Cumberland Gap National Historical Park to route 987 (1.6 miles)

It is a long drive from anywhere to access this run. It is on the north side of Cumberland Mountain in KY, about 25 miles east of Middlesboro, and 25 miles southwest of Harlan. You will have to consult a good map or better yet, googlemaps to find your way to the area. River Right put-in If coming from Middlesboro on hwy 987, you will cross over into Harlan County and a few miles later, begin descending to where Martins Fork eventually appears on your right, with downstream going the direction you are driving. Around a mile or less later, a little asphalt drive will branch sharply off to the right and back over the creek. Turn right here. Check the gauge at the bridge and continue back upstream on river right. You will pass a few homes, drive slowly. Then the road will immediately deteriorate to cobbly 4wd material. From here you will parallel the creek for a while until you are a ways from the residential area. A short distance further and just when the road starts to climb away from the creek, there is a spur down and to the right. Leave a car down this spur at the creek, as this is right below the last good section before the creek flattens out and chokes up with wood. Flag your car at the takeout from the stream so you know when to pull out. Due to the isolated nature of the the community below this access point, paddling on down through the little mountainside community is not advised. Be low profile and curteous. From here, go back to the main trail and head up the mountain. There will be a few spurs coming off the line here and there, just stay on the obvious trail for around 2 miles. You will eventually reach a gate.  Park, or better yet hike to this point. Then saddle up for around 1/2 mile hike to the top of the steep stuff, shortly in crossing a feeder stream. After crossing the feeder a few hundred yards in, veer right to head to the top of the steepest half mile. You will reach a crossing a few minutes later right at a bedrock slide. This is the easiest put in and the beginning of the class five. There are possibly other options for access, this is just the most simple with one car, as the shuttle can be hiked with relative ease. Bring a zoomed in printed topo map so that you won't get lost. There could be access to the same put in spot from river left via a road that comes over the top of the mountain from 987, but this has not been verified as a viable access yet. Please note that this is the route the googlemaps link on this page has highlighted. The current route is to take Hemlock Branch Road up to the put in along river RIGHT! A final option is to use the access road to the Hensley settlement as a put in, but this would require very high water, a long shuttle, and would likely result in non recommended flows on the steep section. ...................................................................................................................... River LEFT put-in. This option for a put-in to the Martins Fork is directly accessible from hwy 987, and is managed by the state of Ky. The directions are the same coming from Middlesborrow or Harlan, the only change is that you do not turn on to Hemlock Branch Road. From Harlan, stay on 987 until about a quarter of a mile past Hemlock Branch you will notice a blue gate on the left side of the road. From Middlesborrow you drive a quarter mile less than you would to the Hemlock Branch turn. The gate will be on your right. There is enough parking for a couple cars. This is where you start the hike. This option makes the trip about 3 river miles. The first mile of the walk is a meandering logging road up to the top of Brush Mtn. There will be a few predominant forks in the trail, take the RIGHT forks, you need to be headed up and west. After about a mile you will reach the top of the hill, from there you will follow the ridge trail another mile, this section is pretty flat and easy to walk. You will come upon a fork in the trail, the left fork will have a blue gate just like the one at the parking and on the way up the hill. Take the trail with the blue gate, in about a third of a mile, it will lead you to the river. This option is a little shorter than the river right trail and easier on the legs. You also add about a half a mile of class III and IV rapids and Quadrule Falls. Through the river right access you would not be able to run the falls and would be trespassing most of the hike. The river left option however is more difficult for parties with a single vehicle, but totally good for a two car shuttle. Paddle down the river a bit more from the old take-out until you reach another blue gate on river left. Then follow the trail from that gate which leads to the hwy. From here you could walk a short ways to your car or have a shuttle ready at the end of the take out trail. The takeout is visible on the river side of the hwy, you will notice a large brown sign in the middle of the field that says Martins Fork WMA/SNA. Park roadside or down on the trail for the take-out shuttle.