Looking for the best trails around Louisville?

Explore the best rated trails in Louisville, KY, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Patoka Lake Bike Trails and Ohio River Greenway . With more than 9 trails covering 73 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.

Recent Trail Reviews

Louisville Loop

Simply one of the best trails

May, 2024 by robert.richter89

I rode the entirety of the Parklands of Floyds Fork section on a very sunny spring day. I have ridden trails in many states and this was one of the best trails I've ever experienced. It is very well maintained, has breathtaking scenery and has multiple trailheads many of which have some of the cleanest bathrooms I've ever seen on a trail.

I started at the Beckley Creek trailhead which made the first few miles very hilly. As a mostly rail-trail rider this trail has many hills, curves and switchbacks. I very much enjoyed the challenge this provided but some of the hills will surprise you. I also found the trail mostly easy to navigate but the first few miles my wife and I made a few wrong turns until we found the Loop. I ended at the Broad Run Park trailhead which was much less hilly so starting there would make the beginning of your ride much easier.

After the first few miles which also seemed to be the busiest the trail starts to flatten out and become more rural. The scenery changes from playgrounds to fields of wildflowers, farms and wooded areas. There was never a dull moment in the scenery or the trail itself as it does require you to pay attention due to the hills and curves.

The trail is perfectly paved and there are trailheads every few miles. Most trailheads had shelters and bathrooms which gives plenty of options to start and end your ride. Residents of Louisville are very lucky to have this gem of a trail right outside of their city.

Heritage Trail of Madison

Thanksgiving Day 2023

November, 2023 by stephanie.barrett

Earlier this year, my parents stumbled upon part of this trail and were eager to introduce it to me when I was in town for the holiday. As a new professional in the railroading industry, I was excited to enjoy one of the Rails-to-Trails in person after hearing high praise from my colleagues. The area is very well maintained with clear signage, greenery, and historical markers. Since my parents (who are in their 70s) did not feel comfortable traversing the steep incline that leads to the Hospital, we instead opted for the Crooked Creek West Trail and Deer Path. These were much more accessible due to being mostly flatter terrain and led us to the abandoned Crooked Creek Phantom Bridge of Madison, Indiana. I would love to see more historical information on display to enrich the experience. It was very cool to see parts of the rail stamped with the original mill marks of Carnegie Steel from the 1905 installation!

Pro Tip: Start at the waterfront downtown for easy parking and a better, more scenic starting point that follows the waterway.

Louisville Loop

Louisville Loop (The Parklands of Floyds Fork)

November, 2023 by thejake91739

On a chilly morning in late October with a temperature hovering at forty degrees, I ventured out onto the Louisville Loop's Parklands of Floyds Fork portion of trails. The Parklands is made up of five sections in a rural setting, and I rode four of them out and back.

BECKLEY CREEK PARK
First of all, this section is surprisingly hilly at the start and toward the end. Even the bridges over the creek were steep! Thank goodness for my Swytch pedal assist! It's especially picturesque with beautiful creek and woodlands views. The calls of birds will accompany you throughout this section.
(Unfortunately, the connecting trail to Pope Lick Park was closed as of October 23 due to construction, so back up the trail, pack up the bike, and drive to the next trailhead.)

POPE LICK PARK & THE STRAND
If you're averse to hills, then these are the sections for you. If you're also into sensational creek views and crossing over bridges, you'll be in heaven.. These two sections also contain beautiful scenery of wooded hills, farmland with field of corn, and a few charming country homes. Keep your eyes peeled for turtles. I saw about a dozen of them sunning themselves on a log extending into the creek. Rust colored fuzzy caterpillars with a black collar and black rear tip were also all over the trail. By far, these portions of the trail were the busiest with bicyclists and walkers.

TURKEY RUN PARK
Again, if you're not into hills, this is not a good section for you. With my pedal assist it was not an issue, and it was especially fun going through the woods and seeing the multitude of squirrels with nuts in their mouths scampering across the path and up trees. Of course the silo at the top of the hill is one of the stars of this section and is most definitely worth the climb to the top. From there you can see the trail head down through Turkey Park to the north, and the trail also heading down to the south and Broad Run Park (which I didn't have time to do).

CONCLUSION
All in all, I did 31 miles in this superlative park. The trail is superb: wide, smooth, and curvy which adds to the fun and interest! The park has real restrooms that are clean and have sinks. No porta-potties for The Parklands! This park system is obviously much beloved by the community. There were many happy, friendly folks utilizing it on a weekday. It's evident that a great deal of thought and planning went into this treasure! It's a model of what a park should be. The rest of the country should come and study it. It is most certainly a destination bike ride. I came all the way from California to ride this, and I have no regrets! What a gem of a park and trail system!

