KNOTT COUNTY HORSEBACK TRAIL RIDES
May 4-6, 2012
October 5-7, 2012
Click here for information on the Knott Co. Stampede Endurance Race, October 15-16, 2011
The Trail Ride Camping area will be open from Sunday for those who wish to come in early. Click here for details on the Mine Made Adventure Park Campground
The Mine Made Adventure Park is made up of hundreds of miles of trails on 43,000 acres of reclaimed coal land located just outside the towns of Leburn and Hindman in the Appalachian mountains of East Kentucky AND best of all - they are open YEAR ROUND!Hot showers are available for $5 (contact Tim Cody at (606) 233-0080).
This year’s Knott County Trail Ride takes place Friday October 7th – Sunday October 9th although many people come in early and stay all week. Concessions usually open on Friday although we have heard one or more concessions may be setting up earlier in the week this year. There will be guided rides Friday, Saturday, and possibly on Sunday morning. The trails are very well marked so if you prefer to ride on your own or with your own group, you are welcome to do so.
There will also be some local bands performing both nights. And back by popular demand will be Paul Bogart and Ricochet.
The cost to camp is $15 per person for the entire weekend. Children 12 or under are admitted free.
No electricity on site although many people bring generators. Please Note: In the early morning and at dusk, one can hear the elk bugle this time of year which is amazing to hear. But loud generators block out the sound so, if you bring a generator, please try to bring a quiet one.
The local fire departments bring water up to the camping area and do an amazing job keeping the water troughs full.
Port-a-Johns are located throughout the camping area. The County also brings in a large trailer that sets up Thursday and offers hot showers for $5 each Friday - Sunday. Boy does it feel good after a full day of riding. Do bring your own towels.
Campfires are fine at your campsite. There are pickets to tie up your horses by the stage area which is also a great place to “park your horses” when grabbing a bite to eat at the concessions area.
Ice is for sale on site as is firewood.
The address to plug into your Navigation System is :
14 Clydean Road, Leburn KY 41831 This will actually take you to the BP Station at the intersection of Hwy 80 & Hwy 1098 where you will take Hwy 1098 North. Go exactly 2 miles to top of mountain and turn left onto Elk View Drive and follow the signs to the campground.
Exact GPS coordinates for the two locations:
Knott County ATV Safety Training Center/Campground 37 24 32 68n 82 59 39 80w
The cost for the entire weekend is $15 per person, children 12 and under are admitted for free. For more information contact (270) 781-6858, or (270) 792-5300 Cell or keep visiting us online for more information on the Trail Rides as well as other trails being developed in Knott County.
Knott County 2011 Spring Trail Ride was the biggest Spring Ride ever! Thousands of people from 15 different states attended this year’s event. Riders came from Mississippi , Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Florida , Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Alabama. We even had riders from Bethleham & Morris Connecticut, Kapolei Hawaii and Clipper Mills California.
The Spring Ride brought more children, dogs and wagons than ever before. This has truly become a family event. Each year, people set up camp earlier and stay longer. And people keep coming back each year with over 50% having attended the trail ride at least three years although 20% attended for the first time. All who were interviewed plan to come back for the Fall ride.
Bands this year included Josh Slone & Tyler Stephens on Friday night. Glen Ritchie, Ricky Prater and Goose Creek Symphony performed Saturday night and Paul Bogart performed both nights. Paul Bogart plans to come back for the Fall ride. Also performing this Fall will be Joe Diffey on Friday night and both Pam Tillis and Lorrie Morgan on Saturday night.
Winners of a free T-shirt and free admission to the Fall Ride for completing a survey were:
Donald Prater, Emmalena KY
Angela Handshoe, LaGrange IN
Lynn Gravel, Bethleham CT
Ray Adkins, Clipper Mills CA
In a conversation with Ray, he said his friend invited him to attend this year’s ride. They brought two horses with them, spent six days tent camping and had a great time. Ray says he plans to travel from California in the Fall to attend the Ride…if his friend invites him. Sure hope he does.
We have also posted on facebook at Knott County Trail Rides. To view professional photos taken at the event, go to the following websites:
* Photos taken by West's Studio can be found at www.eventsphotobywestsstudio.photoreflect.com
* Photos taken by the Picture Lady are now being downloaded at http://pictureladyphotos.com/
* And photos taken by Lisa Dobson can be found on her facebook. She is the one who was taking photos down by the creek. Her e-mail is doblisa15@yahoo.com and her
phone number is 606-854-6445.
Bands for the 2011 Spring Trail Ride were Paul Bogart & Goose Creek Symphony. Local bands started performing at around 5 pm on Friday & Saturday nights and featured bands at around 8 PM.
Please remember to bring your up-to-date health certificates and coggins for your horses. (If an address is needed for the vet to use: 54 West Main Street, Hindman, KY-please note that this address will not work for GPS coordinates). State Requires that horses have this paperwork.
PHOTOS
Click here for photos from the Fall 2010 Ride plus check us out on Facebook for more photos.
From Lexington: Take I-75 to I-64 east, exit onto the Mountain Parkway and follow to Highway 15 exit at Campton. Follow Highway 15 to Highway 80 east. Follow Hwy 80 east to the Highway 1098 intersection at Soft Shell. Follow Hwy 1098 to Elk View Drive. Follow Elk View Drive to Sutton Memorial Drive. This will lead you directly to the Trail Ride.
From London: Take the Daniel Boone Parkway east (this turns into Hwy 80 east at Hazard); follow Hwy 80 to the Highway 1098 intersection at Soft Shell; follow Hwy 1098 north to Elk View Drive; follow Elk View Drive to Sutton Memorial Drive to the Trail Ride.
