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Print Friendly MapThe Paducah Greenway (simply, The Greenway to locals, and officially, the Clyde F. Boyles Greenway Trail) is a 4.5-mile non-motorized pathway that links Paducah’s neighborhoods, parks and natural areas. Three of the planned five phases of construction have been completed and there are plans to extend the trail along the Ohio River riverfront and through the Perkins Creek Nature Preserve.
The trail exists in two main segments. The first one runs from Noble Park around Bluegrass Downs, through Stuart Nelson Park and terminates at County Park Road. This 1.75-mile portion is surfaced with gravel, and offers a pleasant woodland ride.
The second segment also begins at Noble Park, but travels north along the top of the floodwall levee. There is a marked at-grade crossing at Cairo Road. The only other major road crossing is via a 52-ft lighted pedestrian underpass under North 8th Street/ US 45. Following this the trail reemerges onto the top of the levee and then continues east up to Campbell St, just north of the Paducah Expo Center.
There are distance markers all along the completed segments of greenway as well as trailside benches at intervals.
In 2019, a gravel/dirt extension was added to the existing trail and runs from Campbell Street, near the Schroeder Expo Center, to Schultz Park, near the Paducah riverfront.
Parking and access to the trail can be found at Stuart Nelson Park (175 S Nelson Park Rd); Noble Park (2801 Park Ave); and the Paducah Expo Center (1 Executive Blvd). The trailhead at Noble Park is next to the Skatepark.
The trail is a nice five-mile ride. I went on the second day of spring, but it must look even better when there is more foliage along the path. Unless it's unusually busy, I recommend parking by the riverfront mural wall downtown just off Broadway. The mural in the tunnel is a nice touch. As an extra excursion, you can take an extra loop in Noble Park or the County Park, where there is a mountain bike course. Noble Park gets busy on balmy weekends and holidays, so look out for traffic. There is talk of extending the trail southward from the west endpoint of the trail, so don't think that you've necessarily done the whole trail if you happen to return in a few years. If you happen to stop in Noble Park, be sure to bring discs if you want to play some frisbee golf on the 18-hole course. Also, a walk on the brick-surfaced sidewalks on Broadway downtown offers some breathtaking historical scenery.
We parked in the public lot by the muraled flood wall but could only ride part of the trail to the west to where construction blocked us from continuing. The Detour sign led us to busy 45, with no indication of where the detour led. 45 has no shoulder or sidewalks. We missed half of the trail. Park at the west end, in Noble Park and ride east.
[[ 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.
We went riding on a beautiful day! We began on the end near river, and it was clean, sunny, and had some beautiful views. My 3 boys really enjoyed the ramps in the skateboarding park in Nobel Park. Afterwards the trail became wooded with crushed rock and was so peaceful and scenic. We passed by the disc golf course and the trail ended with an optional loop that I was told just became an extension about a year ago! It had hills and some bumps for fun. There is even a mountain bike practice area along this loop! I hope it generates more use once people find out about it.
While on a road trip we stayed in Paducah and rode this greenway. The first 1 3/4 is gravel and is nice and shady. Then it turns into a beautiful paved section until it ends. The paved section is mostly open so it is pretty hot during the warm months. We hope that more will be added in the future since it is such a good area. Nice one to ride even if you are just traveling through!
Very nice trail. Scenic. There are disc golf along the way.
Wish people would pick up their pet waste.
Crossing HWY 305 could be dangerous. Cars are fast and they don't stop for pedestrian. Be careful
We were traveling and found this trail here. It was a nice workout before dinner with good September weather. I wish the river were more in view, but still nice.
We rolled to the historic Bob Noble Park on a hot summer Saturday to enjoy Paducah. Riding around the park to warmup, we hit the top of the levee rest stop and decided to head west first. The West Side is a short, tree lined wide gravel path that runs slightly past Stuart Nelson Park. We rode through a disk golf fairway prior to arriving and ridding around this peaceful park and wondered if this used to be their old fairground. The remaining section from the park to the trailhead was a little rough with washed & soft gravel spots. Returning to the rest stop, we rode atop the levee on the East Side. The trail on this side is concrete and unshaded with mostly industrial sites on the south and the Ohio River to the north. The trail terminates at the new convention center, but we decided to explore downtown on bikes (take your time to read the historic markers). We relaxed at the river park behind the levee murals to watch the working tow boats. Once downtown, go explore bike friendly Paducah with its great restaurants, museums, train engine #1518, theatres, arts center, unique architecture and the old Market building. Upon returning to the park, spend a couple of dollars to cool down & swim at the park pool for a totally enjoyable day.
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