- Click on a U.S. Bicycle Route's (USBR) title below to view an interactive map symbolized with the Bicycle Comfort Index (BCI) for each section:
The Kentucky section of this national trail is more than 500 miles long. In spring 2013, AASHTO approved the submitted realignments and updates for USBR 76 (TransAmerica Bicycle Trail), which runs east to west through Kentucky from rural Crittenden County at the Ohio River to the mountainous area of Pike County. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) Bicycle program team developed a Bicycle Comfort Index Rating System/ BCI (formally called the Bicycle Level of Service (BLOS) which was very helpful in determining the safest and most suitable routes to bike within the USBR 76 corridor. KYTC has now updated the USBR 76 signage for the entire route across the state. KYTC continues to work with neighboring states interested in the USBRS and other cross-state bicycle touring routes.
This tour travels through the heart of Kentucky. Beginning in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains at the Kentucky-Tennessee border, you enter the Commonwealth through the Cumberland Gap Tunnel and travel north through bourbon and horse country up to Ohio. This route closely follows the path used by Daniel Boone as he traveled through the Cumberland Gap into the heart of Central Kentucky.
For a comprehensive breakdown of USBR 21 from a northbound perspective, check out the article link below!
The KY section of this United States Bicycle Route travels north from TN and ends at the Central KY connection to the Trans America Trail (USBR 76). The routes travels through south-central KY beautiful rural secondary roadways and small towns. Many of the largest cave system in the country can be found in this area of KY.
The Underground Railroad Bicycle Route honors the bravery of those who fled bondage and those who provided shelter. The Kentucky part of the Underground Railroad Bike Tour follows the paths taken by slaves escaping from states further south and from Kentucky into the free states north of the Ohio River. It begins at the Tennessee border on The Trace running northward up to and northeastward along the Ohio River before crossing into Indiana at Brandenburg. It reemerges into Kentucky at Milton passing eastward through Northern Kentucky before leaving Kentucky in Maysville to continue on through Ohio. Among the historic areas closely associated with the Underground Railroad along or near Kentucky's parts of the route are the National Underground Railroad Museum in Maysville and Augusta which contains many sites important to the Underground Railroad.
Traveling east from the starting point to the route will take you along the scenic bluffs of the Mississippi River shoreline. This tour will travel along the border of the Kentucky in Hickman at the Mississippi River in far western Kentucky to the South Shore at the Ohio River in northeastern Kentucky.
Statewide USBR Map: USBRS in Kentucky
Individual USBR Maps:
BCI Metadata: Bicycle Comfort Index (BCI) Specifications
