The 44-mile long Pine Mountain Trail is paradoxically one of the central Appalachians’ most scenic and underused long-distance trails. Designated a Kentucky State Park, the PMT follows its namesake, Pine Mountain, from Elkhorn City, Kentucky southwestward along the mountain’s spine all the way to US Highway 119 above Whitesburg, Kentucky. Along the way, the trail never strays far from the mountain’s spine, which also serves as the Virginia/Kentucky border for much of its length. Although just over 40 miles of single-track trail are currently in place, plans exist to lengthen the PMT to 120 miles total, creating a linear trail corridor linking Breaks Interstate Park (at the trail’s existing northern terminus) with Cumberland Gap National Historical Park to the south. The trail’s existing path is broken into two sections, designated with four-lane US-23 as a break point: the 28-mile Birch Knob Section is located east of the gap, with the Highland Section’s 16 miles located from US-23 west. The highway, in fact, forms a perfect starting point for day hikes in both directions, as most of the trail’s access points outside of either end are one-lane forest roads or, more commonly, steep single-track connector trails. Another benefit of US-23 is that decent views can be had from companion overlooks located a few miles in on either side of Pound Gap, the low point in the ridge that US-23 uses for its journey from Kentucky into Virginia.