Pike County occupies Kentucky’s far eastern Appalachian border, with Pikeville as the main settlement and road reference and Coal Run Village, Elkhorn City, Phelps, Belfry, McCarr, and Freeburn marking other important valleys. US 23 and Kentucky routes 119, 460, 80, 52, 292, and 805 connect a county where roads are constrained by long ridges and deeply cut streams. The physical maps highlight Levisa Fork, Johns Creek, Raccoon Creek, Shelby Creek, Robinson Creek, Long Fork, Marrowbone Creek, Russell Fork, and Fishtrap Lake. High-resolution JPG versions of the supplied maps can also be downloaded together in one ZIP archive for printing, classroom work, presentations, or offline reference. High-resolution map files are available for download in the section below.
Pike County Government and Kentucky.gov describe Pike County as Kentucky’s easternmost county in the eastern coal fields, with drainage organized around the Levisa Fork and Tug Fork branches of the Big Sandy River. The official City of Pikeville website identifies Pikeville as the county seat. The elevation map reports an actual county range of about 187 to 931 meters with a mean near 400 meters, showing a dramatic contrast between stream valleys and the high ridges of the southern and southeastern county.
Table of Contents
Pikeville anchors US 23 and the central road network
The general county map makes Pikeville the easiest place to begin. US 23 runs through the central-western area, route 119 reaches southwest toward Virgie, and routes 460 and 80 continue toward the southeastern interior. Coal Run Village sits close to Pikeville on the northwest side. The concentration of roads around these communities stands out against the more sparsely connected mountain valleys farther east.
South Williamson appears near the northern border, while routes 52 and 292 help organize the upper county. Belfry, McCarr, and Freeburn line the northeastern side, and Phelps sits deeper in the eastern mountain valleys. In these areas, local roads and creek corridors are often more important than broad highway grids.
Elkhorn City provides the strongest southeastern urban reference near routes 80 and 460, while route 805 reaches the southern boundary. Prestonsburg, Wayland, McDowell, Jenkins, and McRoberts appear outside the county and help orient the map toward Floyd, Knott, and Letcher counties. The eastern and southeastern county lines also form part of Kentucky’s borders with West Virginia and Virginia.
This map is intended for geographic orientation rather than live navigation. It does not show current construction, temporary closures, bridge restrictions, or travel times. Roads frequently follow narrow valley floors around mountain ridges, so actual driving distance can be much longer than the direct separation between two places.
Coal Run Village and Elkhorn City lie 5 and 14 straight-line miles from Pikeville
The city-connections map uses Pikeville as the hub and highlights Coal Run Village and Elkhorn City. The supplied map labels Pikeville with 7,490 residents, Coal Run Village with 1,724, and Elkhorn City with 846. It shows a direct distance of about 5 miles from Pikeville to Coal Run Village and about 14 miles from Pikeville to Elkhorn City. These are straight-line distances between mapped points rather than driving distances.
Coal Run Village sits immediately northwest of Pikeville, giving the two places a close central relationship. Elkhorn City is much farther southeast. Actual travel uses US 23, route 460, route 80, and local mountain roads, so route distance can exceed the simplified straight line shown on the city map.
Because the city-connections view removes most tributary and minor-road detail, the direction and spacing of the three settlements are easy to compare. Once Coal Run Village and Elkhorn City are fixed relative to Pikeville, the positions of Levisa Fork and Fishtrap Lake become easier to understand on the physical maps.
The simplified view works well for classroom or presentation use when relative position matters more than routing detail. The general county map is the better choice for Belfry, Phelps, McCarr, Freeburn, road numbers, and other local references. Together, the views make Pikeville’s central role in the county clear.
Levisa Fork and Fishtrap Lake provide the main interior water references
Levisa Fork is the clearest large water corridor on the terrain-and-water map, linking the Pikeville side with the Fishtrap Lake area. It collects many tributaries as it crosses the deeply dissected interior. Around Fishtrap Lake, the water surface widens into one of the easiest landmarks to match between the water, road, and elevation maps.
Johns Creek and Raccoon Creek provide important northwestern and central references, while Big Creek drains the northern ridge country. Road Fork and several smaller right and left forks show how finely the mountains are divided by tributary valleys. In a county this rugged, even small creeks strongly influence road placement and settlement patterns.
Shelby Creek and Robinson Creek cross the southwestern side, with Long Fork extending through another long valley. Marrowbone Creek occupies the south-central interior, and Russell Fork provides a major southeastern reference near the state-border mountains. Fishtrap Lake sits between several of these drainage systems and higher surrounding ridges.
A practical reading order is to begin with Levisa Fork and Fishtrap Lake, then move north to Johns Creek and Big Creek, west to Raccoon Creek, southwest to Shelby Creek and Long Fork, and southeast to Russell Fork. This is a general geographic reference rather than a flood, navigation, water-depth, fishing-regulation, or property-access product. Current conditions should be checked with the responsible agencies.
