This is the final installment of our series on the railways that travel through the Southeast’s mountains and forests. In Part 4, we visit the Big South Fork Scenic Railway in Kentucky.
By the Backroad Portfolio staff
From the historic depot in the National Historic District of Stearns, Kentucky, the Big South Fork Scenic Railway follows the old Kentucky & Tennessee Railway into the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area and Daniel Boone National Forest. The standard three-hour round trip covers roughly 16 miles, dropping about 600 feet through forested gorges, past mountain streams, through a tunnel, and over bridges before arriving at the restored Blue Heron mining camp for a 90-minute layover.
Enclosed coaches and open-air cars both offer great views, and the narration brings the region’s coal-mining and logging past to life. You’ll see deep valleys, thick greenery, and the remnants of an industrial world that once kept these mountains humming. At Blue Heron the National Park Service has set up interpretive exhibits and “ghost structures” that show where the mining buildings once stood. It also offers picnic spots and short trails.
