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Kentucky Hiker Project

Designed to inspire, equip, and connect you to the best hiking in the Commonwealth of Kentucky

20/01/2025

📍DuPont Lodge Overlook

I made a special note to visit this spot and stay at the lodge at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park sometime near the equinoxes.

While this view was a nice surprise when killing time, visiting at sunrise at the right times of year will provide a stunning view of the sun rising over the Cumberland River straight down this seam.

Kentucky State Parks positioned some of these lodges perfectly to take in sunrise or sunset at the best times of year.

19/01/2025

📍Eagle Falls

Just another amazing Winter scene at Eagle Falls. This was with my Pixel 8 using long exposure that really hasn't worked well until this shot. I'm guessing a significant software upgrade provided this capture, so kudos to the engineering team at Google.

While I continue *thinking* about getting a real camera, phone cameras keep getting markedly better each year.

18/01/2025

📍Dog Slaughter Falls

While we had a moment of warmth, the cold is back for the next few days and scenes like this will be around the early part of next week. I think I'll head down Wednesday to catch a few more icescapes before they're gone.

17/01/2025

📍Cumberland Falls

I'm a mostly fair weather hiker and bluebird skies were perfect for highlighting the spray coming up from Cumberland Falls. This big spray is what creates rainbows during the day and moonbows at night when the skies are clear and the moon is full.

2025 Rainbow Dates

Everyday with sunshine

2025 Moonbow Dates

2/10-14
3/12-16
4/10-14
5/10-14
6/9-13
7/8-12
8/7-11
9/5-9
10/4-8
11/3-7
12/2-6

16/01/2025

📷
📍Tioga Falls

Heather captured a beautiful scene at this iconic waterfall at Fort Knox. The many tiers of water make for a very worthwhile destination hike.

I've tried to hike this twice when kinda sorta passing through because it's a real stunner, but was shutout both times. Check to make sure it's open before heading out. The trails can be closed for hunting or military exercises.

And, like most waterfalls in Kentucky, head out after some decent precipitation.

More info at https://www.nrtapplication.org/trails/tioga-falls-historical-nature-trail

15/01/2025

📍Vanover Falls

Same waterfall five years apart. The one from the top was from last week's visit with cold temps and little precipitation leading in. The bottom photo was after a couple inches of overnight snow on saturated ground in warmer temps, providing snow melt to for the falls.

This waterfall is also known as Blue Bend Falls in Johnny Molloy's book, "Hiking Waterfalls Kentucky" that has 60 waterfall hikes in the Commonwealth. Of that 60, Vanover/Blue Bend Falls is among the smallest in terms of watershed and flow.

It's also amazing how far phone cameras have come in that span.

14/01/2025

📷
📍 Big Bone Lick State Park

This is my home state park and over the last few years, it's seen a good number of upgrades. Trail reroutes, habitat restoration, more gravel around the bison pen, a shade barn, and of course, new bison babies each year.

When I can't get out for a longer trip, Big Bone is a great local spot for quiet time on the trail and to see these magnificent creatures.

BTW, if you ever get a chance to see the documentary about how this species was hunted to the brink of extinction and brought back by conservation efforts, it's an incredible story. The Smithsonian, Bronx Zoo, and many many others played a role in saving the American Bison.

13/01/2025

Ice Marbles and Needle Ice are trail regulars with these cold temps. We have multiple days with single digit overnight lows in the forecast, so catch them while you can.

Ice marbles are formed from cold water drops freezing while hitting the ground - usually under rock overhangs.

Needle ice is from water pushing up from the ground and freezing after hitting the super cold air. Sandy soil often has plentiful needle ice that'll crunch under your feet.

While some of you are likely sick of Winter, it's a great time to be outside to enjoy these sights of the season.

12/01/2025

📷
📍 Dog Slaughter Falls

Larry captured this beauty near the end of our waterfall superfecta day. To get to this spot, he had to dodge some slick AF ice and scramble up a boulder with ice covering a fair bit of it. I think he'll be rock climbing when the weather warms up. I KNOW he'll be rock climbing when the weather warms up.

Make sure you give him a follow if you're not already.

Hike details at https://www.kentuckyhiker.org/hikes/ice-day-at-dog-slaughter-falls-2025-0109

11/01/2025

📍 Dog Slaughter Falls
📍 Cumberland Falls

A couple stops from the Cumberland Waterfalls Superfecta we enjoyed on Thursday. There were some slick spots and a little water to wade through, but overall trail conditions were good and the scenes were marvelous.

