Kentucky trails · Buckskin
Buckskin
A 9.7-mile out-and-back in Kentucky, with 412 ft of climbing. Reaches Alum Knob. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the middle third: 47% of the ascent falls between mile 3.2 and mile 6.5. It gives back about 900 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Alum Knob (summit)
Getting there
Buckskin access — parking nearby. 38.06754, -83.50158 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:35 a.m., the sun rises at 7:02 a.m. and sets at 8:05 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:32 p.m. (EDT) — 13 h 03 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 19.5-mile round trip takes roughly 7 h 38 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 2:40 p.m. — 5 h 25 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Cave Run + Buckskin + 108 Connector Trail — 8.3 mi loop, 1,241 ft gain
- Cave Run + 108 Connector Trail + Buckskin — 8.9 mi loop, 1,517 ft gain
- Buckskin + Hog Pen — 11.7 mi loop, 1,254 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Lakeview Ridge — 2.4 mi
- Red River — 17.4 mi
- Osborne Bend Loop — 17.4 mi
- Douglas Trail — 17.4 mi