The Sheltowee Trace Trail is a

National Recreation Trail The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

that was created in 1979 and stretches from the Burnt Mill Bridge Trail Head in the

Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, commonly known as Big South Fork, preserves the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River and its tributaries in northeastern Tennessee and southeastern Kentucky. Within it are reminders of t ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

() to northern Rowan County,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

(). The trail is named after

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...

, who was given the name Sheltowee (meaning "Big Turtle") when he was adopted as the son of the great warrior

Chief Blackfish Blackfish (c. 1729–1779) ( or ) was a Native American leader, war chief of the Chillicothe band of the Shawnee tribe. Biography Little is known about him, since he only appears in written historical records during the last three years of his ...

of the

Shawnee tribe The Shawnee Tribe is a Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Native American tribe in Oklahoma. Formerly known as the Loyal Shawnee, they are one of three federally recognized Shawnee tribes. The others are the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe ...

. The trail is primarily in the

Daniel Boone National Forest The Daniel Boone National Forest (originally the Cumberland National Forest) is a national forest in Kentucky, United States. Established in 1937, it includes of federally owned land within a proclamation boundary. The name of the forest was ...

, but also takes visitors through the

, Cumberland Falls State Resort Park,

Natural Bridge State Resort Park Natural Bridge State Resort Park is a public recreation area located along the Middle Fork of the Red River, two miles south of the unincorporated community of Slade, in Powell and Wolfe counties, Kentucky, United States. The state park lies ...

, two large recreation lakes (

Cave Run Lake Cave Run Lake, located south of Morehead, Kentucky, USA along Kentucky Route 801, is an reservoir built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The , half-mile (800 m) dam (and outlet works) construction began in 1965 and was completed in 1973. ...

and Laurel Lake), and many wildlife management areas. All but the southernmost are in Kentucky. The trail is multi-use, with certain designated sections allowing

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 milli ...

mountain bikes A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling (''mountain biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...

and

all-terrain vehicles An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike or quad (if it has four wheels), as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat ...

. However, the use of off-road motorcycles, SUVs, 4x4, ATVs and even mountain bikes in certain areas can result in equipment confiscation and fines. While the southern terminus was moved in 2014, the trail into Pickett State Park remains open for those that wish to exit on that trail or wish to walk further down the scenic Rock Creek. The movement and addition of 10 miles of trail onto the Kentucky Trail in the Big South Fork in 2019 added 10 miles to the Trace's previous length of 323 miles.

References

External links

Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail
from a U.S. Forest Service website, including
map
in

PDF format Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating system ...

Mapping the Sheltowee
a GIS mapping website from a

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

company
Sheltowee Trace Association
a group of volunteers that maintain the Trace {{Authority control Hiking trails in Tennessee Hiking trails in Kentucky Landmarks in Kentucky Long-distance trails in the United States National Recreation Trails in Kentucky National Recreation Trails in Tennessee