The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area was created in 1974 and winds its way through parts of southeastern Kentucky and northeastern Tennessee. The park's nearly 200 square miles contain some of the most fascinating rock formations, waterfalls, and historical areas seen anywhere. This article is concentrated on the Kentucky side of this park, located in McCreary County.
Yahoo Falls and Yahoo Arch
Just off of the curvy, narrow Hwy. 700 is a gravel road that leads to the hiking paths of Yahoo Falls and Yahoo Arch. Yahoo Falls is Kentucky's tallest waterfall, and can be viewed from many different angles along the trails. Brave hikers can even walk into the falls itself.
From the parking area, the shortest route to the falls is .25 of a mile. The best way to navigate the trails is to follow the left path to the steep set of stairs, walk the path to the falls, then walk behind the falls and follow the trail back up the hill. From there, hikers can choose whether to go right, back to the parking area, or left, to Yahoo Arch.
The arch is one of many natural arch and shelter formations in the park. The trails here allow visitors to walk under the arch, and even on top of it, which is different from most other arches in the park which do not allow you to walk on top. From the parking area, the arch is 1.5 miles. The paths here are easy to moderate in difficulty, but steep in places.
Bear Creek and Split Bow Arch
Highway 742, off of Hwy. 741, leads to the rest of the area's major scenic views. Signs mark the roads where visitors can find sights such as the Bear Creek scenic area and the Split Bow Arch.
The Split Bow Arch Overlook is the first place to visit. It is not far from the road and allows a view from above the arch. A separate trail leads hikers to the base of the arch. This trail can be found further up the road, where there is a parking area and signs for both the Split Bow trail and the Bear Creek Overlook trail.
The Split Bow trail is .7 of a mile to the arch. The trail then loops back to the parking area. This is a moderately difficult trail. The other trail is very easy, .3 of a mile trail that leads to a wooden overlook, offering a stunning view of miles of Kentucky hills, peace, and quiet.
River Gorge and Devil's Jump
Just down Hwy. 742 from the road to Bear Creek is the road to the River Gorge and Devil's Jump overlooks. The Devil's Jump overlook is wheelchair accessible. It is a paved path leading down to a large wooden overlook where travelers can view the Big South Fork River, and hear the roar of the river rapids.
One can see the River Gorge Overlook area from Devil's Jump, but to get to it, visitors need to drive down the road a little further. Here they will find a parking and picnic area, as well as the trail to the River Gorge Overlook. This overlook also has a beautiful view of the river and surrounding hills. The trail, although it is only .3 of a mile, is very steep and gives the hiker a good workout.
This road also offers a parking area for those who want to tackle the 6.5 mile loop trail known as the Blue Heron Loop. This is a moderate trail that passes through several scenic views and overlooks, and passes by the Blue Heron Mining Camp.
Blue Heron and the Coal Mining Camps
Two historical coal mining camps are found at the end of Hwy. 742. The right fork of the road leads to the Barthal Coal Mining Camp. The left fork leads to Blue Heron, where there is another access point to the Blue Heron Loop trail. This article has more information about this area.
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