EKY community makes plans for new resort

JENKINS, Ky. (WYMT) - Just along the Kentucky and Virginia line, as you are leaving Letcher County, lays Raven Rock; a landmark that many have spent decades trying to create a tourist destination out of.

“For the past 15, 20 years that I’ve been involved in city government, we’ve always tried to work toward getting the property or being able to use it for recreation like it was in the 70′s,” said Jenkins Mayor Todd DePriest.

Various coal companies have held ownership over the property, but now that the East Kentucky Heritage Foundation has acquired it, The City of Jenkins and representatives with the foundation are working to create the Raven Rock Resort.

“Well, you know, tourism in general is a big money making thing, people go places, and we want them to come here,” said DePriest. “We want this to not just be a place they want to come to but a place they can’t wait to come to.”

Those over this project say although it is still early in development, they are planning to use a recent grant to help fund new infrastructure, cabin builds and other ideas.

“Further down the line, we hope to have a conference center, mountain bike trails, and at the very least, the worst case scenario is we own 840 acres of land that could be used for hiking and biking trails at the very least, for the community to enjoy and for visitors to enjoy,” said Jeffery Justice, Pine Mountain Partnership Executive Director.

DePriest reassures everyone that this project will not compromise the natural beauty of the area.

“We don’t want it to be so big that we lose the hometown feel. I’ve talked to folks from the Smoky Mountain area who grew up there and they sort of lost that over time,” said DePriest. “We like to have a lot of amenities people don’t have now, but that could be enjoyed but it still has the hometown feel and people can be proud of where their from.”

Those over the project said although the ball is starting to roll for the Raven Rock Resort, they don’t anticipate to break ground until at least 2024.

Project leaders added even though they are excited to get the project up and running, their main focus right now and for the foreseeable future is flood recovery, which they say might push the project back a bit.

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