On Saturday, August 24, 2019, my wife Candice and I traveled to Prestonsburg, Kentucky, to Jenny Wiley State Park to have lunch at the state park lodge and for me to put in an hour hiking on the Jenny Wiley Trail which is just across an arm of Dewey Lake opposite the lodge, amphitheater, and marina. Candice had the lunch buffet and I ordered a barbecued chicken breast off the menu since I did not like the looks of the beef and pork on the buffet. Both were in hotel pans on the warmer and immersed in a watery sauce. I had one bite of each off Candice's plate and the pork was actually fairly good. The beef was way too bland and just did not meet my standards especially in light of the fact that I rarely eat either meat these days. My chicken breast was a typical frozen and partially precooked breast which had been briefly grilled and then covered in what tasted a lot like Sweet Baby Ray's sauce. But it was moist, tender, fairly tasty since I actually like Sweet Baby Ray's Original Sauce. We arrived late in the lunch hour after 1pm and found only three other tables occupied in the large restaurant. Four or five staff members spent much of the time in conversation at the check out counter and seemed to have nothing to do. But the female hostess and waitress who served us were both friendly, talkative, and attentive.
After the lunch, we parked in the shade near the Jenny Wiley Amphitheater where Candice could read a book and wait for me to return. There seemed to be absolutely nothing happening at the amphitheater and that is a shame because for many years it was one of the better entertainment venues in Eastern Kentucky. But it seems to have lost much of its success in recent years and has moved most of its productions to Pikeville, Kentucky. I have seen many pleasurable and well done productions there over the last fifty years. It is a shame that it is no longer what it used to be.
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| Official Map Jenny Wiley State Resort Park by KY State Parks |
I have included the official map of the state park above since it can be helpful if you go there to visit, hike, fish, camp, eat, boat, or see a play. I have also included the reverse side of that map below which gives the official descriptions of the 6 hiking trails within the park along with the rules for users. The map describes the Jenny Wiley Trail as being 4.5 miles and "Strenuous" and "not recommended for solo hikers". I must admit here that I broke two key rules for hikers anywhere during my hike. First, I totally disregarded the disclaimer that the trail is "not recommended for solo hikers", and after having hiked on it for an hour, I have no idea why it is labeled that way. The first few hundred yards of the trail are a fairly steep uphill hike on what we natives of the area call a "point" which is a projection of land which rises out of the landscape. But once you are past that few hundred yards, I found the trail to be only mildly challenging and capable of being hiked by any reasonably healthy and fit human. Second, the trail begins near a rental cottage near the lake and has an aged, decrepit set of wooden steps up the first twenty feet or so from a paved driveway to the actual beginning of the trail proper. There was an old caution tape tied to but torn down from the entrance to the steps with a dirty sign saying that "This section of the Jenny Wiley Trail is temporarily closed". I realize that going past that tape and sign is a cardinal mistake for most people and I did it anyway. But I know the mountains of Eastern Kentucky better than most. I am in fit condition and hike regularly. I still do not recommend taking such actions and would not have done so in an area in which I had never spent time. I interpreted the sign to be referring to the decrepit condition of the steps and not the entire trail. The steps are in bad need of replacement and for a few hundred dollars of lumber, screws, and labor, the Commonwealth of Kentucky could solve the problem for several years. Actually, I must say that the trail does not appear to be well maintained in general and I eventually encountered an area near the ridge with several blown down trees which block the trail to a considerable degree and, since Candice was waiting for me alone, that is where I turned around after a little more than half an hour. I also saw at least two fairly dangerous "widow maker" trees which were dead, partially fallen, and hung up in other living trees. If the trail were well maintained, it would be a fairly nice hike of probably an hour and half for an experienced and fit hiker. As it is, it is somewhat more time consuming and might take the same hiker two hours or a bit more if the remainder of the trail also has similar down timber blocking it.
For me the most interesting part of the trail is that I saw a small cemetery beside the trail in that initial climb up the point which has only two clearly marked graves, one of which is marked with a Confederate States Of America tombstone. Both carry the same last name. The little cemetery is totally hidden in the timber and if a marked hiking trail were not there it would probably be long forgotten by now. Speaking of marked trail, the trail is fairly well marked ever hundred yards or so with blue paint blazes on trees. It is also well used and nearly as visible to the trained eye as a cow path might be. I also noticed a lot of young poplar trees on or near the trail ranging from about two years old to having recently sprouted. They varied from about two or three inches to maybe eight inches in general and seem to indicate that the area was more open in the past few years since poplars are generally regenerative growth. They also indicate that, on this particular trail, the Kentucky State Parks Department is not doing its job.
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