Big Sandy Area Kentucky Trails

[HillbillyMapper]

I am a GIS specialist for the Big Sandy Area Development District in Prestonsburg, KY. As part of a tourism project I have developed for the region (which technically includes Floyd, Johnson, Magoffin, Martin, and Pike counties) I am currently trying to map all known hiking trails in the development district. I have one small problem- I don't know if I know all of the hiking trails in the area or not! It would be really helpful to me if any of you could let me know the whereabouts of trails that you frequent (or better yet, save your tracks the next time you're on them and email them to me). This project won't be earning me any money, the development district is a non-profit organization. I'm just doing this to try to develop a website that will have fairly accurate maps of all the available walking/biking/ATV trails in eastern-most Kentucky. Of course, the more help I get from everyone out here in digi-land, the more expansive this project can be and won't have to be limited by what time and resources I have.

 

Anyone that "donates" trail information (in the form of digital coordinates) will have their name added to the metadata for that trail. Eventually, this information will also be available through Kentucky's GIS website as well.

 

Below is a list of trails that I have:

 

Elkhorn Recreational & Educational Park (Wayland, Floyd Co., KY)

Garfield Trail (Prestonsburg, Floyd Co., KY)

Various Dewey Lake trails (Prestonsburg, Floyd Co., KY)

Kiwanis Trail (Staffordsville, Johnson Co., KY)

 

Following are trails I do not have, but know exist (at least in some form):

The Jenny Wiley Trail (several counties in eastern KY...would like to have in county sections)

Trails around Fishtrap Lake (Pike Co., KY)

Pine Mountain Trail(s) (Elkhorn City, Pike Co., KY)

 

Know of any others? Please share them!

[+niffir]

What exactly are you considering a trail for these purposes? On public land? Commonly used even if ownership of land is not known? What is the minimum distance? Not that I can really think of any from the places I lived in Johnson and Pike counties no matter what the requirements The only one I can think of is known as the "skip path" because it connects my old high school with the town by walking along a mountainside-- so kids would use it to skip school.

 

Should be an interesting project. Is there a web page that we can view to see what you have so far, or is it too preliminary for that?

[HillbillyMapper]

At this point, we are considering pretty much any trail that is used for recreation. (Part of a larger project we are working on doesn't consider whether or not trails are on private land, but requires that they be mapped for emergency management purposes.) As folks in this area can be pretty suspicious about strangers walking across their property (even if they don't have a physical structure on it), I'd really rather stick to trails that are more or less "public" in nature. Certainly there are some trails that go through lands owned by mining companies that are well known and well used that certainly need to be included. In most cases, the mine operators are aware of these uses and don't have a problem with it unless folks begin messing with their operations. (BTW- Though I'm not exactly a proponent of mountain-top removal, some innovative and caring coal operators are beginning to try to convert their old mines into nature-friendly areas that outdoor enthusiasts can use for all kinds of different recreation. We should really encourage more of this.)

 

The most I can tell you is to use your best judgment. Is it a trail that other people would enjoy using if they knew about it? That's really the main criteria for my project. Distance isn't really an issue for this project. Depending on what I can see along the trail, it may be worth a long drive to hike 2/10's of a mile. This project is in its infancy right now, so no web pages just yet, though online maps will be the major thrust of the project. We'll also try to secure funding (through donations or grants) to place paper maps at the head of each trail we are able to map.

 

Thanks for your interest.

[+rwervin]

HillBilly, check out www.kyoutdoors.com for several ATV/ORV clubs (I'm a member of the Harlan County Ridge Runners) that can give you info on the ATV/ORV trail systems that are in use. As a club, we are very careful to only ride in permitted areas. I'm just getting started in caching, but I'm sure many of these guys have mapped the areas.

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

BTW, there are almost no caches in these trail systems.....YET!!

Edited May 23, 2007 by rwervin

[bryanatoms]

We are hosting a couple Geocaching Event at the Floyd County Public Library. I just took a foot tour of a couple locations on the map. There was nothing there. I am thinking about just putting somethings out just for our event. Would I have to go through you or can I list them myself?