trail. The 36-mile crushed-stone path is now open to bicyclists, hikers and horseback riders; a short, paved portion is also available in Royalton. The trail takes visitors on a journey back in time as they wind through the bright green Appalachian forests of Breathitt, Johnson and Magoffin counties.

Kentucky's Big Four Bridge | Photo by TrailLink user karenestepp

Top 10 Trails in Kentucky

Posted 11/18/21 by Amy Grisak in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Kentucky, Top10, Trail Destinations

From the rolling green pastures of Kentucky horse country to mountain hollows and the banks of peaceful waterways, Kentucky’s rail-trails offer an incredible diversity of experiences. Long-distance riders and runners find a myriad of excellent connections, and there are nearly limitless options for a family ride or casual stroll. Many of the former railroads used in these projects hauled lumber or coal from the mountains, and traveling these routes is like a step back in time for history lovers. While it’s impossible to pick a favorite among the multitude of trails, this “Top 10” list offers an indication of why Kentucky deserves recognition for world-class recreation.

Upper Bucks Rail Trail | Courtesy Bucks County Planning Commission

2020’s Silver Lining: Six New Rail-Trails to Treasure

Posted 12/07/20 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Trail Destinations, Virginia, West Virginia

Among this year’s class of new rail-trails is a pathway that’s key to a 275-mile route across Michigan, a Virginia stunner with a nearly milelong railroad tunnel, a new segment of the multistate East Coast Greenway in Massachusetts, and a Pennsylvania rail-trail that’s part of three vast regional trail systems.

San Antonio Riverwalk | Photo courtesy Getty Images

Where Will You #OptOutside on Nov. 23? (Here Are 8 Trails for the Bucket List!)

Posted 11/09/18 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Alaska, Best Of, California, CelebrateTrailsDay, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, Kentucky, Ohio, Texas, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail Use Tips, Urban Pathways, Virginia, Walkability and Bikeability, Winter Uses

Here are some of our favorite trails to help you #OptOutside on the day after Turkey Day, Nov. 23—straight from our staff and other trail users around the country. For lots more, check out RTC’s free trail-finder website, TrailLink.com, which maps more than 34,000 miles of multiuse trails!

The Strand with bike riders, Parklands of Floyds Fork | Photo by Ted Wathen / Quadrant

Kentucky's Louisville Loop

Posted 02/12/18 by Amy Ahn in America's Trails, Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Best Of, Facts and FIgures, Kentucky, Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, TrailsTransform, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

Louisvillians officially named the Louisville Loop in 2005, but you could argue that trails run in this city’s lifeblood. In the 1890s, pre-eminent landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. envisioned large community parks connected to the neighborhoods of Louisville via “ribbons of green.” His tree-lined parkways still exist today and will serve as spokes to the 100-miles-plus Loop, once complete.

Photo by Ada Hao, courtesy RTC

A Message to President Trump and Congress: Trails Transform Our Nation

Posted 01/17/18 by Patrick Wojahn in Policy, Taking Action | Tagged with Bike Commuting, Biking, California, Connected Systems, Federal, Florida, Funding, Kentucky, Miami LOOP, Pennsylvania, TrailsTransform, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability, West Virginia

President Donald J. Trump is on the verge of releasing his principles for a bill to fund infrastructure over the next 10 years. He and his top officials have already given some clues about what the bill will include, but one thing we have yet to see is the role that trails will play.

Grand Teton Multi-use Pathway/Greater Yellowstone Trail, Wyoming | Photo by Camrin Dengel

Five Rail-Trails in America’s National Parks

Posted 08/11/16 by Suzanne Matyas in Trail Use, America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Ecology and Environment, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, Ohio, Tourism , Trail Destinations, Utah, Washington, Wyoming

Rail-trails travel through some of America’s most iconic places—including our national parks, which officially turn 100 years old this year (Aug. 25)! On the eve of the U.S. National Park Service centennial, we thought it was a great time to bring you this list of five national park rail-trails, which dot the country’s landscapes from the Great Lakes to Western Washington. So lace up your shoes—and go explore!

Photo courtesy MjZ Photography | CC by 2.0

Notice: Upcoming Railroad Abandonment in Floyd County, Ky.

Posted 10/16/15 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails, Taking Action | Tagged with Abandonment Notices, Corridors and Railbanking, Kentucky

On or about Oct. 5, 2015, CSX Transportation, Inc. filed for the abandonment of 11.4 miles of track between Prestonsburg and David in Floyd County, Kentucky. We are providing this information because it presents an opportunity to develop a real regional asset: a multi-use trail that can accommodate hikers, bikers, equestrians and other appropriate uses.

Kentucky Police Chief: Trail Likely to Deter Crime in Hopkinsville

Posted 04/29/13 by Jake Lynch in Building Trails | Tagged with Kentucky, Overcoming Opposition, Safety and Law Enforcement, Statements of Support

As the community of Hopkinsville in southeast Kentucky pursues its rail-trail ambitions, the New Era editorial board decided to respond to concerns about crime and safety by going to straight to an expert. This week the paper conducted and published a discussion on trails, crime and safety with Hopkinsville Chief of Police Guy Howie, who had experience with trails relationship to crime during his time with the police department in Ocala, Fla.

Mammoth Cave Railroad Bike and Hike Trail, Kentucky

Posted 08/01/12 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Kentucky, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Wild and Wonderful

Kentucky is perhaps best known for its horses, bluegrass and bourbon, but beneath the rolling hills of the state's Green River valley lies a natural treasure unmatched in the world: Mammoth Cave. With 390 miles of passages, it's the world's longest cave, more than double the length of its closest competitor. And now, thanks to the nine-mile Mammoth Cave Railroad Bike & Hike Trail, this geologic wonder is accessible by rail-trail.