From quick and easy loops around town to drives that take you to fantastic lakes and mountains, our city has so many options to hit the trail. So lace up your hiking boots, because we’ve compiled a hiking guide for the Lexington area with 10 routes and trails to help you plan your next adventure and experience breathtaking views.
Note: While parks and trails may be listed as open, we recommend checking park websites before visiting for further info, current trail conditions, and safest practices for the area.
Key: Easy = 🥾| Moderate = 🥾🥾 | Hard = 🥾🥾🥾
Lexington
- Difficulty: 🥾🥾
- Length: 3.3-mile loop
- Wheelchair accessible: No
- Pet-friendly: Yes, leash required
This 280-acre park offers everything needed for hiking and wilderness lovers. With shared equestrian trails, you may get a front-seat view of horses along your walk — just make sure to watch your step.
Empower Lexington focuses on protecting our natural systems and ecology. | Photo courtesy of @lexkyparks
- Difficulty: 🥾
- Length: 0.6-mile loop
- Wheelchair accessible: Yes
- Pet-friendly: No
If you’re looking to get away without actually getting away, this is the perfect option for you. This paved trail is short + sweet, yet secluded enough that you forget the Distillery District is just minutes away.
Raven Run offers a diverse set of trails to explore. | Photo courtesy of @VisitLEX
Raven Run, Green Trail
- Difficulty: 🥾🥾🥾
- Length: 2-mile loop
- Wheelchair accessible: Discovery + Freedom Trails
- Pet-friendly: No
If you’re looking for a true hiking oasis, look no further than Raven Run Nature Sanctuary. Take the Flower Bowl trail to view some native flora, or our favorite, the Green Trail for the quickest route to the Kentucky River overlook.
- Difficulty: 🥾
- Length: 2.5-mile loop
- Wheelchair accessible: Only at gardens + visitor’s center, the paved path grade exceeds 5% in some areas
- Pet-friendly: Yes
Serving as a state botanical garden, The Arboretum features a variety of flora-filled paths, both paved + mulched. You’ll forget you’re in the middle of town as you notice the native plant collection through the Walk Across Kentucky along the way.
Courthouse Rock is one of many iconic landmarks at Red River Gorge. | Photo courtesy of @billy.hikes
Stanton
- Difficulty: 🥾🥾🥾
- Length: 6-mile loop
- Wheelchair accessible: No
- Pet-friendly: Leashed dogs allowed outside of the Natural Bridge
The Red River Gorge is the hiking staple of Central Kentucky, featuring 10 trails of varied length and difficulty. Our favorites are the Double Arch, Auxier Ridge & Courthouse Rock trifecta, where visitors can enjoy leaf-peeping in the fall or try out their rock-climbing skills at Courthouse Rock.
Just one of the many vast views you can experience at The Pinnacles. | Photo courtesy of @drob12985
Berea
- Difficulty: 🥾🥾
- Length: 1.8 miles out and back
- Wheelchair accessible: No
- Pet-friendly: Yes, leash required
Take a quick drive down I-75 to enjoy the beauty that are The Pinnacles of Berea. With an elevation of 1,537 feet, hikers will have sweeping views of the East Pinnacles atop Indian Fort Mountain.
The Gorge Trail leads to a gorge-ous waterfall. | Photo courtesy of @billy.hikes
Nicholasville
Jessamine County Nature Preserve, Gorge Trail
- Difficulty: 🥾🥾
- Length: 2.1 miles out and back
- Wheelchair accessible: No
- Pet-friendly: No
The Jessamine County Nature Preserve is 155 acres + sits along the Palisades region of the Kentucky River. The Gorge Trail is around two miles long and features a beautiful overlook of Jessamine Creek. Late fall is the best time to hike this trail — foliage tends to obscure the overlook during the summer.
Majestic views just a few minutes outside of Lexington. | Photo courtesy of Richard Coldiron
Frankfort
Cove Spring Park, Raceway Spur Trail
- Difficulty: 🥾
- Length: 0.5-mile loop
- Wheelchair accessible: No
- Pet-friendly: Yes, leash required
This 240-acre nature preserve in Frankfort features waterfalls, springs, and forested ravines. Out of the three trails in the park, we love Raceway Spur Trail for an easy adventure. The leisurely trail will allow you to explore a waterfall and a historic reservoir dam.
Cave Run Lake is a stargazers paradise. | Photo courtesy of @concrete_to_canopy
Morehead
Cave Run Lake, Knob Overlook Trail
- Difficulty: 🥾🥾🥾
- Length: 1.25 miles
- Wheelchair accessible: No
- Pet-friendly: No
Cave Run Lake offers 36+ miles of lakeside hiking trails with picturesque views of Northeastern Kentucky’s Appalachian foothills. If hiking for several days isn’t your forte, check out the Knob Overlook Trail, which gives you sweeping views of the lake.
Harrodsburg
The Preserve, Shaker Village
- Difficulty: 🥾 to 🥾🥾🥾
- Length: Various
- Wheelchair accessible: No
- Pet-friendly: Yes
Did you know there are 12 trails totaling 36 miles at Shaker Village? Three trailheads give access to trails of various levels + lengths across 3,000 acres of land. Designed for hikers, horseback riders, and carriage drivers, cyclists are also welcome, but trails have not been specifically maintained for that purpose.
Get the right gear
Get the most out of your trip with comfortable, handy, and helpful hiking gear:
- For the best footwear, check out Nordstrom Rack’s sneaker edit for hiking.
- If your trail demands a proper hiking boot, we like Columbia’s collection on Amazon.
- Travel light (but still have room for snacks) with lululemon’s Everywhere Belt Bag.
- Get a good bulk deal on Perfect Bars, Clif Bars, or Kind Bars at a warehouse store like Sam’s Club.
- Don’t forget to bring a compact, portable phone charger (you’ll thank us later).
- We like this Teton hiking backpack.
- We like this lightweight water bottle.
- Psst — to be ultra-prepared, here are the 10 items you should never enter a national park without, according to the National Park Service.
