I must write a review of the area and the beginning of the trail to alert future hikers that it is…read moretemporarily closed due to abuse, vandalism/garbage. People were loud and using the creek as a pool, spray painting and damaging the trail/trashing the area. So, if you are headed down to hike on the John Holder Trail, as we were, you will find it closed. The area itself is lovely. Hall's on the River is great (and open during Covid), you can still canoe on the river, and the fort is close by and well worth a visit.

It was too beautiful of a day in February to not try to get in a hike. Decided to head out on the…read moreJohn Holder Trail. The trails were pretty muddy after the snow melt but it was worth it. I would rate it a moderately easy there and back trail but with some beautiful views of the Lower Howard River. Total round trip is just under 3 miles. There is a point that you do cross the river so make sure you have either waterproof hiking boots or the river is low enough to get across. Please don't try to cross if it is deep or flowing fast. Nobody wants to get hurt or wet. There are some elevation changes and several historical sites. For this hike there was a lot of pretty ice hanging off the cliffs. There is a waterfall but that's off property so you shouldn't hike there. And after a day of hiking you can get soon food at Halls On The River and enjoy the scenery from there. As for parking, I usually park across the street from Halls but there is parking behind Halls too.

Well worth a visit - accessible and well maintained. Trails climb to a scenic overlook of the…read moreKentucky River, with miles more to hike.

I love the fact that there were so many different trails with different features. I am not sure if…read moreraven run is pet friendly. It was so much fun looking over the Kentucky river as I got to the top. The maps provided are easy to read.

This will have been our 2nd time to Red River Gorge, except we took our fam plus some. I love…read moreviews, mountains, family, and good food! We rented out thee most cutest cabin. We took a hike one day and rested another. When we go again, the itinerary will look different, trying other places we didn't get a chance to experience.

Please go visit these wonderful parks and trails - I highly recommend a long with hiking poles…read more Happy trails!!!

There's a $10 fee to park in the parking lot but worth it for climbers! There are very clean…read morebathrooms, lots climbing opportunities, and they have 8 stick clips available for borrow (free and honor system of returning). We climbed here for two days and will be going back. There are routes for every skill level. Climbing routes are well maintained and well marked.

10/10 would recommend hiking on these trails. Well kept area! We didn't see any trash on the…read moretrails. They were very well maintained trails. Our Airbnb host Paul recommended Muir Valley. We are not climbers but there were a ton of climbing walls that looked fun! Trails are well marked. We were super impressed and loved hiking here. Several waterfalls along the way as well. There is a "hidden" hemlock that you have to climb rebar to see. It's a little hidden but not terribly hard to find and worth the short climb!

This set of trails apparently belongs to a local private college that I hadn't heard of. They are…read moreopen to the public, and it wasn't hard to drive and park here. The trails cover a wide variety of environments, reaching a meadow where the power lines through and going down into the ravine which holds the Kentucky River. Once you're down there, a long path runs under the riverside cliffs. As is often the case in this region, the scenery is pretty, but on the difficult side. Many of the trails are narrow and covered with gravel or mud, and are high enough in spots that a slip could carry some significant consequences. There were plenty of bugs as well. But I managed to get a solid two-hour workout/scenic visit in. It's free and it's not far from Lexington.

They finally opened back up and we love it here! It's beautiful. We do the easy trail to the right,…read moreso I can't speak on the other trails, but we always have so much fun enjoying nature here ‍

I have not been there to check on the hiking trail yet but the scenery looks amazing! I would love…read moreto see it in person so that I can experience and enjoy the hike and nature surrounding the mountains.

I've hiked the Jim Beam Nature Preserve at least twice, and what I love most is that people don't…read moreknow about it. However, given the current state of the world and every known trail shutting down due to overcrowding, now might be a good time to let everyone in on Jessamine County's best kept secret. According to the JCTA website, you can expect a "dirt trail with little elevation change through a wooded area. Old stone fences are visible. It has a couple of overlooks with winter views of the river." I don't understand exactly why this trail is NOT dog-friendly, but then again, I'm not an ecologist or a botanist. Approximately .8 miles will give you a decent workout considering the elevation changes, and it can get quite muddy given its dirt path construction. Unless it's winter, don't expect much of a view of the Palisades, but wildflowers are visible throughout in the fall. There are NO restroom facilities and view few parking spaces. Still, if you want to escape into nature and play explorer, this is a good place to do it.

If you're looking for a place to bike or run, walk. The legacy trail is the perfect spot. We enjoy…read morecoming to run, walk it's very peaceful and they have beautiful trees along the trail. They also have a dog park nearby if you want to take your boys out. I like how they have markers for the miles you've done it helps me stay on pace.

This greenway trail seems like what I've been looking for. Lexington is notable for having a…read morerelative lack of urban sprawl, with zoning laws ensuring that much of the city is surrounded by rolling hills covered with farms. The outskirts of the city are very pretty to drive through, but you can't really do much as the farms are privately owned and there isn't much in the way of parks or trails. Enter this paved pathway, which runs from the city proper out to the horse center. It seems geared towards bikers, which I am not, but there was certainly space for pedestrians and I saw a few others. I visited a section that ran by some university-owned test farms, and got a treat with nice views, ample songbirds, and peace and quiet. I did get mobbed by some sort of fly as it got dark; though it did not seem to be of any biting or stinging variety you definitely want to consider repellent, along with something for pollen allergies and some sunscreen. The entire length of the trail is farther than I could walk on one night, but I suspect it will be well worth exploring, as this is exactly the sort of thing Lexington needs.

This is one of my favorite state parks for a day or two of hiking. Very nice trails, some are…read morefairly rugged. I've been here several times, sometimes for just a day, and a few times camping nearby. You can take the sky lift up to the natural bridge, or you can hike up. There is a short trail (1/3 of a mile) that leads to a nice overlook where you can view the natural bridge from a distance. There are birds and wildlife to observe. And it is nice to visit in different seasons. There are good restaurants and touristy places to shop in the area too.

Well everything cause I did it ! Haha this is a self paced and self guided hike. It can be what…read moreyou make of it but the beauty is untouchable out of your control. A mix of hardwood, pine wooded and lots of sandstone /limestone rocks ! Tons of song birds and insects and forest creatures. Truly amazing day hike.

Was in the area & looking for some hikes, It's not a long hike, Mostly up hill & it will push you…read more You could easily hike all day on the trails. Parking lot closes & gates lock @ sunset. If your late coming down your going to sleeping in parking lot.

My family and I went for a hike here last weekend during Labor Day weekend. We drove about an hour…read moreand a half down to the place. I've heard good things we've seen good pictures so we decided to climb up the mountain through the East pinnacle track and look over everything in the beautiful scenery. It was a pretty easy hike not too challenging I have two young kids and they made it up pretty well. However we go hiking a lot so this was not too challenging which my kids really appreciated. There's a lot of people to bring dogs we had a game to see how many dogs are passed for the bottom to the top we passed 31 dogs so it was a lot which was good because my daughters like to pet the dogs. So definitely recommend it definitely will be back a +5 stars