Levi Jackson State Park and Cumberland Falls…

After spending a few days in the Renfro Valley we moved a little further south to Levi Jackson State Park. We spent a few days at this state park since it was close to Cumberland Falls and. Cumberland Falls was on my list of top attractions in the state of Kentucky for us to see.

We pulled into Levi Jackson State Park and found our site for the weekend in what was to be a very crowded park. It is not an overly big rig friendly park but does have some sites in its “B” loop that are perfect for big rigs. Our pull through site  further down was on an arch and had a moderate slope from back to front. The result was that the front of our RV was completely off the ground. I am not a big fan of putting any of my tires airborne but here we had no choice. At least it  was only for a few days so I wasn’t too concerned.

The park itself has some trails along what is known as Boone's Trace where  Daniel Boone, an American pioneer, marked a trail for other pioneers to follow west into America’s heartland during the spring of 1775. To have the opportunity to walk on such a historic trail was also on our to do list. The trails themselves were not overly exciting but the historical significance of them  did not go unforgotten. It was fun walking along the trails thinking back to all the pioneers that must have made this trek and endured many a hardship as a result. The trail also led to a Mountain Life Museum within the park which we did hike to but found it to be closed on that Sunday.

Another day we drove over to Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. I would be remiss not to point out that all of Kentucky’s State Parks are free to enter. Having no fee for entrance ensures that the state’s people will all be able to visit their wonders. Quite a novel thought which we feel many other states should consider.

There are 17 miles of hiking trails that wind through this park to scenic areas but the main attraction here is Cumberland Falls. Often referred to as the Niagara of the South these falls flow over a sandstone substrate that is slowly giving way to the erosive forces of the nature. Cumberland Falls are 68 feet high and 125 feet wide and were blowing full force due to all the rains this area has received over the past 20 days.

As we walked down below the falls we could see the effect of power of the water as the base of the stairway at the bottom of the trail was in shambles as high water and powerful forces completely destroyed  its lower portion. Huge logs (once trees) were strewn about the lower reaches of the waterfall. We could really feel the force of mother nature’s fury…