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Discover the best hikes in Louisville, Kentucky, and beyond!
Louisville is known as the City of Parks, and its population has long valued the natural landscape and the provisioning of outdoor recreation. Nestled within the Ohio Valley and bordered by the Knobs region to the south and heavily wooded areas to the north, Louisville lies near an endless array of hiking opportunities: national forests, state and local parks, and nature preserves.
Explore 40 of Louisville’s five-star trails—including the best walking paths and hidden hiking treasures in central Kentucky and southern Indiana. With hikes in this guide divided into five distinct areas, you’ll wind through hilly woodlands, around beautiful lakes, along meandering creeks, and across expansive meadows. Kentucky author and hiking expert Valerie Askren details easy strolls along Louisville’s many paved trails, treks past lovely ponds and fields of wildflowers, and longer hikes traversing densely wooded hills—all offering a broad spectrum of diverse landscapes.
Inside you’ll find:
- Descriptions of 40 five-star hiking trails for all levels and interests
- Full-color GPS-based trail maps, elevation profiles, and detailed directions to trailheads
- Insight into the history, flora, and fauna of the routes
- Ratings for scenery, difficulty, trail condition, solitude, and accessibility for children
Save time and make the most of your hiking adventures. Experience the area’s breathtaking scenery, varied terrain, and amazing wildlife. Lace up, grab your pack, and hit the trail!
After having spent more than 20 years as a university researcher and professor, Valerie Askren traded the ivory towers of academia for the hardwood forests and sandstone arches of Kentucky. The proverbial outdoorswoman, she has swum in Africa’s Lake Malawi, climbed China’s Mount Tai, sailed the coast of southern France, biked Nova Scotia, backpacked across Canada, and survived the biting cold of farm life in Ukraine. She spent her honeymoon kayaking the Grand Canyon with her husband, Ben.
Valerie’s background in natural-resource economics and her love of the wilderness translated into a second career writing guides to the outdoors, including Hike the Bluegrass and Beyond, Fly Fishing Kentucky, Backpacking Kentucky, and Backcountry Cuisine.
Valerie lives in Lexington, Kentucky, where a peaceful wooded path, beautiful public garden, or historical walking trail is always close at hand.
Overview Map
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Preface
Recommended Hikes
Introduction
Map Lengend
Louisville: Inside I-265
- Anchorage Trail
- Beargrass Creek Nature Preserve: White Oak Nature Trail
- Big Four Bridge and Waterfront Park
- Blackacre State Nature Preserve
- Cherokee Park Scenic Loop
- Falls of the Ohio Levee Trail
- Goose Creek Loop at Tom Sawyer State Park
- Harrods Creek Park
- Iroquois Park Summit
- Ohio River Levee Trail: Farnsley-Moremen Landing
- Waverly Park Loops
Kentucky: South of Louisville and West of I-65
- Fort Duffield
- Jefferson Memorial Forest: Scott’s Gap Trail
- Jefferson Memorial Forest: Yost Ridge to Mitchell Hill Lake
- Otter Creek Loop Trail
- Saunders Springs Nature Preserve
- Tioga Falls and Bridges to the Past
Kentucky: South of Louisville and East of I-65
- Abbey of Gethsemani
- Bernheim Arboretum: Elm Lick Trail
- Bernheim Arboretum: Forest Giants Trail
- Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve
- Fairmount Falls Park
- Hall Hill/Vernon-Douglas State Nature Preserve
- The Parklands of Floyds Fork: Coppiced Woods
- The Parklands of Floyds Fork: Favorite Shorts
- The Parklands of Floyds Fork: Turkey Run
- Pine Creek Barrens Nature Preserve
- Salato Wildlife Education Center
Indiana: North of Louisville and West of I-65
- French Lick Loops
- Hemlock Cliffs Nature Preserve
- Mount St. Francis Lake Trail
- O’Bannon Woods State Park: Cliff Dweller Trail
- Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest
- Spring Mill State Park Loop
- Spurgeon Hollow North Loop
- Yellow Birch Ravine Nature Preserve
Indiana: North of Louisville and East of I-65
- Clifty Falls State Park: Clifty Falls Canyon
- Hardy Lake State Park
- Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge
- Rose Island Loops
Appendixes and Index
- Appendix A: Outdoor Retailers
- Appendix B: Hiking Clubs
- Appendix C: Public and Private Agencies
- Index
- About the Author