While it may not be on par with some of the nation’s most bike-crazed meccas, Lexington’s bike trail system has made up a lot of ground over the past two decades. The city has built more than 30 miles of dedicated bike paths; bicycle lanes are making their way onto many of the city’s roadways; and new cycling events, social biking clubs and cycling-related businesses are sprouting up by the season.
Lexington also has several major bicycling projects in the works over the next couple of years that will help connect a handful of shorter mixed-use trails across town. Addressing what many local cycling enthusiasts consider to be one of the biggest downfalls of Lexington’s trail system – lack of connectivity – two of the city’s longest bike paths, the Legacy Trail and Town Branch Trail, are slated to be connected, offering a major biking thoroughfare that will link the city’s west and north ends with downtown. In the east end, two popular bike paths, the Liberty Trail and Brighton Trail, will be joined by a pedestrian bridge over Man O’ War Boulevard. The list goes on, as city leaders look to make good on the quality-of-life benefits that come with connecting its citizenry.
We’ve put together a quick primer of some of the city’s available mixed-use trails that are suitable for bikes.
Legacy Trail
The Legacy Trail - the "crown jewel" of Lexington bike paths - is a paved, 12-mile mixed use path extending from the Kentucky Horse Park to Lexington's north side area, with a popular access point located at the Northside YMCA. Photo furnished.
Legacy Trail
The crown jewel of Lexington’s bike paths, this 12-mile paved trail featuring a mix of flats and rolling hills is the city’s longest and most widely-used. Extending from the Kentucky Horse Park, the path runs south into Lexington, where it ends at Fifth Street near Coolavin Park. The Northside YMCA is a popular starting point for in-town riders looking to ride out toward the Horse Park. Much of the path is out in the open, so it lacks the shade of some of the city’s other trails; it does, however, offer easy access, numerous trail spurs (most notably to Spindletop Hall and Coldstream Park), public restrooms (also at Coldstream) and several tunnels and bridges along the way.
The city plans to lengthen the Legacy Trail in the next few years, adding a 1.5-mile extension that will run east along Fourth Street to the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden (at Midland and Winchester avenues). An additional trail spur, connecting the path with the city’s downtown Convention Center, also is in the works.
Access points: Kentucky Horse Park, Coldstream Park (off McGrathiana Parkway) and the Northside YMCA.
Town Branch Trail
This 1.9-mile paved path starts at Masterson Station Park on Leestown Road and runs eastward around the McConnell’s Trace subdivision before terminating at Alexandria Drive. The trail offers rolling hills and leafy terrain, if a somewhat short jaunt. The ride can be augmented with a visit to Masterson Station Park, which features a few miles of grass trails that loop around the grounds.
Town Branch Trail is slated to get a major, high-profile upgrade over the next few years, with a three-mile, $35 million extension in the works that will extend the paved greenway trail through the Distillery District and into downtown, along Vine Street. The trail will terminate at the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden, where it will tie in with the Legacy Trail, giving riders a major thoroughfare through the city’s northwest region. City officials said construction on the project will likely occur over the next few years.
Access points: Masterson Station Park
Brighton Trail
Brighton Trail, pictured above, will soon be connected to Liberty Trial by a bridge that will go over Man O' War Boulevard. Photo furnished.
Brighton Trail & Liberty Trail
These two East End trails offer leafy, easy pedaling through the city’s eastern suburbs. Neither is terribly long – Brighton runs about two miles and Liberty about 1.3 miles – but soon they’ll be connected by a bridge over Man O’ War Boulevard, with construction slated to begin in the next year or so. Brighton, dubbed the “Rail Trail,” also features a short quarter-mile trail spur, called Gleneagles Trail, that terminates on Polo Club Boulevard near Sunningdale Drive.
Access points: Liberty Elementary School, Pleasant Ridge Park and Deer Haven Park
Veteran’s Park
The city’s lone mountain biking option features 3.7 miles of easy to moderate dirt trails through the park’s wooded areas. The trails offer a few offshoots (dubbed “decision makers”) along the way, where riders have the option to test their skills on some unforgiving rocks and roots. Still, if challenging terrain is what you seek, you might be better served going outside Fayette County, such as to Versailles (Life Adventure Center), Frankfort (Capital View Park) or Scott County (Skull Buster). For more information, check out the Kentucky Mountain Bike Association website at kymba.org.
Access points: Veteran’s Park
Wellington Trail/ Shillito Park
This “park and ride option” located in the popular city park tucked behind the Fayette Mall features a 1.5-mile paved loop that circles through the grounds’ rolling hills. At the park’s entrance on Reynolds Road, the trail also connects with Wellington Trail, a 1.3-mile paved path that runs alongside Reynolds Road and Keithshire Way, terminating at Wellington Elementary School.
Access points: Shillito Park, Wellington Elementary School