Beautiful trail near Kentucky River. But very short. It took us 30 min to drive there from Lex. But the trail is short. We did it in summer. If you want to do complete trail, note its muddy trail. Good for kids since they can play along the river stream.

I just went for the first time, 2days ago. We went back again today!! The kids and husband and myself all had a good time playing in the water. Havent gone on more than 1 trail either. Its great! Moderate to difficult trails but my kids are 7 and 9 and my husband and I are 40. We saw people with smaller kids, I recommend you keep them close! Also, not stroller friendly. No dogs allowed. No fishing allowed. They have parking spaces right next to Halls On The River and across the street. We had a blast!

The Bluegrass is beautiful, and the people in power are determined to make sure you cant see any of it. Currently closed to the public. But even when it was open, the trail was so short it ended before it even really began (despite there being MILES of trails on the property- which you are not allowed to access). Also there is a cool waterfall that you are not allowed to see, there are security cameras and everything.So you get a tiny trail that goes to the creek and dead ends, with ominous warning messages of trespassing, fines, arrested posed about, to cheer you along the way.So first you take away all the public access to the creeks of the Palisades except the tiniest few acres. Then, you get mad that it gets over-utilized, so you close it. And finally, you get confused about why you have such lack of voter support into purchasing more public land, and growing disinterest in the natural world.Ya know, if you give us more access, then people will be more dispersed and places like this dont become over-utilized. Basic logic that somehow gets lost.So yeah. Closed, shame on you for enjoying it, and you were barely welcome in the first place anyway. What a pleasure.

Family went kayaking here. It’s a great detour off of the Kentucky River.

The park closes at dusk. Its free. Its a short maybe 10-20min easy hike through the woods down to the river or up to the old homestead site. The river is great! You can swim, relax and have a picnic or set up a hammock. The site is beautiful! The homestead is fascinating, but fenced off and wildlife is growing up heavily around it so Id recommend pants for this area :) Oh, and the restaurant woods at the river is awesome!!!!!

Beautiful, natural vistas abound in this well preserved nature sanctuary. From the rolling creek, to the waterfalls, to the scenic overlook, this is the place for any nature lover.

Beautiful secluded area. Actually a nature preserve that has been very well taken care of. I highly recommend its a short fairly easy hike to do if you have time.

As the one star review said. The nature preserve itself is by appointment only during summer months. We ran into the one employee as we pulled up to the gate which she was opening for someone with an appointment. Sign said guided tours. But she pointed us back down the road to Halls on the River about half a mile away which has a 1.4mile one way (2.8 mile) trail with a few less than interesting historic sights marked. It was a preservation area so no pets, fishing, or bikes. The path was very much natural with varying terrain up and down hills, a walk along the river bed on natural ledges lead to a swimmable are with a ledge for jumping in if you want to take a dip. There was a scatered rock formations to hop a cross to continue along the path as outlined in the guide. River was low when we were there it seemed and if it was higher you might have to get your feet wet at point 2 on the map. Expect to see a handful of wild flowers, some bugs and the river on this tree covered nature trail. Probably first nature trail in have ever done but as far as accessibility I would say it was generally easy to moderate with crossing the river while staying dry may be a challenge and generally the paths are Rocky and uneven so be careful.

Beautiful place! So much to explore!

We enjoyed our hike and the scenery

Beautiful area well maintained. Short hike

Such a beautiful, peaceful place. the water provides wonderful visual to meditate on. parts of the creek are deep enough for swimming. this place quickly became a favorite.

This was such a nice little creek, definitely recommend!

Really enjoyed this hike.

Absolutely gorgeous. A very well maintained and loved place. Google just reminded me that I visited this place and should review it, and now I cant stop thinking about how much I want to go back. If you visit in the Spring, prepare for some mud. But let me tell you, it is so worth it!

Gorgeous, poignant hike through forest & ruins of old Mill & town. Open paths, steep hills, swinging bridge.

Loved kayaking this area.

First I would like to say that this is a very beautiful area. The hiking is short, but worth your time especially considering that Lexington is devoid of good places to get out into nature.I am rating only two stars because they do not allow dogs. I can understand the necessity of keeping your dogs leashed , but simply banning them for no good reason disturbs me. there are not many good places in nature to take your dog around Lexington . This would have potentially been a perfect location.Further, reading the pamphlets and brochures, I get the sense that the organization behind this location is perhaps a bit bureaucratic and rule heavy . I see the need to protect nature and historic sites, but sometimes I believe such concerns are taken too far and serve no obvious benefits.It would be really nice if the organization responsible for this park could do something about the trail across the dangerous muddy hillside. I have watched several people slip and fall and even watched one man literally roll down the hill. Its very dangerous in the section .As an interesting sidenote, based on a bit of genealogical research, I am pretty sure my great , great grandfather once owned a large portion of this land and ran a farm long, long ago. Im not sure where his property lines were, but he would have been intimately familiar with this land. When Im there, I guess I feel a sense of connection for that reason.

This is the best place to get out and enjoy the day, I love it and I go exploring the trails as often as I can.

Very nice!

Nice hike.Open during daylight hours. The creek, which is about 1/2 mile in, will be tough to cross if the creek is up. It was down when we went and crossing was easy and feet stayed dry.Eat at Halls after your hike.

Great history here, along with a nice hike

Trails are beautiful. Marked well and kept up.

My favorite swimming place in the summer

Beautiful. Trail very hard to follow

Beautiful!! We took the kids down to play in the creeks and they had a blast! Watch for snakes

Cool

I didnt even know this place existed, but its pretty.

Its beautiful.

Gorgeous hike!

Love it!

Loved it

Only when the creeks low

Wow!

Very interesting history and landscape.