Paintsville Lake: Kiwanis Trail (Blog Hike #1121)

Trail: Kiwanis Trail
Hike Location: USACE Paintsville Lake Project
Geographic Location: northwest of Paintsville, KY (37.83838, -82.87383)
Length: 1.9 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: April 2026
Overview: A loop hike on gravel trail passing views of Paintsville Lake and a reconstructed pioneer farm.
Park Information: https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Display/Article/3632174/paintsville-lake/
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming July 9, 2027)

Directions to the trailhead: From the intersection of US 23 and SR 40 on the west side of Paintsville, take SR 40 west 1.4 miles to SR 2275 and turn right on SR 2275.  Drive SR 2275 northwest 0.8 miles to Mountain Homeplace Road and turn left on Mountain Homeplace Rd.  Drive across the dam that forms Paintsville Lake, and park in the parking lot on the left for Mountain Homeplace.

The hike: Built in 1983 for flood control purposes, Paintsville Lake occupies 1139 acres in the heart of eastern Kentucky's coal-producing region.  The dam that creates the lake was built by the Army Corps of Engineers, and 2 parks adorn its shore: Paintsville Lake State Park operated by the Commonwealth of Kentucky and a park at Paintsville Dam operated by the Corps.  While the state park offers great lake access and a 32-site developed campground, it offers no hiking trails.  Thus, I focused my visit on the Corps' park near the dam.

            The Corps' park offers 2 hiking trails: the 1.6 mile gravel Kiwanis Trail and the 7 mile Adena Trail.  The dam area also features the Mountain Homeplace Historical Area, a re-created village that depicts life in this region during the late 1800s.  The Adena Trail is too long for me at my age and fitness level, but the hike described here combines the Kiwanis Trail with a visit to the Mountain Homeplace Historical Area.  I had a great time on the warm sunny afternoon that I came here, and this park became one of my favorite hiking destinations in eastern Kentucky.

Trailhead for Kiwanis Trail

            From the Mountain Homeplace parking lot, walk northwest across the main park road to find the start of the Kiwanis Trail, which is marked by a small brown Corps sign and a large brown wooden trailhead sign.  The gravel Kiwanis Trail soon enters the woods, which is a mix of pines and broadleaf trees.  Small interpretive signs identify common plants in the forest, and numerous benches offer opportunities to rest.

Interpretive sign

            The trail descends gradually as you pass through a lightly wooded area with the Corps Visitor Center uphill to the left.  Just shy of 0.4 miles, you pass a bench that offers this trail's best view across Paintsville Lake.  The state park's marina is across the lake and through the trees to the right, and the view is surprisingly natural and undeveloped for such a small state park lake.

View across Paintsville Lake

            The gravel trail drops more steeply to reach this hike's lowest elevation before beginning a moderate climb.  Just past 0.5 miles, you pass a small picnic shelter and reach a trail fork in the middle of Paintsville Dam's spillway; a couple of oddly-placed port-o-lets sit here.  The option going left directly down the sunny spillway is the shorter option, and you could go that way if you wanted to shorten this hike.  To hike the full Kiwanis Trail, turn right to quickly head into deeper woods and begin a moderate climb.  The Adena Trail soon exits right; stay left to remain on the Kiwanis Trail.

Entering the spillway

            The next segment of trail gradually curves left as it circles a small hill on the left.  This area is great for spotting wildlife, and I had a rabbit run across the trail in front of me.  At 1.05 miles, you reach the other end of the spillway where the short option comes in from the left.  Go straight to continue around the loop.  The Mountain Homeplace re-created village can be seen through the fence ahead, but a locked gate prevents you from getting there through its rear entrance.

Sidehill trail through forest

            The rest of the Kiwanis Trail uses wide dirt sidehill trail to pass through beautiful mature forest with a steep ravine to the right.  This section would be great for leaf-peeping in the fall.  A gradual climb returns you to the parking lot to close the Kiwanis Trail's loop.

Fishtrap United Baptist Church

Old homestead

Goats in front of barn

            To also explore the Mountain Homeplace, pay the small admission fee at the Visitor Center, then walk west and follow the asphalt trail, which forms a loop through the re-created village.  I enjoyed the old homestead, the live chickens and goats around the barn, and the blacksmith shop, but my favorite building is the old Fish Trap United Baptist Church, which dates to 1843.  Think of the preachers who stood in that pulpit and the people who sat in those back-less pews!  Finishing the asphalt loop returns you to the Visitor Center to complete the hike.

