There is a place Kentucky where you can hike up an ancient wagon road and travel through a hand-hewn tunnel to discover one of the most impressive mountain vistas in the state.
The
2,167-acre Cranks Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Harlan County not
only is a great place for a hike, but it’s a place where you can fish in a
mountain lake or hunt for a variety of game including deer, turkey, grouse,
squirrel and elk.
“It is one
of our pristine WMAs, like Pine Mountain or Shillalah Creek,” said Assistant
Wildlife Director Don Walker. “It is one of the areas with older, mature trees
… it’s a forested mountain side.”
In
1993, Herman Hedrick donated to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife
Resources a 190-acre parcel that includes a wagon road and a tunnel that his
father helped to cut through Stone Mountain. It is now part of Cranks Creek
WMA. The hand-built road and tunnel allowed those living on the Cranks Creek
side of Stone Mountain access to the railroad line on the Virginia side.
This
area offers an exceptional hiking experience in central Appalachia: Visitors
can see the rugged Black, Cumberland and Pine Mountain regions
on the Kentucky side and the broad, rolling valley of the Powell River on the
Virginia side. “It is one of the unique views in Kentucky,” Walker said.
Cranks
Creek WMA has the old wagon trail but no developed roads; the terrain is steep
and mountainous. “You can hike along the ridgeline from Cranks Creek WMA to our
new Stone Mountain WMA,” Walker said. “When you get up on top of Stone
Mountain, the views are spectacular. There is some beautiful scenery with some
inspiring vistas.”
While the area is open to the public, it is not open to all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) or four-wheel-drive vehicles. Illegal all-terrain vehicle use on the slopes, ridges and wetlands has caused noticeable damage to this natural area. While ATVs are welcomed on some reclaimed strip mine areas in Harlan County, riders caught in Cranks Creek WMA or Stone Mountain WMA are subject to prosecution.
Cranks Creek
WMA is open to statewide regulations for all hunting and trapping seasons. It
is also open to hunters who possess an at-large elk permit. Because elk hunters
may use high-powered rifles, all hunters using the area during the Oct. 1-7
bull elk and the Dec. 3-9 cow elk seasons for modern firearms must wear blaze
orange on their heads and torso. While elk are not common within Cranks Creek,
Walker said, the animals are in the general vicinity and they could easily pass
through the WMA.
Fishing is allowed on 219-acre Cranks Creek Lake (also known as Herb Smith Lake) that borders the northeastern part of the area. The lake receives 8,000 rainbow trout annually. Anglers also may catch sunfish, bass and channel catfish. Cranks Creek Lake is open to statewide regulations for all species.
-
Lee McClellan
To Get There:
From
Harlan, take U.S. 421 south toward the communities of Cawood and Crummies. Turn
right (west) onto KY 1138. To reach the tunnel trailhead, stay on KY 1138 until
it dead-ends at Cranks Creek Lake. There is limited parking in this area.