Explore the best rated trails in Paducah, KY, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Tunnel Hill State Trail and Paducah Greenway . With more than 8 trails covering 85 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Excellent trail going with a large section that goes through the Shawnee National Forest. The trail is very well maintained and in excellent condition for the entire length except for 1.6 miles that is under repair. The previous reviewer stating the need for a full suspension mountain bike are completely inaccurate. I have done it on 32c tires many times and while this particular section is indeed under repair one you can always dismount and walk this short section and enjoy the scenery. The rest if the trail is in great condition with evenly spaced rest areas, pit toilets, water, trash cans, and ample parking. This area of Illinois is beautiful with many excellent campgrounds and sights seeing
It is a tale of two trails, one Southwest of the tunnel, the other, if it can be called a trail, Northeast of the tunnel. In late September my brother and I road both. Our first day we rode from Karnak to the tunnel, and back again, around 43 miles. That part of the trail is reasonably maintained, with trussell bridges and lush cover from thick forests. It was a long ride, but the hills rarely exceeded a 5% grade. So we expected the trail from the tunnel to Harrisburg to be the same.... It is not. Expect loose crushed stone in many places that 36c tiers will sink into, and 1/4 inch gravel in others to repair the surface, as well as washed out dips on the sides of the trail. Expect to fall approx. 25 feet into snake infested water if you should go off the side when you have to make a quick direction adjustment. (I assume snakes are in the water since we road past a few snakes on the trail, one a cottonmouth that showed us its dental work.) If you plan to ride the Northeastern section from the tunnel to Harrisburg you will need a mountain bike with full suspension. A gravel bike or a hybrid is not enough.
Tunnel hill south was a wonderful trip! The tunnel was beautiful, take a flashlight. The next day we wanted to ride north, MISTAKE about 2 miles you will see a sign trail damage, what an understatement. We rode another 1.5 miles and hit a spot you had to walk your bike through, we bike for fun and this was not fun so we turned around. 600 mile road trip to ride this trail.
What a great trail. My wife and I have of list of trails and this is one that should be on yours. We rode out of Karnak , we got in night before and stayed at Brothers Main campground. Grate place and right across from trail head. Site had water and power. We were concerned about trail being crushed stone and we had a lot of rain night before. We did 45 miles and only ran into three ruts from run off rain. Had a great time and will do again, we will try and catch the fall colors next time. Thanks state of Illinois for an awesome ride
I biked this trail Saturday from Vienna to Stonefort. Beautiful trail. I wish Illinois would invest in more trails.
We rode this trail from Vienna to the tunnel. It was stunning going over the bridges. There’s a little outpost before the tunnel where you can buy ice cream or some water (honor system so bring cash)
Just an FYI that this trail is also called the Central Hardwood Scenic Trail. We tried riding from the Golden Pond Visitor Center but it quickly became rugged and too much for us. We went to the Sunset Trailhead and road East on the paved section. We totaled 16 miles but could’ve gone further. If you’re in the area, Calvert City also has a nice path thru the town and city parks.
Our second time riding the trail. Amazing scenery lots of wildlife and of course a awesome tunnel. Vienna is a great place to stay and has a nice city park by the trail with plenty of parking and picnic area.
Not sure why this trail is called Lake Barkley Multi-use Path as it actually begins at the Kentucky Lake portion of Land Between the Lakes (LBL). Regardless, we rode a total of 13 miles back & forth along this path taking in the beautiful lake scenery. After crossing the lake toward Fenton we considered riding over toward the LBL visitor center. However, being the Memorial Day weekend auto traffic was rather hectic so we opted to forego that portion of our ride and simply rode back across the bridge a few times. Tomorrow we’re heading toward Lake Barkley and plan to ride that area as it appears there’s a protected longer riding trail in that direction. Worth it !!!
All concrete well maintained and flat. Nice trail
My husband and I rode this trail on 9/6/2022 and 9/7/2022. The first day we caught the trail from our hotel in Harrisburg and got about 4 miles south of Carrier Mills. The trail is in pretty decent shape. It's crushed stone, but could use some minor maintenance, as the underlayment in some areas is exposed and has larger rocks poking through. The first day we rode my husband ended up with 2 flat tires, due to the larger rocks. The second day we rode from Stonefort to Belknap. It was a beautiful ride. There is the tunnel in Tunnel Hill plus many bridges along the way. The area is mostly shaded as well. Vienna has a nice park, with flushable toilets. Just a note: we did walk part of the trail from our hotel in Harrisburg 1.5 miles north and we did hit a bridge on the trail that did seem unsafe, many of the planks need to be replaced, there were chunks missing out of several of the planks.
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