Drakes Creek in Kentucky

Trip Overview

My wife and I put in at the Salmons Blackjack Rd. bridge. We parked our truck along the side of the road in the right-of-way and portaged about 150 ft gradual decline to the water below. The water was stained from the recent rains and was up about a foot or two making the trek that much easier.

Our original plan was to travel to the flatbridge at Sadler Ford, but after our journey of about 2 1/2 hours led us past beautiful rock walls and numerous wildlife, and the stream that joined the creek seemingly from beneath one of the walls (breathtaking), we decided to journey to the next takeout being the Woody Atkinson flatbridge on Barnes School Rd.

During our float we encountered several small rapids and a few deaddrops but not having to portage around anything made the float even more enjoyable.

In all our journey took right at 4 hrs combined. I dont know the actual distance but if your looking for a nice 4hr float come down to Simpson Co. and try the West Fork of Drakes. It's not on any trail guides but if you access Google earth you can get a real feel of the many put in and takeouts along the path starting at the community park in Franklin and continuing northward to the Simpson/Warren line.

Fees:

no fees or permits

Directions:

From Bowling Green take I65 or 31W south to the Salmons Blackjack Rd turn left, cross the railroad tracks, travel approx. 1mile bear left at the fork and the creek is at the bottom of the hill.

Resources:

I used Google earth to map my trip.