From Haskins park towards Walmart could use a bench or something but otherwise a very nice trail. Small tributary nearby and several side trails into the woods by pple and animals. See a lot of birds and deer on the main path itself. A few walnut trees right along the trail. I see several people traveling on it every time I'm there.

My wife and I parked at the Swamp Branch trailhead and headed Southwest toward Royalton. Our goal was to go all the way to the southern terminus of the trail but had to stop approx. 15 miles out due to a collapsed tunnel. the tunnel near Royalton was fine and a nice break from a rather warm day. but the tunnel 7 miles Southwest of Royalton had collapsed and was blocked. We turned back there giving us a 30 mile day.

The trail goes through some beautiful territory and well worth the trip. Much of the trail does go through and close to private residence. everyone we saw was pleasant with lots of "Good Mornings" and friendly waves. Much of the homes are pre-fab modular or trailers, due to a collapse of the coal industry some 15 years ago. most families took great pride in their property with nice landscaping and freshly manicured yards.

I have given a 4 star due to a lack of bathroom facilities and no water available. The ladies in Royalton at "Reisners gas station" make sandwiches and sell cold drinks. They were great and we stayed awhile and chatted before continuing on our ride.

The trail is finely crushed stone. In my opinion I would not take a bike on this trail with anything smaller than 32mm tires (standard on most Hybrids).
we brought our Mountain bikes and were glad we did. The larger tires helped in some of the loose and wet areas. My wife did get a flat but we carried extra tubes and got her back riding in no time. Be prepared for flats. bring plenty of water, and bring some snack bars. Hope this helps!

Went there with a friend on a perfect fall day & enjoyed it. A bicyclist came upon us fast from behind & nearly ran us over. So be careful.

I rode the Dawkins on June 19-20. Started in the middle and rode out and back to Royalton. Second day rode from the eastern most trailhead--Jenny something to Hagerhill, then back to the middle of the trail (Swamp ___), and back to my starting point. I was very impressed with the trail. Good, smooth surface. The weather was very dry, warm, but not excessively hot. You need to bring your own water--no pumps or water fountains that I saw except at the Jenny trail head which is really set up primarily for horses (it's located about 3 miles from the eastern trail terminus on KY 825--not very clearly marked but it has a large parking area, steps to mount horses, a small holding pens for horses. I saw one horseback rider between the two days--nice guy out for a late-afternoon ride, armed with a revolver. Only saw three bikers over the two days.

Beautiful forests, scenery. You pass through some inhabited areas with houses, barns, modular homes, etc. I was chased down by a small white dog coming east out of Royalton and nearly lost my balance and ran off the trail before I got away--next time would use spray. The tunnel is a beauty--dry, wood timbers, smooth. I encountered a large snapping turtle at the eastern portal--almost didn't see it.

Trail is well-maintained, smooth. It's a pretty steady climb from the mid-point put to about the tunnel, but fun and easy coming back down. I stayed the night at Jenny Wiley State Resort Park nearby, and had dinner at Lizzie's (excellent) in Prestonsburg.

Not bike-related, but I did also visit Van Lear, just down the road from Loretta Lynn's homeplace. Visited the Webb Grocery Store (owned and run by Loretta's brother Herman), and took the tour of the old homeplace on Butcher Holler for $5. Enjoyed it.

Kentucky should be very proud of this trail and hopefully will add more in the future.

My wife and I rode this trail May 1st and 2nd on our tandem. Much to our surprise, it provided two days of riding for a total of about 72 miles out and back. This trail is complete end to end, but the Tip Top tunnel is blocked at about mile 25. Someone set a vehicle on fire in the tunnel a couple of years ago. I have my doubts it will be fixed anytime soon. To reach the southern side of the blocked tunnel you have two options. Follow dirt roads to try and find a way around or do what we did. Ride back to the car. Load the bike and follow Rt. 7 south from Royalton to Rt. 542, and follow this road for 7.1 miles to a remote trail head. No markers, bathrooms or much else. Used to be called Evanston. (Town no longer exists and was not on our gps). It's about 9 miles of very remote trail to the tunnel and an additional 1 1/2 miles in the other direction. For some reason this part of the trail was in better shape, and we felt more scenic than the other side of the tunnel. Go figure. Additional note. Beautiful bathrooms off Rt.23 trail head and the Royalton trail head. But they have never been open since construction. We spend two days riding and for the first time ever on a rail trail, did not see a single biker!! Not one. Well worth the visit. Just leave the road bike at home and enjoy. Pa. tandem team.( Marilyn and Roger 68yrs and 71yrs of age)




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We walked it, but consider it suitable for a good bike. I see now where it could serve as an emergency exit from the residential street at one end, as another review mentioned.

It was a really nice scenic walk on a nice fall day.

My first time mountain biking the Dawkins trail and it is a beautiful and fun trail. I passed several walkers, biking groups and a few horse back riders. The scenery is breath taking! I can't say enough good things about this trail or the people I met! I started at the marathon station at Hager hill and rode the entire length 24+ miles and back. Forty nine miles of fun and adventure. There is nothing boring about this trail. The locals have to be very proud of having such a wonderful state trail right in their own backyard.

First time riding a rail trail. I was impressed with the obvious efforts that it must have taken to convert all the various number of bridges to become bicycle friendly. The crushed rock base of the trail wasn't bad at all. We started at midway the trail and headed west to the tunnel. Totally worth seeing!!

just recently rode from royalton to mile 3 in johnson co. the trail is in great shape all the rain has it really smooth dissapointing to see so few riders taking advantage of this trail. really a great place to ride