On My Travels- I Took An Unexpected Hiking Trip For Waterfall Beauty After A Tornado

If you have seen some of my posts, you know that I travel around a lot for work. Sometimes I have to travel very far and through some very remote locations. I never know where the journey will take me or what I may see along the way. Whenever I get the chance I try to capture the moments in photos. Mostly because I want to have them to remember later but also because I travel so many places that I wouldn’t remember every single city or back roads I travel through without capturing pieces of them to remember.

When I stop at a store along the way where I have not seen any location signs for miles and miles, I get some funny looks when I ask them what state am I in. ha-ha. Especially when I have to cross over 3 or 4 states that day, crossing over different time zones and through a lot of mountains makes my GPS unhappy for a little while so I stop and ask once in a while.

For this trip I was traveling through some remote areas. I call them that because I don’t see any other vehicles or stores for miles. I was traveling down US Route 460 in Menifee County, KY when I spotted a big sign that I just couldn’t pass up. At first glance I thought it was a misprint on the sign. The name is Broke Leg Falls, which of course my brain said Broken Leg Falls. So, I had to stop and see what this place was. It was a paved roadside pull off area with a nice gazebo on the side.

As I approached the gazebo, I could see that beyond the gazebo and over the hill was a road that led down the side of the mountain. Also I could see the rock walls of another mountain. Of course I had to investigate this because my curiosity was killing me to find out what all this was about and why it was called Broke Leg Falls.

Overlooking The Falls From Behind The Gazebo	The Road Leading To The Falls

Interestingly enough, the story goes that it got its name from an ox that fell off of the falls and broke its leg. Ok so now I get why it is named Broke Leg Falls now. More of the story continues as to the condition of the area as I saw it that day. On March 2, 2012 a tornado causing destruction in Eastern Kentucky destroyed the park and the surrounding landscape. In the 1950's it was a lovely private roadside attraction. Looking into the area history I could see how it was in its glory days. Short trip back in time to the damage done in 2012 and even further trip back in time to the 1950’s when I can imagine it was a very well sought after roadside attraction. The main road was much more traveled back then. Since that time the road was bypassed by the building of the Bert T Combs Mountain Parkway.

Alcove With Start Of Creek	Another Creek Area

The picnic areas have been repaired since the tornado damage which make them nice areas for trail walking with a nice relaxing picnic afterwards. There are a lot of slippery areas as I walked through the paths, take caution if you go for a visit. It was a great surprise to visit even though the tornado destroyed it years ago, it is still part of nature with its natural beauty that I love visiting with.

Walkway To Picnic Area	A Nice Overlook Picnic Area

There are a lot of walkways and stairs leading down into the gorge. You can see that there has been repairs done to some of the areas after the tornado. But you still need to be very careful since some of the stairs are steep and can be slippery along with the trails. The last set of stairs were the steepest and last ones before I arrived at the trail that goes under the waterfall area. From here there were no more stairs, I had to climb down into the gorge area by using very shallow trail paths.

Good thing I was finished working for the day because I ended up taking a mud bath by the time I got finished with my trail exploring. Sorry no mud bath pictures.

Concrete Walking Path	Stairs Leading Down Into The Gorge

This Section Looks New	More Stairs Going Down Into The Gorge

Even though it is not the site it once was, I still found it a nice, peaceful setting and nice little walk down the stairs and paths leading down the gorge. The 60 foot waterfall barely had any water flowing from it, maybe because the area had not had any rain recently. I’m not sure but, I could still hear and see some of the water trickling down.

There is a small bridge that crosses over the creek for visitors to go to different areas along the creek. Even though the creek has very little water in it and it is almost covered with trees that were destroyed or have fallen over time, I could still imagine the site it once was.

Here you can see some of the rocks that have fallen against the rock walls. It is very slippery in these areas as you descend down to the creek area where the bride is located. You can also walk a trail that goes under the waterfall, again it is very slippery there as well. You can barely see the water that is coming off of the rocks for the waterfall but it is there, in the pictures it looks like a line of water instead of a waterfall. I may have to return after some rainfall to see it in full waterfall effect. And since I have the photos, I will remember where it is this time. :)

Rock Wall Side	Rock Wall Fallen Rocks

Waterfall View	Trail Under The Falls

And here's me by the rocks at the bottom of the stairs. Hope you enjoyed this visit and if you are ever in that area, stop and check it out. Bring your best hiking boots and maybe even extra ones because there is a guarantee you will be muddy by the time you are finished on your trails.

Happy Trails to you and have a great day :) Where have your travels taken you?