All trips leave from the Thompson Road boat ramp located behind Texas Roadhouse in Pikeville. Shuttl The road leading to the access lies behind the hotel.
The Levisa Fork holds gentle riffles and flowing shoals, perfect floating conditions for families and beginners. This section is ideal for canoes, kayaks and small one-man pontoon boats. Since the Levisa Fork receives the waters of Russell Fork along with releases from Fishtrap Lake Dam upstream, the river has great flow all summer long. The Levisa Fork rarely flows under 200 cubic feet per second
(cfs), but should be avoided at flows above 1,500 cfs. Swift currents and bountiful woody debris in the water make this current level dangerous. Check the flow levels at the United States Geological Survey's website at http://waterdata.usgs.gov under the "Levisa Fork at Pikeville" gauge. The blue-green waters of the Levisa Fork hold excellent populations of smallmouth and rock bass along with sunfish, catfish, spotted bass and an occasional largemouth bass. Floaters should wear protective shoes to prevent cuts from the many mussel shells lining the bottom of the river. The Hatfield-McCoy River Trail has four excellent access points along the U.S. 23 corridor, where U.S. 23, 119, 460 and KY 80 converge. Floats can be as short as a couple of hours or last all day long. All the access points have ample parking with easy carries to launch boats. The first access point is along U.S. 23 south of Pikeville (S. Mayo Trail) at the Jubilee Christian Church on the right (going south). Paddlers may float nearly 4 miles to the Island Creek River Access for a leisurely half-day float with a short shuttle. Although close to downtown Pikeville, this section flows through an intimate gorge with gentle riffles, deep pools and flowing shoals with good fishing for smallmouth bass and rock bass. The take-out for this float lies just downstream of the Island Creek Bridge on the right (looking downstream). To reach it by vehicle, take KY 3496 off U.S. 23 and proceed immediately to the left toward the Holiday Inn Express. Those wanting to extend their float for another 1 1/2 miles may continue on to the Cedar Creek River Access. Paddlers desiring a short two-hour float may launch their boats at the Island Creek River Access and float to the Cedar Creek River Access. About midway of this float, the river takes a slight left bend where the terraced mountainside informs the paddler they've entered into the Pikeville Cut-Through. Paddling through this section reveals the incredible feat of this engineering marvel. The boulders lining the bottom of the Pikeville Cut-Through are good places to fish for smallmouth and spotted bass. The take-out at Cedar Creek River Access is just downstream of the Cedar Creek Road Bridge (KY 1384) on the right. Reaching the Cedar Creek River Access by vehicle is difficult for the uninitiated. Boaters using this access must travel south on U.S. 23 and look for a gravel road between exit 24 off U.S. 23 and a guardrail. This gravel road leads under the Cedar Creek Road Bridge and around to the access. Those wanting to extend their float to nearly five miles may proceed to the lower take-out of the Hatfield-McCoy River Trail at the Thompson Road River Access. The Cassidy Boulevard Bridge (leading to the Wal Mart) has a sign hanging over the river alerting boaters the Thompson Road River Access take-out lies 1/2-mile downstream on the left. If you float under a highway bridge quickly followed by a railroad bridge, you've floated too far. To reach the access by vehicle, take Thompson Road off U.S. 23 and follow around to the Texas Roadhouse restaurant. The access lies directly behind the restaurant and is suitable for small trailerable boats at certain water levels.