Elevation from 187 to 931 meters spans deep valleys and high ridges
The elevation map reports an actual county range of about 187 to 931 meters and a mean near 400 meters. The lowest green terrain follows Levisa Fork, Johns Creek, Fishtrap Lake, and other major stream valleys. Higher orange and brown ridges become widespread in the southern and southeastern parts of the county.
Pikeville and Coal Run Village occupy lower corridors associated with the Levisa Fork drainage, although steep uplands rise quickly around the developed valley floor. The same relationship helps explain why US 23 and route 119 follow winding low passages rather than straight lines across the mountains.
The central-east and southeast contain some of the county’s most tightly packed high ridges. Around Fishtrap Lake, the low water surface sits directly beside much higher terrain, while Russell Fork and Marrowbone Creek cut narrow green valleys through the uplands. Along the southern boundary, the highest colors form long bands of mountain terrain.
The elevation surface is intended for county-scale comparison rather than parcel-level measurement. It is useful for distinguishing river and creek bottoms from ridge tops, but it should not be treated as survey-grade elevation for a road, structure, property, or engineering project. Exact site work should rely on current source elevation data or professional surveying.
Following Pike County from Pikeville to Fishtrap Lake and the state-border valleys
Pikeville is the simplest starting point for comparing all of the map views. On the road map, locate US 23 and routes 119, 460, and 80, then identify Coal Run Village to the northwest and Elkhorn City to the southeast. On the physical map, Levisa Fork provides the main corridor before the view expands toward Fishtrap Lake.
For the north and northeast, use South Williamson, Belfry, McCarr, and Freeburn together with routes 52 and 292. The elevation surface shows tightly packed ridges along the West Virginia border, while small creeks form narrow lower corridors. Phelps provides another useful eastern reference deeper in the mountain valleys.
For the south, begin with Virgie and route 119, then continue toward route 805, Elkhorn City, and Russell Fork. The elevation map shows some of the county’s highest terrain in the southern and southeastern sections. Repeating the same places across the road, water, and elevation maps makes Pike County’s mountain geography much easier to understand.
Choosing the best Pike County map for print, class, or reference
Use the general county map when Pikeville, Coal Run Village, Elkhorn City, Phelps, Belfry, numbered roads, and the full boundary need to appear together. The city-connections map is cleaner when the main question is how Coal Run Village and Elkhorn City relate to Pikeville and what their straight-line distances are.
Choose the terrain-and-water map for Levisa Fork, Johns Creek, Raccoon Creek, Shelby Creek, Russell Fork, Fishtrap Lake, and the many named forks. The elevation map is the strongest view for explaining the contrast between low stream valleys and the high southern and southeastern ridges. Comparing water and elevation together makes the Appalachian terrain much easier to understand.
The WebP images in the article are optimized for browser viewing. The downloadable ZIP contains the original JPG maps at 3,638×2,572 pixels each, which is better suited to printing, classroom worksheets, presentations, and offline reference. These maps are general geographic resources rather than legal boundary records, flood studies, parcel surveys, navigation products, or engineering plans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Pikeville within Pike County?
Pikeville lies in the central-western part of the county and serves as the county seat. The official City of Pikeville website identifies Pikeville as the seat of Pike County. US 23, routes 119 and 460, and the Levisa Fork corridor provide the easiest map references around the city.
Are the Pikeville-to-Coal Run Village and Pikeville-to-Elkhorn City distances driving distances?
No. The supplied city-connections map shows straight-line distances of about 5 miles to Coal Run Village and 14 miles to Elkhorn City. Actual driving distances can be longer because roads follow mountain valleys around ridge systems rather than direct lines.
Can the 187–931 meter elevation range be used as an exact property elevation?
No. The range summarizes the actual countywide elevations shown on the supplied map, with a mean near 400 meters. It is useful for comparing stream valleys with high ridges, but exact site elevations should come from current source data or professional surveying.
Map File Information
The ZIP archive contains the original high-resolution JPG versions of the Pike County road-and-boundary map, city-connections map, terrain-and-water map, and elevation map. Each image is 3,638×2,572 pixels for printing, classroom work, presentations, and offline reference.
- File Type: 4 JPG files inside one ZIP archive
Related Maps
Sources and references
County and Pikeville information is available from the official Pike County Government website, the Kentucky.gov Pike County profile, and the official City of Pikeville About page. For underlying geographic data, see the U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles for boundaries and roads, USGS National Hydrography for rivers, lakes, and streams, and the USGS 3D Elevation Program for elevation data.
These maps are intended for geographic explanation, printing, and general reference. Legal boundary decisions, live traffic, flood and water-safety questions, property surveying, and engineering work should rely on the latest authoritative information from the responsible public agency.
Green Map creates custom-edited map images using open geographic data sources such as geoBoundaries, Natural Earth, OpenStreetMap, and government open data. These maps are edited visual materials, not raw data files, and are provided for education, documents, presentations, and graphic reference.
