Tebbs Bend Driving Trail

See rare liverworts at the Soldiers' Spring, between Stop 3 and Stop 4.

Tebbs Bend-Green River Nature Area Trails


There are eagles, great blue herons, wood ducks, rabbits, quail, and various songbirds.

Plant Life

The 25th Michigan and Beaver Pond Trails wind around a field restored to mixed native grasses and wildflowers native to Kentucky.


A variety of animal life can be seen at Tebbs Bend

Animal Life
On the trail are Henslow sparrows as well as bobwhite quail, eastern meadowlark, northern cardinals, and rufous-sided towhees. Common species include tufted titmouse, Carolina chickadee, woodpeckers, barred and great-horned owls. Out in the prairie trails are small game, deer, and turkeys. Along Green River are bobcats, beaver, otter, and muskrat, and freshwater mussels.

Aquatic Life
Because of the Green River and the Blue Heron Wetland, the Nature Area is rich in aquatic life. The Green River is rated as 4th in the U.S. for diversity of fishes and mussels. Itis home to 70 species of freshwater mussels and 150 species of fishes, any of which are found in no other river systems. The section that is bordered by the Preserve holds mussels like the pistolgrip and mucket.

The Green River is host to many sport fish like channel catfish, small mouth bass, rock bass, and Kentucky or spotted bass.

Wildflowers at the Nature Area
Spring (March-mid June)
The best places to view showy spring wildflowers are along
Green River, the River Bottom Overlook, and Cove Spring Trail. They include bloodroot, blue phlox, celandine poppy, columbine, cut-leaf toothwort, common blue violet, jack-in-the-pulpit, larkspur, sessile trillium, star chickweed, shining bedstraw, Virginia bluebells, wild ginger, and many more.

Summer/Fall (mid  June-October)
On the 25th Michigan Trail and the Beaver Pond Trail, you are likely to see butterfly milkweed, fire pink, ox-eye daisy, cardinal flower, prairie and purple coneflower, black-eyed susan, partridge pea,ironweed, goldenrod, mistflower, spotted jewelweed, gerardia, and tickseed coreopsis.

Trees in the Nature Area
Silver maple, box elder, shagbark hickory, pignut hickory, sycamore, American elm, black walnut, hackberry, sugarberry, river birch, black cherry, mulberry, red maple, white ash, dogwood, beech, northern red oak, sassafras, black gum, chestnut oak, American hornbeam. The state's champion slippery elm is located on the Beaver Pond Trail. The planting along the river consists mostly of swamp white oak, pin oak, and black walnut.

Group Field Tours

Tebbs Bend - Green River Nature Area - 25th Michigan Campsite and Confederate Attack at Bridge.

There are two trailheads at the Nature Area. 1) Toll House on Tebbs Bend Road;
2) Homeplace at Green River. The tour times are seasonal.

In order to walk to the 25th Michigan Camp Site and the Site of the Confederate Attack on Green River Bridge, one needs to depart from the Toll House Trailhead.

Call (270) 789-9880 for reservations for a tour. You can also use our contact form to schedule a tour by email.

For more information see http://heritageland.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx or the KHCLF annual report.