Daniel Boone National Forest - Yahoo Falls and Cumberland Falls

Daniel Boone National Forest, KY - Yahoo Falls and Cumberland Falls

May 3, 2014

We had a busy hiking day today.  We started out near Whitley City, KY for a hike to Yahoo Falls, the tallest waterfall in Kentucky.

The hike wasn't too long, though it had some stairs.  If you do the whole loop trail, you get to go behind the falls, and then climb up and around to see from the top.  There is a side trail to see an arch, but we didn't go there this trip.

My brother and I in front of Yahoo Falls.

Walking the path "underneath" the falls.

After our hike at Yahoo Falls, we drove to Cumberland Falls State Park.  Our first hike was on the Eagle Falls trail.  This trail was one of the most scenic trails I have ever hiked!  After a short distance, you get a view of Cumberland Falls from the other side of the river of that main park.  That's where we made our first video!  My brother took the opportunity to make this one.

Continuing on the trail, we eventually reached Eagle Falls.  This is a much smaller waterfall than Cumberland Falls, but was still worth the hike!

We ended the day exploring the park side of Cumberland Falls.  It was getting dark so we couldn't stay long.

Cumberland Falls at dusk.

Truly a one of a kind experience!  Unfortunately, we were not at the park for the famous moonbow, but maybe we'll go back again someday.


For more information, please visit http://parks.ky.gov/parks/resortparks/Cumberland-falls/default.aspx and http://www.nps.gov/biso/planyourvisit/kytrails.htm

Notes for parents:
The trail at yahoo falls was fairly family friendly.  There were steps that could be taken to get down to the bottom of the falls, or you could take the loop path over the falls and back down from the other side.  Please use caution when near the top of the falls, as it is a 130 foot drop.  You would need to go off path to find much danger, however.  The Eagle Falls trail was about 4 miles in total length, and we would consider it difficult even without children.  To get to Eagle Falls, you go down some stairs down to the river bank.  When we hiked, there was a massive debris field of limbs that we had to climb over to get to the falls.  This could be dangerous with children.  We took our time and made it successfully, but please be very cautious.  There were a few parts of the remainder of the trail that followed a creek that could be slippery/dangerous, but the worst was behind us.  This was one of our favorite trails to hike, though was very strenuous.  Also of note, parking on this side of the river was fairly limited.