In a county full of hills and country roads, one would expect many more hiking trails in it. Greenup County isn’t very full of public trails, but the Jesse Stuart Preserve Trail is a Greenup County trail that you don’t wanna miss. Located not too far into the county is this 1.6 mile trail, generally considered an easy route.
The 710-acre Jesse Stuart Preserve Trail was dedicated on December 7, 1979 after an acquisition in a gift-purchase exchange from internationally-known, Greenup County-raised author Jesse Stuart. This land includes “W-Hollow”, land that was made famous in his works.
How to Get to Jesse Stuart Preserve Trail
If you’re wondering how to get to the Jesse Stuart Preserve Trail, I’m here to help you. It’s not too far off into the hills of Greenup County, but it’s easy to wonder whether or not you’re going the right way. You should be able to easily punch in Jesse Stuart State Nature Preserve into your preferred maps application and be taken right there, but some cell phone providers may not provide service this far out; I know I had no service at all when I took the trail, so screenshot this and hopefully you can get there with no trouble!
If you’re coming from Portsmouth, then you’ll want to take US 23 South into the City of Greenup.
If you’re coming from Ashland, then you’ll want to take US 23 North into the City of Greenup.
Once you get into the Greenup, you’ll turn at the Super Quik station. It’s impossible to miss; it’ll be on a little corner on the right or left side of the road, depending on where you’re coming from. The junction that you’re looking for is that of US 23 and Kentucky Route 1.
Once you enter the terminus of Route 1, you’ll travel for about two miles until you reach Kentucky Route 2433, or West Hollow Road.
If you’re coming from Huntington, then you’ll want to take I-64 West, and then you’ll take Exit 179 to Kentucky Route 67 North (also known as the Industrial Parkway). You’ll travel on the IP for about 9.5 miles, and then you’ll turn onto Kentucky Route 207 South. You’ll travel for about 2 miles on 207, and then you’ll take Kentucky Route 1 North. After about 2.6 miles on this road, you will turn left onto Kentucky Route 2433, or West Hollow Road.
You’ll travel for about 3 minutes or 1.6 miles on some narrow, curvy country roads, and then the destination will be on your right. You have arrived at the Jesse Stuart Preserve Trail.
Jesse Stuart Preserve Trail
The Jesse Stuart Preserve Trail actually consists of two smaller trails: the 1.8 mile Seaton Ridge Loop and the 0.3 mile Shingle Mill Hollow. The two trails run into each other, so the entire thing is considered one big loop.
While AllTrails claims that the trail is 1.6 miles long, the map indicates that the trail is 2.1 miles long. I’m not sure which one we should believe. My AllTrails navigation shows 1.53 miles, but I accidentally didn’t start it until a little bit into the trail. I also didn’t take the Shingle Mill Hollow trail by accident, so it seems that the trail would be closer to 2.1 miles.
The trail was muddy when I took it, but I blame that on the rain from the night prior. The sun was out and shining, but there hadn’t been enough time passed to clear all the leftover rain water and dry out the trail. I have no doubt in my mind that after a few solid days of sun, this would be a fairly dry trail for most of the way.
The trail gets pretty narrow at points, but it also gets very wide at other points. You will find that some of the pathways are a little bit uneven and hard to navigate; at one point I felt like I was walking sideways, which is something that I don’t feel that I encounter too very often on a hiking trail.
There are some spots on the trail that are impossible to pass without going through some muddy waters. Fortunately I had a quality pair of shoes. I swear by these shoes. I used to just use some old hiking boots that I purchased from Walmart, and within a few months they had started to show a lot of wear and generally didn’t really do what I needed them to do. They were heavy and bulky, and didn’t give my feet a lot of breathing room. Since I switched to my Merrell’s, I feel more confident in my ability to hit the trail and my purchase has actually motivated me to do so more often. They are lightweight and versatile; the perfect blend of athletic shoes and hiking boots.
At one point in the main trail, there is an old barn and I believe that is where the second trail starts. I followed the markings and continued on the main trail; I did see some markings for the other trail, but by mistake I didn’t take it. My assumption is that this trail loops around the old barn and gives more views of it.
I will say that the old barn did creep me out for whatever reason. I’m not sure what the story behind it is, but maybe re-reading some of the works of Jesse Stuart may help me.
The trail is marked very often and very well. The markings are done by tree paint, and the markings resemble a flying bird which I thought was a really unique and interesting way of marking the trail.
There is also not a whole lot of elevation on this one. There were a few steep moments, and there were some medium sized hills, but it wasn’t very challenging. A couple of stops on the way up and my out-of-shape self was completely fine.
The trail also provides some nice views of the rolling Greenup County, Kentucky hills, as well as a few cool rock formations and lots of views and sounds of streams running alongside the trail.
I didn’t notice many downed limbs or trees or anything of that nature. There was one point which a downed limb had covered the trail, but it was very easily maneuverable and simple to go around. The trail seems to be very well-maintained, with really no noticeable trash.
It was a very peaceful place and I’d like to try it again and knock out the other portion of the trail this time. I’d highly recommend this for anyone looking for a short and easy hike that you may have never been on before.
What about you? Have you hiked the Jesse Stuart Preserve Trail? What did you think of it?