Nancy, Kentucky

Natural Arch is located in the Daniel Boone National Forest near the border of Tennessee and Kentucky. Once you get inside of the park there are many picnic tables and other areas to eat and sit and paths to walk on. The main attraction of the park however is the 100 foot wide arch that spans ove...

The Cumberland Falls State Resort Park is home to several waterfalls, with the Cumberland Falls being the largest, most prominent, and most well known. It is also called the Niagara of the South due to its size and volume of water flow. It is famous for being the only place in the Western Hemisph...

The trial-head for this hike had a very small parking area but there is some extra parking on down the road where you can park then walk to the start. The trail starts relatively flat with a small incline. As you go on it climbs slowly until you reach the steps that start the accent. There are ab...

Getting There When headed towards Cumberland Falls State Resort Park on Kentucky-90, watch for a gravel forest service road on the right (FS-195).  The Dog Slaughter Falls Trail has two trailheads along this road. The first one is about 0.8 miles down the gravel road, but I'm going to suggest t...

This trail is located in Pickett State Park which is a close neighbor to Big South Fork National Recreation Area. This is one of the many trailheads that connect to the Natural Bridge loop however, this trailhead is the closest to the natural bridge. From the road it is only a few hundred feet wa...

The trail starts at the parking lot which has some nice bathrooms and a nice small picnic area that is open year-round. From the trailhead, you will follow the signs that will lead you to a short mostly flat, 7-mile hike to the first arch. Once you get to the first arch there is a small area with...

This hike is a great, short hike for all ages. It shows the sandstone formation of the area very well and features a large cliff, an overhang, and a small stream at the bottom. The hike is only 0.4 of a mile total and has a small elevation change. It is probably the easiest hike in this area.  Th...

Hazard Cave is a gorgeous very large sandstone formation. The hike is located in Pickett State Park which is right next to Big South Fork National Recreation Area. This hike is the shortest option to get to Hazard Cave. If you are looking for a longer hike you can take the entire loop hike to get...

This tower was built by the CCC in the 1930s. The tower is easy to climb and safer than most fire towers. The top of the tower is open so you can get a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. The tower is located within the Pickett State Park and is right on the side of the road and has easy acc...

This Dark Sky Park is a part of the Pickett State Park. It was established in 2015. It is one of the only IDA registered dark sky parks in the east. I have been all over the United States stargazing and this is still one of the best spots I have been to. The astronomy field offers a free and easi...

Starting at a very small parking space, you head onto a fairly overgrown trail for half a mile. The trail then begins to thin out and is not as overgrown. Keeping a steady incline, you almost instantly feel the burn in your calves.  At around 2 miles in, there is a single grave from a baby that l...

This trail is located in Big South Fork National Recreation Area. This is more of a walk than a hike. The entire trail is paved except for the wooden boardwalk overlook at the end. The overlook shows the gorgeous views of the river valley and some of the rock formations in the area. The trail is ...

This park is small but has about 8.5 miles of hiking trails. I hiked section of the Wilderness Trail and section of the Boone Trace trail. Visited the Defeated Camp Burial Grounds and spent a good amount of time in the pioneer museum looking at all the artifacts. Also visited Mc Hargues Mill whic...

Truly a hidden gem, this trail seems to get little to no attention, yet is absolutely amazing. To get to the trail from I-40 near Crossville, Tennessee, take Highway 127 north toward Jamestown. Before getting to Jamestown, turn right on State Route 296 east, toward the town of Allardt. In Allardt...

This is a trip with multiple sites to visit over the course of a day. Visiting all five would equal around 5 miles, or you can choose to only go to one, as there are some slightly strenuous hills. The most visited is the Main Lookout, and the West Pinnacle offers a little rock climbing. Between ...