USDA Forest Service
 
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USDA Forest Service
Daniel Boone
National Forest
1700 Bypass Road
Winchester, KY 40391

Phone: 859-745-3100
FAX: 859-744-1568

Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail

Travel the Sheltowee Trace, a 269-mile multiple-use national recreation trail that traverses the length of the Daniel Boone National Forest. The trail is named in honor of Daniel Boone. Sheltowee (meaning Big Turtle) was the name given Boone when he was adopted into the Shawnee tribe as the son of the great war chief Blackfish. Boone made several explorations through the area that is now the Daniel Boone National Forest, in search of a route from Virginia to Kentucky. Today many of the creeks, streams and landmarks bear the names given to them by "Sheltowee."

The Cumberland Plateau, with its magnificent forests, lush cane breaks, and varied flora, was home to many important game species such as wild turkey, deer, and bear. The characteristics that made it a fertile hunting ground and home for prehistoric populations also attracted Boone and other explorers more than 200 years ago.

Portions of the Sheltowee Trace meanders along high, narrow ridges and cliffs, and into deep gorges along small, clear streams and whitewater rivers. The Trace also travels on roads or rights-of-way through private land.

These diverse landforms give rise to a great variety of trees, wildflowers, birds, and animals, including threatened and endangered species such as the Virginia big-eared bat, freshwater mussels, running buffalo clover, and white-haired goldenrod.

As a visitor to the Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail, feel free to explore and discover the natural attractions along the trail. Because of the mixed land ownership, the trail travels along roads as well as in the woods. It touches significant historic trails like the Wilderness Road and Warrior's Path, often following them for a short distance.

Brochures and Maps.
You can view a 16x22 pdf map of Sheltowee Trace. A brochure about the Sheltowee Trace can be sent to you. If you need more specific information, visit the Sheltowee Trail Sections. Or you may purchase topographic maps of the trail at Maps and Publications.

For more information
Feel free to contact the Ranger Districts to find out more specific information about trail conditions.

Another source of information is Johnny Molloy's book "Day & Overnight Hikes, Kentucky's Sheltowee Trace" (196 pages, paperback, Menasha Ridge Press).

  • Morehead District:
    Sections 1 - 5 and parts of Section 9 (2.5 miles closed - North half of the Caney Loop) are closed.
  • London District:
    The bridge at Bark Camp Creek on the Sheltowee Trace was recently washed out by flood waters. Hikers will have to use an alternate route until the bridge can be replaced.

Author: Recreation Staff
Last Updated: March 22, 2005

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