Central
Kentucky Trail Running
- Veteran’s
Park - 650 Southpoint Dr. Lexington, KY –
Has approximately 3 miles of trails on grass paths and wooded
singletrack, along with a 1 mile asphalt path.
Located off Tates
Creek Rd. just beyond Man-O-War Blvd.
- Masterson
Station Park – 3051 Leestown Rd. Lexington, KY – Has 4+ miles of
cross country style paths. Located
on Leestown Rd. about 1 mile beyond New Circle Rd.
- University
of Kentucky Arboretum – Alumni Dr. Lexington, KY – Has
approximately 1 mile of grass path along the fenceline of the property and
another .5 mile loop in the woods. Also has a 2 mile asphalt path.
Located
on Alumni Dr. directly across from Commonwealth Stadium.
- Raven
Run Nature Sanctuary – 5886 Jack’s Creek Pike Lexington, KY –
Has approximately 10 miles of trails, many of which are wooded singletrack.
The closest thing to true trail running in Fayette Co., Raven Run is
about 14 miles from downtown Lexington.
- Capitol
View Park – Glenn’s Creek Rd. (Off East-West Connector) Frankfort,
KY – Has approximately 7.5 miles of mostly singletrack trails.
These are heavily used by mountain bikers year round and can get
pretty muddy in wet weather. Located
about 30 miles from downtown Lexington.
- Shaker
Village at Pleasant Hill – 3501 Lexington Rd. Harrodsburg, KY –
Located just across the Kentucky River on Rt. 68 South.
Has several miles of trails, most of which are grass paths but with a
few sections of singletrack sprinkled in.
Located about 27 miles from downtown Lexington.
- Brushy
Fork Park – Berea, KY – This is used as the Berea College cross
country course but much of it is a wooded trail.
You can get creative on the backside of the property by heading to
the top of the ridge and adding more mileage.
Located about 40 miles from downtown Lexington.
- Camp
Nelson Heritage Park – Rt. 27 Nicholasville, KY – 5K cross
country style course around the property.
Located about 20 miles from downtown Lexington.
- Asbury
College Cross Country Course – Wilmore, KY – 5K cross
country style course. Located
about 20 miles from downtown Lexington.
- Red
River Gorge Geological Area – Slade, KY – The Red River Gorge
Geological Area consists of approximately 26,000 acres inside the Daniel
Boone National Forest. The main
section of the gorge has approximately 140 miles of mapped and unmapped
trails most of which are rugged singletrack.
Very popular with hikers and climbers, this is arguably the best
trail running within an hour drive of Lexington.
Site of the Kentucky
Arches 34 Mile Ultra Run in November.
Located about 50 miles from downtown Lexington.
- Cave
Run Lake – Farmers, KY – Has approximately 90 miles of trails
many of which are wooded singletrack. Heavily
used by mountain bikers and horseback riders, the trails can become pretty
muddy during wet weather. Site
of the Kentucky
Ultra Trail Sojourn 50K/50 Miler every March.
Located about 63 miles from downtown Lexington.
- Bernheim
Arboretum and Research Forest – State HWY 245 Clermont, KY
– Approximately 2,000 of Bernheim’s 14,000 acres are open to the public.
There are approximately 40 miles of trails many of which are wooded
singletrack. Bernheim was
designed by the Olmstead Co. who were also responsible for the design of New
York’s Central Park, the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, Louisville’s City
Park system, and many more. Located
about 75 miles from downtown Lexington.