October 2023
The Parklands of Floyds Fork - Pope Lick Park
The Pinnacles
Pennyrile forest State Park
Bridge at Pope Lick Park (The Parklands of Floyds Fork)
October is always a busy month for us as it contains our wedding anniversary, and 2 family member’s birthdays. We managed 3 trips over the month, leaving the boys at home for 2 out of those 3 trips (they were not pleased). As luck would have it, the weather held out on each trip.
Pennyrile Forest State Park
Sometimes on our way to western Kentucky, we stop on the way at Pennyrile Forest State Park. Its a beautiful park, with a lodge, camping etc. etc. On this particular visit, we were headed to LBL (shocker) and wanted to let the boys get the lead out before arriving at basecamp. We mainly followed the trails around the lake, both dogs got in the water (that day it was in the 80s). It was early in October so it wasn’t as empty as it usually is toward the end of the month. Had to keep the boys leashed in some spots round the beach and lodge. Proved to be a great opportunity for Briscoe to practice his retrieval skills! Someday we would like to stay over at this place and spend more time here than a few hours at a time.
The Pinnacles of Berea
The Pinnacles are part of a 17 mile trail system, inside a 9,000 acre forest that is maintained by the Berea College of Forestry located in Berea, KY. The trails are open to the public and also have guided tours and programs. This area is well known for the American Chestnut restoration efforts, 2 orchards are also maintained by the Berea College of Forestry. Dogs are allowed but must be leashed. The Forestry Outreach Center is where the main parking lot is located to access the trail heads. If you are familiar with the Red River Gorge, the terrain is very similar with a good amount of uphill hiking, walking along ridges and rocky outcrops and just like the Gorge, the Pinnacles are a popular place and tend to be full of people so keep that in mind if you are trying to decide when to visit. We chose a nice, crisp, beautiful fall morning to spend a few hours hiking. This trip was specially planned for my Dad for his birthday, we left the dogs at home and just enjoyed the time with family. If you are looking for a good spot to eat after hiking, the Boone Tavern Hotel & Restaurant is a great choice!
The Parklands of Floyds Fork - Pope Lick Park
The Parklands is a large collection of 4 parks near Louisville, connected by a section of land and split into a northern and southern half. Floyds Fork, a tributary of Salt River, runs through the entire of the Parklands going north and south. The parks are open to the public and allow hiking, walking, biking, fishing, picnicking, gardening, nature watching and paddling. There is also different areas for sports and a dog park (unfortunately I think its for members only?) For a map of the entire Parkland system, click here.
We had not gotten to explore any of Floyds Fork and soon realized it was too large to hit each park in one afternoon. We decided to enter The Parklands via Pope Lick Park which is in the Taylorsville area of Louisville. The trails range from easy to moderate, with the easy ones being paved and moderate crushed gravel or dirt. Terrain is fairly even, if not mostly flat. Despite having plenty of people around, we did see quite a few bird species. Just within the 1 park we were able to view, we were able to walk through different types of ecosystems (stream, forest/woodland, prairie). We found that there was less traffic on the moderate trails that were not paved. Dogs were allowed if they were leashed, we saw a few areas that we would likely bring the dogs back to and be able to safely have them off leash. Wouldn’t recommend having dogs off a lead anywhere on the paved roads as people frequently use those for bicycles. We are most definitely going to make returning to The Parklands a priority and coming back to check out another section.
