Amos Falls is one of those waterfalls that’s been known to me since I started waterfalling in Kentucky. It’s off the beaten path, but not too far from Cumberland Falls State Park, and its location is shown on USGS topographical maps. When I started waterfalling in Kentucky, it was one of the dozen or so waterfalls that were fairly well known through simple searches on the internet, largely because it appeared on the topo map.
My first time there took a bit of figuring out to find the best route. The falls are technically in the national forest, but the area is surrounded by a lot of private property and outfitters. It’s a little quirky to get to. You need to take some back roads past a bunch of farms and houses, coming in from the backside rather than the main road that goes to Carmelon Falls.
It is one to visit after a good rain. The iron leaching out of the rock creates orange streaks behind the waterfall that are just breathtaking. As you can see in the photo, the pool takes on this very unique color, and it all comes together to make the spot feel like a special little grotto when you visit Amos Falls.
Princess Falls is located near the mouth of Lick Creek in McCreary County, Kentucky. The name of this falls is supposedly from the folklore and story about Princess Cornblossom, a Cherokee princess. To note, the…
Angel Hollow Falls in Laurel County is found upon a deep descent. As you off trail hike down from the ridge above to the hollow below, you come around a corner and you can take a path to go straight down to the base of…
Singing Falls is roadside in Carter County, Kentucky. Across the street is an old building that says Fort Falls on it. I don’t know where that name came from, but that is what this waterfall was called for years. Part…
Lower Yocum Falls is located nearly roadside in a rural part of Rowan County near the locale of Yocum, Kentucky. This little waterfall lies below its plunge upper waterfall that is just out of sight around the corner…
Southeast of the Red River Gorge is a little town called West Liberty, Kentucky. It’s been over a decade ago that a devastating tornado ripped through the town, killing several people. At the time, I remember watching a…
South Fork Koger Creek Falls is located in McCreary County, Kentucky, not too far off an old service road in the Daniel Boone National Forest. This is a road that at one time was gated but is no longer gated…
Driller Falls is located in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, which runs between some southern counties in Kentucky and across the border into a good swath of northern Tennessee. This area, managed…
I had visited Mill Springs several times over the years and had no idea that there was a spectacular waterfall that reminds me of a mini Cumberland Falls in the same park, hidden away just beyond the tree line. Meadow…
This week we’re going down to Wayne County to a little park and historical area called Mill Springs. There’s an old mill here that the park service still runs occasionally. If you have the chance to go on one of the…
Upper Boy Scout Falls is just inside the border of Oldham County near Louisville, Kentucky. When you work and live in the cities around Kentucky instead of near the Daniel Boone National Forest, you often search for…
The longer I have hiked in Kentucky and explored, the more of the so called special places I’ve had the pleasure of being shown or happened across on my own. One of the first places I was taken to early in my…
This week’s Waterfall of the Week takes us to Mammoth Cave National Park. If you’ve never hiked Mammoth Cave National Park above ground, be warned, it is full of ticks. It is a place you don’t really want to hike a lot…
There’s a waterfall in Laurel County that I named Lava Falls. The name comes from the fact that the first time I creek walked Pounder Branch, it was in the depths of winter. We were walking on ice, wading in frigid…
Moser Branch Double Falls is located in Kenton County in a city park that took a lot of work to build and upkeep. Then it seemed like it just quit. It’s weird. It’s like a time capsule where all the literature and…
Lick Branch Falls is in Laurel County. I came across it in the pre LiDAR days on the USGS topo maps, around the same time that I documented Pine Island Double Falls. Pine Island is its neighbor and is much more popular…
Bad Branch Falls in far eastern Kentucky is located in a nature preserve. It is a waterfall that feels uniquely unlike Kentucky. It is very much like some of the waterfalls you would find in eastern Tennessee or…
When people ask me what my favorite waterfall in the state is, I often tell them Quadrule Falls. Picking a favorite isn't easy, as so many have unique stories, adventures, or happy accidents that led me to stumble upon…
