Louisville, Kentucky: Otter Creek Park

Louisville, Kentucky: Otter Creek Park

Ride through dense forests to streamside singletrack on this 10.5-mile route through Kentucky’s Otter Creek Park. Float the creek for a post-ride cool down.

Author:	eric_in_ky
Date:	23 Jul 2007 6:46:34 PM
Activity:	Mountain Biking ActivitySearchMountainBiking
State:	Kentucky (KY)
Distance:	10.59 mi (Change units)
Calories:	647
Average Speed:	7.3 mph 0:08:13/mi
Duration:	Total: 1:27:15 Active: 1:27:03 Resting: 0:00:04 Unaccounted: 0:00:07
Elevation:	Total Gain: 1522 ft Total Loss: 1520 ft Net Change: 2 ft
Difficulty:	6 / 10
Tags:	Kentucky, Brandenburg, Louisville
Rating:	Unrated Rate it

Otter Creek Park’s trails travel through forest, fields, and streams and offer great views of the Ohio River just south of the riding at Fort Duffield. This route follows the Otter Creek Trail on two loops from the park’s Nature Center, but the park has other multi-use trails as well. Difficulty: Intermediate to Hard. Roots and rocks conspire to create technical sections of singletrack -- especially if they’re wet -- and some of the climbs are a grunt. Tip: Cool off in Otter Creek during a hot summer ride, or rent a tube from the park to float the creek after your ride.

Position Format:	Datum:

Tracks

Dist: 10.59 mi	Points: 402	Calories: 647
Time: 1:27:15	Speed: 7.3 mph	Pace: 8:13 / mi

Points of Interest

Ye olde Water Tank

Location: 37.943165°, -86.034751°
At the top of the road, take the trail near this building to continue. Prepare for a very rocky climb to the top of the hill and fast decent back down

The Pines

Location: 37.934467°, -86.049707°
We call this "The Pines". The first part of the ride is thru a dense stand of old pines. Roots everywhere, be careful.

Intersection

Location: 37.926072°, -86.030696°
At the intersection, the bike trail continues straight. (ie middle path).

The end

Location: 37.940779°, -86.049192°
This ride exits at the Nature Center near the white sign, back at your car.

Rocky Downhill

Location: 37.925006°, -86.034515°
The descent to Otter Creek is fast and rocky. This particular formation is the last of the technical downhill

Enter the forest here

Location: 37.939172°, -86.048033°
Leave the parking lot and head towards the Observatory. The trail entering the woods across the road is the beginning.

The Nature Center parking lot.

Location: 37.940627°, -86.048334°
The Nature Center parking lot. This is where you will want to park and begin the ride.

Rocky Clearing

Location: 37.949223°, -86.033185°
Small technical section in the pipeline clearing with a great view. A long climb out of the valley begins here. Take a left at the top of the climb.

Clifftop

Location: 37.950780°, -86.054664°
Clifftop riding, don't fall.

Start of the Ridgetop Loop

Location: 37.941456°, -86.049235°
The nature center is barely visible through the trees, but the trail isn't over. Take a right to continue along the ridgetop loop.

Take a swim

Location: 37.937378°, -86.032884°
Beat the heat! There are many places to swim along the creekside trail. The water is clean and swimming is encouraged. Its not uncommon to see Apache helicopters from Ft. Knox buzzing down the creek as week.