10/01/2025

REMINDER | Bridge Out on Dog Slaughter Falls Trail

I forgot that the bridge was out on the short trail to Dog Slaughter Falls. You can expect to get your feet wet when crossing and with the cold temps, that can be a problem. Here's a list of things to keep your feet warm:

-Wear waterproof boots
-Wear waterproof socks (I love my knee high insulated SealSkinz)
-Wear thick wool socks that retain insulation value when wet
-Roll up your pants to keep them dry
-Bring an extra pair of dry socks
-Keep moving to keep blood pumping into your wet, cold feet

Conversely, if you would like to be miserable and try your feet with frostbite, try this instead:

-Wear low cut shoes, Crocs (non-sport mode), or flip-flops
-Maximize cold water submersion time
-Wear cotton socks (no insulation value when wet)
-Get your pants wet or wear shorts (basketball shorts, this is BBN)
-Leave that extra pair of dry socks at home
-Lay down to reduce your heart rate until your feet (and body) freeze

Some say an expert is one who knows the best course of action. Others say an expert knows what NOT to do. Be an expert on Winter hiking and enjoy all the rewards that come with it.

09/01/2025

📷
📍 Natural Bridge State Resort Park

Kentucky State Parks Trail Crew has been out there cleaning up after the last winter storm. It's hard work all year long, but with snow, ice, and cold temps, it's another level out there.

Big thanks to the crew for all the hard work they're putting in to provide us with a path to see our beautiful natural spaces!

07/01/2025

📷
📍 Cumberland Falls

Visited Niagara Falls last month and visiting the Niagara of the South on Thursday. It'll look quite a bit different than this with plenty of ice thanks to these low temperatures.

Should be a pretty nice day out there with plenty of warm clothes to make sure of it.

05/01/2025

📷
📍 Eagle Falls

I think I've settled on heading to Cumberland Falls State Resort Park later this week to capture the four nearby falls - Cumberland, Eagle, Vanover, and Dog Slobber.

Hopefully the water level isn't too high, as this can sometimes lead to trail closures. I think it'll be alright, but I'll double-check before heading down.

There's another wet weather waterfall on Blue Bend that might be nice with ice. We'll see.

And there are arches. Lots of arches surround the park, so probably hit at least one on the way in.

04/01/2025

📍Whittleton Arch
📍Henson's (Cave) Arch

This used to be our Sunday time killer hike before Miguel's flipped over to lunch. This pair of arches is 3.79 miles and very kid friendly. Kids will enjoy the creek and destinations. Teens will have fun scrambling around the rocks beneath Whittleton Arch.

Hike details at https://www.kentuckyhiker.org/hikes/hensons-arch-and-whittleton-branch-arch-out-and-back-from-ky-11-2023-0329

03/01/2025

📷 .e.l.photography
📍Vanhook Falls

I have yet to visit this waterfall, but it would be a good candidate next week for an icescape.

I'm not exactly sure where we're heading next week, but the destinations will all be waterfalls - frozen, icy, beautiful Winter waterfalls.

And yes, microspikes and waterproof socks will be in the bag as needed.

If you care to hike it, it's under 5 miles and can be found on AllTrails as "Van Hook Falls and Cane Creek Valley"
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/kentucky/van-hook-falls-and-cane-creek-valley?sh=2rio7b

e.l.photography

01/01/2025

📷
📍 Flat Lick Falls

Happy New Year! This year, I'm changing things up on Instagram and reposting some photos from other accounts. If you'd like to be reposted to this feed, just tag me. Photo credit will be on the photo (bottom-left is the app default) and in the caption.

Only rule is it must be a Kentucky hiking scene. More specifically, it should be a Kentucky hiking destination.

This image of Flat Lick Falls decked out in ice and snow can start us off. We have some cold weather coming in, so this scene might be available sooner than later.

This is a short hike with a large parking lot that doesn't see much traffic this time of year.

Hike details at https://www.kentuckyhiker.com/latest/2020/1/16/flat-lick-falls-upper-loop

09/12/2024

After the crowds have gone, a quiet night in a special bar with an incredible host. Cheers to Tommy 🍻

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