(This was the 49th state I've ridden my bike in. Thanks for making it a great one, Louisville! On to Hawaii!)

Accordion

Patoka Lake Bike Trails

This trail was awesome. So much beauty throughout between the trees and the lake. Well paved. There is a $7 fee to get in the park but it is well worth it!

October, 2023 by jlhayden17

This trail was awesome. So much beauty throughout between the trees and the lake. Well paved. There is a $7 fee to get in the park but it is well worth it!

Louisville Loop

Avoid Downtown Section

September, 2023 by mbarelmann

The downtown section west from the Big 4 Bridge was awful. Poorly maintained and a lot of sketchy areas. Do yourself a favor and ride across the Big 4 Bridge into Indiana and ride the trail west from there. Nice trail and some nice views of the river.

Louisville Loop

Quiet nice

September, 2023 by gary.turner2

You won’t be disappointed!

Louisville Loop

Amazing Trail - Part 2

May, 2023 by gary.heissler_tl

We continued our ride at the Pope Lick trailhead (right after the Taylorsville closure) and rode south 10 miles to the Brown-Forman Silo center. The first 7 miles were relatively flat and the last 3 very hilly. Most of the trail sections we rode were in the sun which may make this a little warm in the summer. However, it was very evident that Louisville spared no expense on this section of the trail.

Louisville Loop

Amazing Trail - Part 1

May, 2023 by gary.heissler_tl

We road the Parklands of Floyd’s Fork trail which is the section east of downtown Louisville. It was an amazing ride with diverse scenery. We’ve ridden quite a few trails and this ranks right up there with any of the hall of fame trails we ridden. We started at the most north trailhead in Beckley Park. We road 5 miles south to the Taylorsville road closure. It was very hilly with steep grade warnings and we felt very lucky to be on hybrid bikes!

Indian Creek Trail (IN)

Great trail

March, 2023 by wmjppfb2xn

Easy access from either end of the trail. Great trail that winds through a part of town and along a train track, then along the River. Some mud and debris along the low portion of the trail, but most had be removed allowing easy biking or walking rail road tracks and parks. Trail was well marked and mainly concrete that was mainly cleared after some flooding. Easy to bike or walk with some inclines. Nice trail!

Indian Creek Trail (IN)

This is a beautiful trail with a gorgeous creek....worth the drive from Louisville

January, 2023 by jlhayden17

This is a beautiful trail with a gorgeous creek....worth the drive from Louisville

Discovery Trail (IN)

Good condition, well lighted, good for walking and cycling. Nice amenities, well marked, security cameras in place, connects to other nearby trail systems.

January, 2023 by j_l_grabowski

Good condition, well lighted, good for walking and cycling. Nice amenities, well marked, security cameras in place, connects to other nearby trail systems.

Louisville Loop

Tale of Two Trails

August, 2022 by bikin-mike

Tale of 2 trails….maybe 3

All the glowing reviews are for the Parklands of Floyds Fork. Look out when you go downtown!!!

5 stars for Floyds but 2 stars for downtown.

We parked at Turkey Run Park on Seatonville Rd. Turned out to be almost perfect midpoint. Rode 10 miles North to end at Miles Garden. All concrete except for the section North of Taylorsville Rd. Relatively flat except for the tough long climb North of Taylorsville and then at the very end approaching Miles Garden.

In the afternoon we parked at the South end at Broad Run Park. Rode about 10 miles North to Turkey Run. Much different experience. Same great trail surface, but many more hills. I think we had 3 steep climbs. I got off and pushed on a couple. Windy downhills were fun though. Amazing that this beautiful park is not tax supported. A real gem indeed!

Downtown is a different story. Parked at Big Four and headed West. Pretty nice for first couple miles. Started seeing some homeless tents under I-64 past the Science Center parking around 9th Street. Had some folks riding go carts and scooters on the trail and wouldn’t move over for bicycles. The real “fun” started after the railroad underpass where trail turns right. Down a sidewalk with some flood level markers in the pavement, then a couple sharp turns into a wooded park. Pavement ends. All dirt and mud. Abandoned cars. We finally turned around when we got to a bridge with mud halfway up to the railings. (see pic) Do yourself a favor. Turnaround when you see the sign at Portland Wharf Park that says Loop Alt Route. (see pic) Was about 4.2 miles from Big Four to Portland Wharf.

Enjoyed the wide diversity of the 3 rides. Definitely a big change from a typical flat and straight Rail-Trail…..bikin-Mike….Aug 2022

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