Kentucky's seventh state forest was the tree farm of the year in 2003 and has been under active timber management for more than 30 years. The terrain is steep with narrow ridge tops and bottomlands and 96% of the forest is considered to be younger age classes with little mature hardwood forests which cover 97% of the land base. Both calcareous and acidic forests occur and the overall forest is 17% White Oak, 16% Red Oak, 11% Yellow-poplar, 10% Hickory, 10% beech, 8% white pine, 8% chestnut oak, 6% sugar maple, and 14% miscellaneous hardwoods. The dominant plant community would be considered oak-hickory forest that occurs on drier and upland slopes. These forests are dominated by white, chestnut, and northern red oak, hickories, white ash, sugar maple, American beech, tulip tree, black locust, black cherry, sassafras and red cedar. In more acidic sites black gum, sourwood, chestnut oak, and Virginia pine become dominant. The other dominant plant community is a mixed mesophytic forest dominated by sugar and red maple, tulip tree, white, and northern red oak, hickories, white ash, Ohio buckeye, American basswood, American elm, black cherry, and black walnut. These moist sites have a rich spring wildflower display of white baneberry, leeks, chickweed, jack in the pulpit, trout lily, spring beauty, wild geranium, twinleaf, ginseng, goldenseal, wild blue phlox, Solomon and false Solomon's seal, rue anemone, large-flowered white trillium, sessile trillium, and Sulcate's trillium. There are also some red cedar thickets and one old field that has reverted to a pure stand of tulip tree and there is one white pine plantation. More than 340 plant species have been identified on the forest. In addition to the native flora the site protects habitat for diverse wildlife species, including the federally endangered Indiana bat.
Access: 
Open dawn to dusk for passive recreation including hiking, picnicking, bird watching, photography, and hunting following statewide regulations. Off-road vehicles, including ATV's and horseback riding are prohibited. To find the forest from Glasgow, take the Cumberland Parkway to exit 14 and take Hwy. 90 (southeast) 20 miles to the Metcalfe/Cumberland county line. The main entrance is on the left (north) side of the road. There is additional access parking along Gordon Branch Road, Ed Turner Road, Lone Star Road, and Muse Road.