Yatesville Lake State Park: Haunted Trail (Blog Hike #1120)

Trail: Haunted Trail
Hike Location: Yatesville Lake State Park
Geographic Location: west of Louisa, KY (38.09463, -82.68688)
Length: 1.9 miles
Difficulty: 4/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: April 2026
Overview: A loop along Yatesville Lake and through the park's campground.
Park Information: https://parks.ky.gov/explore/yatesville-lake-state-park-7828
Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming March 16, 2027)

Directions to the trailhead: From the intersection of US 23 and SR 32 on the west side of Louisa, take SR 32 west 4.4 miles to SR 3215 and turn right on SR 3215.  Drive SR 3215 2.3 miles to the park's boat ramp parking lot on the left.  Park in the smaller non-trailer spaces on the right/east side of this lot.

The hike: Tucked deep in the hills and hollows of eastern Kentucky, Yatesville Lake State Park is the eastern-most state park in Kentucky.  The park sits on a peninsula in its namesake lake, which is a 2300 acre man-made lake on Blaine Creek.  The dam that forms Yatesville Lake was built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1988 for purposes of flood control.  The park opened in 1992, making it one of the newer state parks in Kentucky.

            Considering its remote location, Yatesville Lake State Park has a surprisingly long list of amenities.  This park's most famous amenity is its award-winning golf course, one of many excellent golf courses in the Kentucky state parks system.  The park also offers a 47-site developed campground, the usual aquatic recreation on Yatesville Lake, 2 playgrounds, and 1 picnic shelter.

            For hikers, the park offers 2 trail systems: the Blue Trail on the west side of the boat ramp and the campground trails on the east side of the boat ramp.  The Blue Trail is longer and offers better lake views, but it is also open to horses.  The heavy horse traffic makes trail conditions uninviting for hikers, especially during the wetter months when I came here.  Thus, I chose to do a loop through the campground trail system.  This loop explores both the lakeside and ridgetop areas of the campground trail system, and it gives a nice sample of the hiking this park has to offer.

Entering the campground trail system

            From the east end of the boat ramp parking lot, walk east on the park entrance road for a couple hundred feet.  The trails you see leaving the road to the right lead out of the state park and into an adjacent Lawrence County park, so you want to turn left to leave the pavement and begin a two-track gravel road.  Now heading north with the lake on your left, this gravel road is used mainly to access the lakeside primitive hike-in campsites, and a metal gate forbids entry to vehicles.  Quickly you pass a small wooden sign that marks where the Wildcat Ridge Trail exits right.  Starting what would become a theme for this hike, that trail was very overgrown on my visit.

Primitive campsite access trail

            The wide gravel road undulates gently as it heads north through a mixture of broadleaf and cedar trees.  Ignore for now other narrower trails that head uphill to the right.  Soon Yatesville Lake comes in sight through the trees downhill to your left.  Like most man-made lakes in this part of the state, Yatesville Lake is slender and deep with many winding "fingers."  This finger is a branch off of Greenbrier Creek.  I saw some common birds such as cardinals while hiking along the lake.

Partially obstructed view of Yatesville Lake

            The trail passes several primitive campsites.  While each campsite offers a partially obstructed view of Yatesville Lake, some campsites have better views than others.  All sites have a firepit, a pole to hang a lantern or a sack, and at least 1 picnic table.  Also, 2 vault toilets in cement block buildings serve the campsites.

Starting the Haunted Trail

            The wide gravel trail ends at the last campsite.  To continue this hike, backtrack to the last vault toilet where the signed Haunted Trail, the next leg of this hike, heads uphill.  The next section is the hardest part of this hike: the trail heads straight up the hill on a narrow and slightly overgrown track.  The hill is steep, but after gaining about 100 feet of elevation you reach the ridgetop, where the trail flattens out.

Hiking the Haunted Trail

            The trail system on top of the ridge is poorly marked and various degrees of overgrown.  I turned left at the first 2 intersections; other trails on the park's trail map were too overgrown to be findable when I came here.  Thus, after my first 2 turns I headed straight east on the main arm of the Haunted Trail to take the shortest route to the park's campground.  Some large beech trees live on this ridge, and some large clusters of mayapple live on the forest floor.

Coming out at the campground

            At 1.35 miles, I came out at the campground near campsite #16.  The park map shows other trails that form loops, but they were too overgrown to make for pleasant hiking on my visit.  Thus, I finished my hike by walking through the campground and back out the park entrance road to return to the boat ramp parking lot.  While such a choice makes for an uninspiring way to complete the hike, it beats wading through waist-high brush or falling down steep terrain.