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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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In April 2017 a friend and I took a break from interstate driving to ride the Legacy Trail into Lexington and back to its north end. The trail is good pavement and well marked. We liked the frequent signs telling the history and ecology of the area. Also, artists painted the trail surface in places, so it was fun to see their work. If you have time, ride into Lexington from the south end of the trail, to see the restored houses and enjoy a cup of coffee.
Title is a little misleading.... It's a mixed use asphalt trail. Starts @ the public library parking lot in LaGrange... eventually you go thru Buckner; and turn off onto Old Lagrange Road. I only went about 9 miles South to Crestwood.
I'm in the military and have actually taken the Army Physical Fitness Test on this trail. We run 2 miles for record so they have a white posted line past Powderly to start from and will run to where the trail starts in Greenville across from Clarks Appliance Center. Soldiers like to take the running part of the PT Test there because instead of the normal 8 laps in a circle rubbing elbows with 60 other Soldiers it's a 1 way start to end run and halfway, 1 mile mark, you can see the finish line and mentally makes you more confident and run harder and Soldiers really improve their time. Also I have ridden the the trail several times on bicycle along with my children and have never had any trouble. We always ride up and back and stop at the swamp area to go up on the deck and view the wildlife. It is maintained well and has a lot of neat interesting features along the way. It is truly great having this in our local community and we are very fortunate.
I love the idea of this trail in that it connects different areas of the city, but it is very difficult to follow. Signage is minimal and there were numerous points at which I took wrong turns or almost completely gave up on it because it wasn't clear where the trail went at an intersection. The sections were the trail is just a double wide sidewalk are definitely the worst part. I rode close to the entire trail on an unseasonably warm veterans day Friday and couldn't believe how few people were on the trail. In 12.2 miles I saw only two other people on bicycles and a handful of walkers/runners. The four star rating is due to the usefulness of the trail for people who live there. If you are looking for a great ride, it gets less stars. And it's pretty lame that it's closed dusk to dawn.
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.
it has potential, under heavy construction as i write this; some new construction, some resurfacing the existing. interesting that the old part has been around long enough to need resurfacing before these new parts have been laid. the equipment on this sunday was parked trailside. on the west side of town beyond milemarker 14-25 in either direction, the trail presently doesn't appear to be rideable or perhaps even existing.
Entered this trail at Shelbyville road and completed a 30 mile round trip. The hills can be a real challenge if you are not accustomed to them. The surface is great and is a mix of asphalt and concrete. If you ride a recumbent where you sit back so far that you use a neck rest the expansion joints in the concrete can become annoying. The trail is very scenic with plenty of trail access points and several restrooms available along the way. When the whole Louisville Loop Trail is completed and circles all of Louisville (100 miles of trails I believe) this will be a real jewel for Kentucky.
lots of twists and turns. unfortunately, the turns are rarely marked, so take your smart phone with google maps on it; i needed it the whole time. the bicycling option on google maps chose some relatively safe bike routes through the downtown, so i was largely able to return that way. all-blacktop surface is largely good, but even the newer sections have tree roots poking through more often than expected. not crowded at all on a crisp fall saturday in late october, and the few folks that i did encounter were rather friendly.
Due to the mostly flat land in this area this is a well kept trail for everyone. Bobbing in and put youll have a chance to see everything from from farm living to city life. This trail also has drinking fountains,restrooms and rest areas.
Cant say enough of how well kept with all the annuities.
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