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We road a portion of the trail this morning. It is well maintained and very pleasant. There is lovely artwork built into the trail. We are novice bikers and this was a good trail for us as beginners.
[[ AS OF JUNE 1ST 2021, THE TRAIL IS CLOSED BEHIND THE SMOKE SHOP GAS STATION FOR UPGRADES TO THE CITY STORM WATER DRAIN SYSTEM. THIS IS A SMALL SECTION OF THE FLOOD WALL TRAIL NEAR THE US HWY 45 OHIO RIVER BRIDGE. THE TRAIL IS OPEN ON EITHET SIDE, BUT NO DETOUR PROVIDED SO THE TRAIL IS TEMPORARILY BLOCKED AT THIS POINT.]]
Review:
The trail is not gravel, but crushed limestone on the original section. This is the wooded section behind Bluegrass downs accessible from Noble Park, Stuart Nelson Park, and now from a parking area off County Park Rd accessing a new section that connects a loop trail with some steep but doable hills around the old land fill, to Stuart Nelson park via a new bridge over Perkins Creek. A new phase has also been completed from the convention center along the Ohio River front to the park at the foot of Broadway and Kentucky Ave. There are restrooms by the trail downtown as well as shops and restaurants. The trail from Noble park to downtown Paducah is all concrete.
Construction of the double diamond intersection at I-24 Exit 4 has created a wide greenway style concrete walk bike path, but unfortunately it only extends to the stop light on either side of the interstate. It literally connects nothing to nothing. I was going to park at the mall and ride back into the city on Park Ave/Hwy 60, but one can’t even access the the walk from across the intersection. Unknown if there is planned expansion to connect to this or it’s something the interstate construction created with no practical use.
Either there wasn't a sign for Hope Center Trail or I missed it when I crossed W Loudon Ave at the southern end of the Legacy Trail. I probably didn't do enough homework before my trip, and looking at this site almost 3 weeks after I biked it, I now learned that this short trail is named both Legacy Trail and Hope Center Trail. The red marked trail on TrailLink had Legacy Trail end at W Loudon Ave. Maybe there was a sign for Legacy Trail, which might have confused me, since I thought it had ended. Maneuvering through the gates by the railroad tracks was easy. When it T's into Coolavin Trail (which I learned on a map is also called Legacy Trail), the left/east will take you to an endpoint by a port-a-pot, where as the right/west takes you past the Coolavin Park until it ends. Some of the streets have green painted bike lanes, but even though I took a few of them, I really don't know where they go. All 3 trails make up the 12 miles listed under Legacy Trail (which had confused me if you read my review under Legacy Trail).
I enjoyed the trail. Can't avoid the road noise, but looking at the country side, creek and whatever else made up for it. It was hillier than I expected, but manageable. Not just having a straight trail was nice also. I read the signs about the jockeys, horses and farms, which were interesting. I do agree that more signs are needed by the water tower area and the southern end to get to Hope Center Trail and Coolavin Trail. (I'll add a review at those sites). I was confused about the mileage. I parked at the YMCA, and went north until it ended at the gate, came back, went on the Hope Center Trail (both ways), the Coolavin Trail and a few blocks on city streets, and finally came back to my car at the YMCA and got a total of 24 miles, whereas the Legacy Trail was supposed to be 12 one way or 24 round trip on its own. I live in Ohio, so not near this trail, otherwise I would ride it more often.
Interesting old farm remains from about 1800.
Well marked and maintained. Bikers and people afoot share this path. Much to see from horse farms to the city skyline. Out and back trail with several entry points. Nice access from KY Horse Park Campground!
Sorry but placing paint on two main heavy trafficked industrial roads to create Louisville loop does not make it bike friendly! Several of the curves were not thought out, squeezed in with no concern for traffic or biker safety, especially along the alternate route - that takes you through not so nice congested area - past the Kroger’s shooting site?! And why/when does the alternate route begin? No rhyme or reason, we missed it only to discover the path behind Shawnee golf course to Shawnee park is washed out, maybe two miles? Fix it... Come on!!! Come on Louisville, you can do way better than this!
As of May 10, 2021, The Tunnel is Open! I rode 22 miles of the trail (from The North Eastern entry point at Paintsville to Royalton. (Note, the trail goes beyond Royalton another 12 miles). Along the trail, there are two trail heads that provide parking—one at around 6 miles from the Northern trail entry point and the other at Royalton. The most scenic part of the trail is between the 10 miles between these two trailheads. The highlight of the entire trail is the tunnel. It is worth seeing and going through. Note, much of the trail follows a country road and cuts through people’s yards. There are several wonderful bridges along with the trial. The trail is mostly level, smooth, and consists of crushed stone. I give it four stars out of 5 due to the trail being a good condition and easy to ride, but much of it not very scenic. (The middle ten miles I give 5 stars).
We have gone to the Floyd’s fork sections quite a few times. It’s great!
Trail looks new, asphalt and no hills. Port-a-potty was clean and had toilet paper! It was a beautiful day and the trail is very pretty! Want to go back and ride bikes one day!!
This was a fun and challenging trail. If you want to begin with the more difficult ride, Park on Zion Cemetery Road and bike/hike north to the Mammoth Caves Visitor Center. This also gives you a great place to use the restroom and fill your water bottle. Get ready to walk your bike in 2-3 areas due to the steep incline. On the way there, we climbed just over 500’ total. The ride back was only 300’.
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