Public Access Birding Sites in McCreary County, Kentucky
If you have information about other public access birding sites in this county, please send details to me at this e-mail address:
McCreary County covers an area of 1115 km2 (430.6 mi2). A map of the county—with the some sites noted below coded on it—is available via the following link:
A large percentage of McCreary County is comprised of land within the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (BSFNRRA). Many fine birding sites occur within the part of the BSFNRRA lying within that county. Three sites of particular importance are the Bear Creek area, the Blue Heron area, and the Yahoo Falls/Arch area. Other sites include the area around Yamacraw Bridge on Rt. 92 and Laurel Ridge Rd., a usually passable gravel road that runs for many miles along the boundary of the BSFNRRA and the Daniel Boone National Forest between Beech Grove in the northeast and the Peters Mountain Trailhead in the southwest.
Access to the area around Bear Creek (BSFBC) may be gained from Hwy. 27. Just a few miles north of the Tennessee/Kentucky state line, look for the Strunk water tower on the left and take Rt. 1651 northwest about 7 mi to Rt. 742 on the left; take Rt. 742 and go about 3 mi to a road and sign on the left for Bear Creek. Take this road about 2.5 mi to the BSFNRRA boundary. Go straight ahead; in 0.5 mi there is a road on the right to a horse camp, which is not open during the winter and sometimes harbors Pine Warblers and Red-headed Woodpeckers at that season. Return to the main gravel road and continue a mile or so to the parking lot for the Bear Creek Overlook. The area around the overlook, especially the second growth fields, can be quite productive during migration, and the overlook sometimes provides views of small numbers of raptors.
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| View upriver from Bear Creek Overlook in Big South Fork, McCreary Co., KY; photo SJS. |
The Blue Heron (BSFBH) area, located at the end of Rt. 742, provides some good birding opportunities. The various overlooks provide spectacular panoramic views of the river gorge and sometimes of soaring birds. The Blue Heron Loop, a 6.5 mile trail, is worth a walk, especially during summer or migration. The area along the main river near Devil's Jump, just upriver from the canoe access on the Blue Heron Loop, can harbor Swainson's Warbler from late April to July.
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| View of Devil's Jump on Big South Fork, McCreary Co., KY; photo SJS. |
The Yahoo Falls/Arch (BSFYF) area is still another site within the Big South Fork that provides worthwhile birding opportunities. From Rt. 27 about ten miles north of the state line, go west on Rt. 700 several miles to the boundary for the Daniel Boone National Forest; in another couple of miles look for a gravel road on the right leading to Yahoo Falls/Arch. The area around the falls is fairly dependable for Swainson's Warbler. The Yahoo Falls Loop (coinciding with the Sheltowee Trace Trail) from Yahoo Falls proceeds upriver to Alum Ford and beyond to Negro Creek; this 5.5-mi section of trail is rich in birdlife and is one of the few sites in the park where Cerulean Warblers may still be fairly dependably found, although their numbers are dwindling. Prothonotary Warblers are also regular in May along this trail, the only place in the park where they have been recorded.
Return to Rt. 700 and turn right to Alum Ford, which is worth a look; American Redstarts may be found here, as well as a number of other species of the riparian zone and lower gorge slopes.
Another sizable chunk of McCreary County lies within the boundaries of the Daniel Boone National Forest (DBNF), much of it adjacent to the BSFNRRA. Two good sites for woodland birding within the DBNF are 1) the part of the Yahoo Arch Loop that lies within the forest and 2) the Sheltowee Trace, which runs from the state/county line northeastward toward Yamacraw and beyond.
A particularly arresting section of the Daniel Boone National Forest in McCreary County is the Natural Arch Scenic Area (NASA), located off of Rt. 927 in the northern part of the county. To get to this site, travel south on Rt. 27 about 5.5 miles from the Pulaski County line and look on the west (right) for Rt. 927; go right about 1.9 miles to the trailhead parking lot and then hike the asphalt trail to the arch. An inner loop of less than a mile can be walked here, but there is also an outer loop of about five miles that connects here as well, and there are trails leading to other parts of the forest branching out from the loop trails.
Cumberland Falls State Resort Park (CFSP) lies partly within McCreary County in the northern part of the county on Rt. 90.
The McCreary County Park (MCP) is located on the property of the McCreary Center campus of the University of Kentucky. It is located about 0.5 miles south of Whitley City on Rt. 27.
There is a short but nice loop trail in this park that is worth a walk for migrants and breeding species.
Please send details about any birds you record in these parks—or any public access site in McCreary Co.—to the e-mail address noted above. sjs.
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