The goal of this park is to provide environmental education and passive recreational opportunities to the citizens of Oldham County. An extensive system of hiking trails take visitors through forests, creek banks, glades, and meadows. The steep slopes support mostly regenerating, successional forests dominated by either sugar maple or red cedar and various oaks including chinquapin and red. Other forests are dominated by red cedar and black walnut and bitternut hickory. Other dominant trees found include white ash, hackberry and American basswood. Understory species include redbud, spicebush and coralberry. There is one small cedar glade on the property, and woody species found in the opening include red cedar, redbud, rough leaf dogwood, southern blackhaw, fragrant sumac, and dwarf hackberry with an herb layer of false pennyroyal, green milkweed, croton, buttonweed, narrow leaf vervain, and various spurges. The entrance to the park on both sides of the drive have been seeded to big bluestem, Indiangrass, little bluestem, and various flowers including bee balm, black-eyed susan, New England aster, and gray headed coneflower. There are several ponds and streams that provide habitat for 19 reptile and amphibian species. More than 236 plants, 14 mammals and 59 birds have been observed on park lands.
Oldham County received the 2017 KHLCF Stewardship Award for its outstanding management of the trail system.
Access:
The
park is open for foot traffic only on the developed trails from dawn to
dusk. No ATV or off-road vehicles or horses allowed on the trails. From
LaGrange take US Highway 42 east until you reach the intersection of Kentucky
Highway 524 east, not 524 that takes you to Westport Road. Turn left
going north for approximately 1 mile and turn right going up to the hill to the
parking area.