New scenic motor trail created in Corbin

I Be Dam—a new scenic motor trail has popped up in Corbin!

The new trail, aptly named due to its featuring of the Laurel River Dam as it’s midway point, begins in downtown Corbin and snakes a total of 36 miles through areas of Whitley and Laurel Counties on KY-312 and KY-192, before crossing over the dam and returning to downtown via KY-1193 and US-25W.

Designed by the Whitley County Motorcycle Group as part of Backroads of Appalachia, a non-profit tourism collective based out of Harlan that specializes in creating these kinds of scenic trails throughout the state, I Be Dam is part of a series of trails created by the collective over the past several months. And with both its beginning and ending being in downtown Corbin, the tourism potential for the trail is high, at least that’s what Corbin Tourism Director Maggy Monhollen is betting on.

“Over the last couple years, motorsport tourism has become kind of a buzzword and hot topic in the state of Kentucky; it’s become more prominent,” said Monhollen. “People that are involved in motorsports like to eat and drink and shop and do things like that. They tend to be a group that has resources and are in a higher income bracket. These are folks that enjoy recreation and want to get out and explore.”

Though anyone wishing to follow the trail and enjoy the scenery immediately can do so anytime, the first official ride will be this summer. Monhollen said as a wrap-up to the Cumberland Valley Cruise-In on July 9th—which is also the event’s 20th anniversary—an organized ride will be done of the I Be Dam trail.

“As always, we’re just really excited to release a new kind-of attraction and we hope that motorsport enthusiasts will choose Corbin when they’re looking to get out and ride,” said Monhollen.