Who We Are

The Founder

Rick (Smurff) Egedi, the founder of Sheltowee Trace Adventure Resort, started running the rivers of Kentucky in 1981 and always took great pride in his excellent safety record. After running a canoe livery on the Rockcastle River for several years, Rick founded Sheltowee Trace Adventure Resort in 1983. He started out running rafting trips on the Big South Fork, and canoe trips on the Upper Cumberland. Today, Sheltowee Trace Adventure Resort offers rafting on 2 different rivers, numerous canoe and kayak trips, lodging, as well as a number of other adventure activities. Sadly Rick unexpectedly passed away in October, 2021

Passing the Torch

In 2020, Rick decided it was time to start transitioning the company to his eldest daughter, Dania. Dania has been with the company since 1995 and has been instrumental in its growth.

With Smurff's passing, Dania has taken over. Although Smurff left some big shoes to fill, we expect Sheltowee Trace Adventure Resort to continue to grow and thrive.

We are a Family Run Business

Smurff's oldest daughter, Dania now runs the company. His youngest daughter, Keila, runs the retail store and is the principal buyer for our retail store. Dania and her husband, Doug have 2 children - Daniel (age 15) and Katie (age 13). All of Smurff's four children, Dania, Ricky, Michelle, and Keila have all been involved in the business at various points as guides, trip leaders, bus drivers, reservationists, and whatever else needed to be done. It doesn't take long though, for most of our employees to feel like family, and we have a tendency to treat our guests that way as well. We hope that you will enjoy the atmosphere down here. We work hard to make STAR a nice place to just relax and hang out. So, if you are in the area, come by, say hi, and maybe we'll even see you on the river!

How did we get our name and what does it mean?

Sheltowee Trace Adventure Resort takes its name from the Sheltowee Trace Trail, a 265-mile footpath that extends from Pickett State Park in TN, northeast through the Daniel Boone National Forest to North of Morehead, KY on KY 377. Sheltowee (translated as "Big Turtle") was the name given to Daniel Boone by the Shawnee when he was adopted into their tribe. Seventeen miles of the Sheltowee Trace run along the shores of the Cumberland River, along the 5-mile canoeing section of the Upper Cumberland and also our summer raft trip. It also runs along the Yamacraw to Alum Ford canoeing section of the Big South Fork.

Sheltowee Trace Adventure Resort is concessioned by the Kentucky Department of Parks, licensed by the U.S. Forest Service, permitted by the National Park Service and inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard.