Please remember, pets must be kept on a leash for the safety of your pet, others, and wildlife (even trained dogs have instincts to chase and there may be hazards off trail, including copperheads and bears).

There are doggy bag stations at the trailhead, please pick up after your pet.

Directions

Main Parking Lot Located at 2047 Big Hill Rd. Berea, KY 40403

If you are coming from Berea on Big Hill Rd./Hwy 21, there's a parking lot and the Forestry Outreach Center on the left about 3 miles from Boone Tavern. If you hit the Dollar General and Big Hill gas station at the intersection of Hwy 21 and 421 you've gone too far.

There are two free electric vehicle charging stations in the parking lot.

West Barton Trailhead: The "Berea Forest Trail" on Google maps is the West Barton Trailhead. There is a small parking lot, then walk east on the paved path parallel to the road to reach the trailhead. This trailhead is a shorter distance to West Pinnacle and about 2 miles to East Pinnacle. It is great place to start if you want to avoid crowds, but there are NO restrooms/water.

Check out Berea Tourism for more things to do and places to eat!

View directions to the other natural areas Berea College manages.

                     Beautiful Lookouts

The Pinnacles trails offer gorgeous lookouts at West Pinnacle, Indian Fort, Buzzard's Roost, Eagle's Nest, and East Pinnacle. They're so beautiful in every season, you'll have to come back!

The hikes to each lookout vary in difficulty. Starting from the main trailhead, they all branch from a trail that is initially uphill. For first timers, we recommend East Pinnacle.

Note: The Upper East-West Pinnacle trail between West Pinnacle and Bluegrass Overlook is difficult and not well travelled so the path can be hard to find. We would suggest avoiding it unless you are wanting to hike a true loop between East and West Pinnacles.

A group of children stand on a large rock overlooking a flat landscape with a blue sky and puffy white clouds

To Bluegrass Overlook(Indian Fort Lookout)–1.02 miles

Graph
Elevation gain to Bluegrass Overlook from the parking lot. ~950 ft to 1,579 ft. Via AllTrails.com
An overlook of a flat landscape
(from atop the large rock)

To West Pinnacle–1.52 miles

A graph
Elevation gain to West Pinnacle from the parking lot. ~950 ft. to 1,461 ft. Via AllTrails.com
An overlook of a rolling landscape with some water visible

To East Pinnacle–1.8 miles

A graph
Elevation gain to East Pinnacle from the parking lot. ~950 ft to 1,537 ft. Via AllTrails.com
An overlook of a rolling landscape

To Eagle’s Nest–1.6 miles

A graph
Elevation gain to Eagle's Nest from the parking lot. ~950 ft to 1,582 ft. Via AllTrails.com.
The Pinnacles, Anglin Falls, and Brushy Fork trails are open dawn to dusk every day of the year. If they are closed for an extenuating circumstance, we will post about it on our website and social media.
Yes, the Center has indoor and outdoor (always accessible) restrooms, as well as an outdoor shower. There are also drinking fountains and a water bottle filler in the Center.
We are open from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Tuesday-Saturday and 12:00 to 4:00 pm Sunday. We are closed Monday.
Dogs are allowed on the trails but they must be on a leash.
Yes, we have a parking lot by the building and trails to the Pinnacles (2047 Big Hill Rd.) Anglin Falls has a gravel parking lot at the trailhead (842 Anglin Falls Rd.) Brushy Fork has gravel parking lots off of Scaffold Cane Rd.
No, the Forestry Outreach Center is free and open to all! The Pinnacles, Anglin Falls, and Brushy Fork are not a part of a national or state park/forest.