It's been a long time since I've been to The Arboretum. I decided on a brief early morning walk…read more It's lovely to be surrounded by green space. No noise, no traffic. Tai Chi walking, purposefully slow and meditative. It's good for you. Try it. 74

Great city park that's peaceful, secluded, and has fun diverging paths. Good cold run today!read more

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.

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.

Beautiful area!…read more Lovely peaceful place. Good footing and a nice walk for adults and kids.

This is a park formed out of reclaimed farmland attached to EKU, of which their website gives a…read moredecent description. To get to it, one has to drive through at least a mile of somewhat dubious gravel road, which is doable if you don't have an off-road sort of vehicle, but not something I would make a habit out of. Or you can run in on the cross-country trail if you have some time on your hands. The scenery when you get there is quite pleasant, and offers a variety of topography. You'll hear plenty of birds, and dodge plenty of bugs. The paths were discernible as such, but had plenty of growth on them and you definitely want to be tick-safe (as the sign at the entrance reminds you). Some areas have running water with rather inadequate fords, so be prepared to get a little muddy. There are various signs detailing the sort of flora and fauna of the region and the history of the environment. I hit most (but not all) of them in an hour or so. It's a nice bit of Kentucky landscape, of which there are too few pieces open for public use. The research function for the university is also valuable I'm sure. I think the threshold to make it a little bit more usable is not that high. I wouldn't want to see it overdeveloped, but a little more work towards the trails and road would go a long way.

Walked my dog here after visiting Loudoun House. It's a good-sized park! Has basketball, baseball,…read morea pool, and a playground. The tennis courts didn't have nets on them, though. The entire park smelled like chocolate chip cookies. There's a community center there, so I'm guessing they were baking cookies in it? It probably doesn't always smell like cookies, but I enjoyed that it did during my visit.

Nice park with lots of amenities! We've been playing in kickball and softball leagues there for a…read moredecade, most recently have won Lexington Sports & Social Club's Fall 2020 softball league. The park itself has baseball, softball, basketball, a swimming pool, tennis courts, etc. And the "Loudon House" aka the castle, around which the park is situated houses the Lexington Art League Gallery. They have ongoing art exhibits throughout the year and studio space for artists as well. The gallery at the Loudon House also hosts all kinds of events throughout the year, including their fun First Friday parties each month, where they feature the art, of course, but also local bands and restaurant fare.

The location is not too far from Frankfort, and a longer way from Lexington. I suspect many…read morevisitors will be passing through for a distillery tour or something like that because there's not a ton of people around here. But one is reminded of all the splendid Kentucky countryside that is privately owned; it's nice that this is open to the public. A couple of trails run through mildly hilly forest and around a pond. There weren't the sorts of spectacular views you'd expect from a major park, but it's nice hiking and the trails were quite well maintained. A climate controlled bird blind overlooks a pond near the parking area. There was no charge to get in and no one else in sight other than a few deer with winter coats when I dropped by.

Our outdoor play group did a meet up here and was going to do the white and blue trails. But we got…read moreliterally 100 yards into the path and discovered HUNDREDS of baby ticks on all 10 members (including the kids). A few of our members were removing ticks for over 30 minutes. We stayed on the trail the whole time. And we all had bug spray on. We understand nature is nature but this is just unacceptable for an kept trail recommended for families and a place that host events. We will only do this in the winter from now on.

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.

A beautiful small park in downtown Lexington near Transylvania University. It's picturesque and…read moresurrounded my older homes. Parking can be tricky. We recently went to an arts and crafts festival there.

Lexington is such a pretty place. I was born & raised in Kentucky, but I've only been to Lexington…read morea handful of times. We were in Lexington for the weekend & actually stayed at Gratz Park Inn. After we checked out, we decided to leave the car parked on the street & take a walk around the area. We'd been so busy the previous day's that we hadn't explored the area much. We stumbled upon Gratz Park. The streets that border the park were closed because they were having the 2016 Mayfest Arts Fair. There was a ton of arts & crafts venders. They even had a few food trucks & some local breweries set up giving samples. We saw a local dance troupe that was doing a performance & even bringing in the people watching to join in. The park itself is is very green. Lots of grass, mature trees & bushes. There's plenty of shade for people to sit under on a blanket. The walkways in the park look on the older side, so I'd guess this park has been here for some time. It looks like what used to be a courthouse sits at one end of the park. This is a nice green space for the town.