Pine Mountain State Resort Park

Our spring break trip continued into Kentucky and to Pine Mountain State Resort Park (from here forth known as PMSRP).  We had one stop at Kingdom Come State Park before reaching this park but I will write about that once I have photos uploaded.

Driving through Kentucky was pretty remarkable. I have been to Kentucky before but I was much younger and don’t remember much. The backroads all seemed to follow a beautiful mountain stream and wind through little towns. I would have never reached any destination if I had stopped to take photos every time I saw something beautiful.

PMSRP looks like a very fun place. We only stayed one night but while there we played putt putt golf and hiked to Honeymoon Falls. The lodge was very beautiful and the room we had was cozy. I will say that the walls at this lodge are thin. I did not sleep well at this place as someone had a baby who was up often during the night and I was able to hear the crying. Other than that, really nice place.  The food at the restaurant was good as well.

Our hike took us to Honeymoon Falls. The trail is very easy and round trip is approximately 3 miles. If you’d like all the minute details you can see my write-up on TheOutbound (in face you should sign-up for the site because it is fantastic – check out my adventures.  My son and I had a blast on this trail. There was a really pretty creek to follow, rocks to jump, rocks to climb, logs to cross and, finally, a pretty waterfall.

One of the coolest things we experienced as very cool air coming out of a cave. The opening was very low to the ground. It would have taken a brave soul to try and crawl into it. I imagine it goes deep and connects with the creek which is what provided the cool air. We were warm so it felt really great.  The trail was enveloped by rhododendrons and the rocks were green with moss. Everything was so pretty. We spent some time exploring the rock opening around Honeymoon Falls before heading back to the lodge.

Air Conditioned Rock

Small Falls

Honeymoon Falls – 25 Foot Drop

We rested, showered, ate dinner and then headed to Chained Rock. That was the suggestion from the front desk for sunset viewing. The overlook is about a 3 mile drive from the lodge. Apparently there is also a trail that takes you to see the actual chained rock. There are differing stories about why the rock is chained. Some say to keep the rocks from crashing down on Pineville and others say it was just a publicity stunt.  At the time, I didn’t know there was an actual chain (I think that would have been helpful knowledge from the front desk) or I would have hiked to it. Instead, we hung out and saw a decent sunset. The overlook down into Pineville is also quite outstanding.

Sunset

Light Trails in Pineville

We only stayed one night at this park as we had places to go the next day. I would highly recommend it though. Kentucky doesn’t charge for entry into their state parks and so it makes it all the easier to go and experience them.