Trail Biking the Central Hardwoods Scenic Trail

 Saturday, April 23, 2022

Hi Blog!

Today was our last full day here in the Land Between the Lakes Region of southwestern Kentucky. We have been extremely lucky with the weather. With every stop we make, we try to vary our activities. During our stay here, we bonded with the bison and elk, hiked along the Kentucky Lake shoreline, paddled Barkley Lake and visited the National Quilt Museum in Paducah. The only thing left on our list was a bike ride. The Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area has over 100 miles of trails. We couldn't bike them all, so we settled on the Central Hardwoods Scenic Trail.

We started our ride at the trailheal in Canton, Kentucky. Canton had a horse-powered mill, cotton gin, and warehouse and became the center of a thriving shipping location due to its location – right on the banks of the Cumberland River. Canton is now submerged under Lake Barkley, now that the dams have been built.

Our trail took us up and over the Barkley Lake Bridge and on across the ridge of the Land Between the Lakes, west toward the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area Visitor Center. This multi-use trail opened on September 13, 2019.

Recently, a newly-discovered site was unearthed at the Lake Barkley bridge project, just a few feet south of the existing US 68 highway, right on the shores of Lake Barkley.  Sharp stone tools, spear points, scrapers and abundant stone flakes were found in the dig.  The shaping of the tools produced the stone flakes.  This site dates back to 8,000 to 6,000 B.C. during the Early Archaic period.

Just as we started our ride, we noticed a barge making its way toward the bridge, beyond the jetty where we took our selfy above. We raced up the bridge to meet the barge.

We made it just in time to see the barge passing underneath. The pilot house passed right below us and we waved to the Captain. He rewarded us with a long blast of the horn which vibrated right through us!

The path down to the Land between the Lakes was long, straight and fast!

We had about two miles of paved bike path, which ran along the highway. Traffic wasn't heavy, so it was a pleasant pedal. 

We stopped to see these Canada geese. They looked like they were nesting, but we didn't see any little ones. They may have just been sheltering from the wind. 

Once we were off the bridge, the winds were much more manageable.  Here is an in-motion selfie!

We stopped for a few minutes to admire this creek.

We soon left the paved trail behind and began to wind our way over to the Golden Pond Visitors Center. Kathy took advantage of one of the numerous benches along the trail. Each bench is sponsored by a local business and they are in memory of a prior Golden Pond resident.

Golden Pond was one of the settlements in the Land Between The Rivers that was condemned by the government in order to make way for the Land Between the Lakes. The vast area of 265-plus square miles is now completely uninhabited.  No permanent residents live here – only campgrounds, public launch ramps and some popular attractions.  Virtually all structures were either moved out or torn down.  The Golden Pond Overlook window showed where several of the structures once stood.

After leaving the Golden Pond Overlook, we had a steady climb over 4 miles to to the Visitor Center. The trail was mainly fine gravel, but every now and then, we encountered a washout or a heavy gravel area. We had to stay alert to the changing trail conditions.

Every once in a while, you have stop and smell the ... yellow flowers.

Halfway through our ride, we passed a powerline easement. It looks just like the easement we crossed when we hiked the Canal Loop Trail.

We made our way across a number of bridges. As we climbed higher, most of the creeks were dry.

 As you make your way up and up and up, any excuse to stop is welcomed. Here are some purple flox for your enjoyment.

For the most part, the Central Hardwoods Scenic Trail is well maintained. We only encountered one downed tree lying across our path. Some riders just cruised right over the fallen tree, but we could tell by the number of sprocket marks left in the wood that a number of bicyclists scraped over the obstacle. We decided to just lift our bikes over.

Rather than continue on the trail to the Visitors Center, we stopped at the Golden Pond Trailhead. Thanks to the soda and snack machine, we were able to re-hydrate and raise our electrolytes with Gatoraid and Sun Chips! Having the place to ourselves, we relaxed and enjoyed our lunch.

There are no pictures from the return ride.  As it turns out, all that uphill out, meant a lot of fast downhill on the way back to the trailhead. Our total mileage was about 14 miles!

The ride back was fun and exhilerating. By the time we got back to the Lake Barkley Bridge, the winds were howling. If you want to experience what we did, then watch this video showing what it was like to zoom down the Lake Barkley Bridge in 25 mph winds.

Tomorrow, we head to Arkansas. Looking forward to digging for diamonds!