Kentucky trails · Cotton Patch Loop
Cotton Patch Loop
A 7.8-mile network in Kentucky, with 551 ft of climbing. Reaches Cottonpatch Knob.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the first third: 48% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 2.6. It gives back about 902 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Cottonpatch Knob (summit)
Heads up
Getting there
Peter Tapley Trail access. 36.62080, -84.51993 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:41 a.m., the sun rises at 7:08 a.m. and sets at 8:07 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:34 p.m. (EDT) — 13 h 00 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 7.8-mile route takes roughly 3 h 09 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 10:17 a.m. — 9 h 51 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Cotton Patch Loop + Bear Creek Loop + Bear Creek Gaging Station Trail — 8.8 mi loop, 1,674 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Kentucky Trail (Segment E) — 3.2 mi
- Blue Heron Loop Trail — 4.0 mi
- Buffalo Canyon — 15.1 mi
- Nathan Mcclure — 28.6 mi