The Little Shepherd Trail is a narrow road following the ridge of Pine Mountain in Letcher and Harlan Counties in Kentucky. The road is partially paved and offers up many scenic overlooks of the Cumberland Plateau of southeast KY.
More information can be found at the Letcher County Tourism and Harlan County Trails websites:
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The section of the Little Shepherd Trail from US 119 above Whitesburg to Kingdom Come State Park is paved and accessible by any vehicle. Though it’s only a section of the entire Trail, the pictures below were taken during a Easter weekend drive in a Chevy Cruise. Hey, the best Overlanding Rig is the one you have, right? In all seriousness, any time you can stand atop Pine Mountain, I strongly suggest you do it.
If you want to parlay the LST into a weekend trip, there’s definitely option. Hike to Bad Branch Falls, or High Knob atop the Pine Mountain Trail. Spend some time soaking in the views at Kingdom Come State Park. Hop on the Kentucky Adventure Tour and follow it for a week’s worth of offroading around the rest of Southeast Kentucky.
The point is, the Little Shepherd Trail is just another one of those hidden gems that’s worth taking the family to or tying into a more serious adventure elsewhere. Just get out there and make it happen.
