Welcome to the Richmond KY Parks & Recreation GeoTrail (RPGT3). To participate in this GeoTrail and earn your free souvenir for finding at least 25 out of 30+ geocaches available, visit: Richmond KY GeoTrail to obtain your Passport.
This geocache will take you to the site of the College Hill Boat Ramp that is managed by the KY Dept for Fish and Wildlife. The boat ramp is open 24 hours per day year round. It is paved, narrow, and provides a one lane ramp for any trailerable recreational watercraft, kayak, and canoe. The parking lot is black topped and has room for approximately 25 trailered vehicles. There are no parking passes required, no amenities available, no rest rooms, no picnic tables, and very limited cell signal at this location. Bring your own resources, pack out your own trash, and enjoy the beautiful scenic rural drive to access this location.
The History Here
Before the construction of modern highway bridges, people relied on ferries to cross the Kentucky River. Ferries drove businesses and anchored communities near the river. Now, those communities, and their ferries, are only a record in history. Due to the popularity of vehicles, modern roads, and bridges, the ferries are nearly extinct. Ferries exist in modern Kentuckians' memory from the names of the rural roads that lead to their long obsolete landings on the river bank. This site used to be one of those historic ferry crossings.
College Hill is located north of Waco, KY and was named for Texas Seminary, a small, private secondary school that was established a few miles from here in 1868. The short-lived school changed its name to College Hill Seminary after the town of College Hill incorporated in 1873.
What used to be a popular ferry crossing between what is now Madison County, KY and Estill County, KY, has become a remote boat launch for anglers and paddlers seeking peace and quiet among nature's realm. Paddlers and anglers use many of these historic ferry landings to enjoy areas of the Kentucky River that seem to transport boaters back to the time of stagecoaches and showboats. This area is known as Pool 10 along the KY River.
Uses For Area Today
This pool begins at Lock and Dam 11 near College Hill in Madison County and ends at Lock and Dam 10 in Boonesborough (at Boonesborough State Park location). This section of the river flows through the rolling verdant hills of Madison, Clark, and Estill counties in KY, and retains the rural character of the time before automobiles. A paddler on Pool 10 can hardly believe they are just a few miles, as the crow flies, from the bustling commercial centers of Winchester or Richmond.
Two floats totaling about 12.5 miles showcase the exceptional scenery and paddling of Pool 10. The water of Kentucky River in late summer flows as clear as it does all year; perfect conditions for beginning paddlers, families and fishing. This stretch of river holds muskellunge, largemouth, smallmouth and Kentucky (spotted) bass. Tip: Paddlers could float this entire stretch of 12.5 miles in one day, but would need to launch early in the morning and expect to take out at dusk.