Eastern Kentucky tourism has always been a huge part of our heart here at Kentucky Tennessee Living. We love promoting tours, hiking trails, lakes, museums, and Festivals. There is unmatched beauty of the Appalachian Mountains and we are very proud to be from this area. We will be featuring and promoting many businesses and places to visit in Letcher County. Come take a look at the beauty that is within our beloved Appalachian Mountains.
Pine Mountain
Pine Mountain is one of the untouched areas in Eastern Kentucky. It is free from development, strip mines, or logging. Pine Mountain gives breath-taking views of Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Tennessee. Several native species of animals have remained on the mountain. Many of these are flying squirrels, raccoons, opossums, deer, and other native species. Several are being re-introduced such as bears, elk, and others.
Trails
There are several trails to decide on when discovering Pine Mountain. Birch Knob, Birch Knob Highland Section, and Little Shepherd Trail. One of the attractions on the trail is the Killing Rock which is the site of the Killing Rock Massacre of 1892. For more information about the Killing Rock check our videos and website information.
The Pine Mountain State Scenic Trail together with the Pine Mountain Wildlife Corridor Project is bigger than you think. They are the largest landscape-level project in the state of Kentucky. This is a protected area for the migratory corridor. This is for bears, raptors, songbirds, flying squirrels, and other wildlife. Please be kind and leave only your footprints behind you.
The trails are still under construction. They will connect the Breaks Interstate Park with the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. There are currently 42 miles of open trail. These trails are open to all who wish to discover them.
The Pine Mountain State Scenic Trail will connect to the Great Eastern Trail which will run from Alabama to New York. This completed trail will travel through 9 states and have 1,800 miles of foot trails.
For more information on the Kentucky Natural Lands Trust, links are provided below.
Volunteers Needed
There are two ways that you can contribute to the maintenance of the trails. depending on how much time and effort you wish to put into it.
Looking for an alternative to your vacation? Plan a volunteer vacation with the Pine Mountain Trails. You can visit the stunning backcountry locations. And also, help to construct or rebuild footpaths cabins, and shelters. You can meet new people, explore peaks, valleys, and canyons. Then spend quiet evenings around a campfire.
Work fulltime? Try a weekend getaway to help. Everyone meets on Friday Nights to help with the volunteer work. Saturday the volunteers will work on the trail for much-needed maintenance. Then everyone returns home on Monday.
Shuttles and Other Information
Did you follow a trail all the way to the end and need transportation back to your car? Shuttles are available. There is a fee or charge for return trips from the trail. Plan ahead and call to schedule a shuttle.
Address and website links are below for membership applications, trail maps, and shuttle information.
Thank you for reading our article. The Pine Mountain State Scenic Trail and the Pine Mountain Wildlife Corridor Project. We thank you for continuing to support Kentucky Tennessee Living. As we bring to you the history of the Appalachian Mountains.
For more information about The Pine Mountain State Scenic Trail and the Pine Mountain Wildlife Corridor Project
Kentucky Natural Lands Trust
https://knlt.org/
For Membership and Volunteer applications, shuttle information, and trail maps
www.pinemountaintrail.com
Please write to the following for membership forms
Letcher County Cooperative Extension Service
Pine Mountian Trail Conference
P.O. Box 784
Whitesburg, Kentucky, 41858
Copyright and Other Information
All photos are in the public domain unless otherwise noted. This includes photos dated before 1923. All other photos are used with permission or under the education fair use statute of the US copyright law.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.
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When we forget our past and who we are as a people, then we become who “they” say we are. ~~ David Sergent
I have attended the University of Kentucky. I have an Associates Degree from Hazard Community College and Technical School. I have also attended the University of Pikeville. I have taken several classes in Journalism as well as in the Appalachian History, Literature, and Sociology during my time at those schools.
I was born in Florida and grew up in Burdine, Kentucky. I have been married to David W. Sergent since May 4, 2013. I have two children and four grandchildren from a previous marriage. I currently live in Tennessee but my hope is to one day come back home to live in the beautiful mountains once more.
