Raven Run is a 470 acre nature sanctuary located in Lexington, Kentucky. Within it can be found nearly 400 species of plants and the Sanctuary is known state-wide for its spring wildflowers.
This is a neat place because it is only minutes away from the house. There are only a handful of trails here and they are relatively short compared to the trails in other areas so this is a good place to spend an afternoon. Unlike other areas, the trails here are fairly intertwined and well-marked so you can hop from trail to trail and see most of the area in an afternoon (which is what we did when we took the pictures).
One particularly thoughtful trail is the Barrier-Free Trail. This is a paved trail that is designed to be accessible to persons with disabilities.
Throughout the year staff and volunteers at Raven Run offer various tours and workshops to the public. Some of the events include bird identification walks, tree identification, stargazing (with the help of the Bluegrass Amateur Astronomy Club), wildflower identification and trail maintenance workshops where volunteers can learn how to properly maintain a trail system.
A non-profit organization Friends of Raven Run, Inc has been established to help ensure
that the sanctuary has necessary resources and volunteers. Their current goal is to collect enough
donations to build a new Nature Center on the premises (the current nature center is in a tobacco
barn and a stripping shed). None of the officers get paid so all donations go towards maintaining
the sanctuary. If you're interested in Friends and would like to volunteer or help, drop
them a line at:
Friends of Raven Run, Inc.
P.O. Box 22854
Lexington, KY 40522-2854
Legal note: I am not affiliated with Friends of Raven Run nor is my webpage the official webpage of the Organization nor of Raven Run Nature Sanctuary (in fact, I'm unsure if either has an "official" webpage).
For more information about upcoming events, you can call the sanctuary at (859) 272-6105 or the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Gorvernment's Division of Parks and Recreation at (859) 288-2900.
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Questions or comments? Drop me a line.