About our owner & the vision of the company:
Sheltowee Trace Adventure Resort is more than a business for Dania Egedi — it’s been a lifelong journey. Dania grew up in the family business before leaving for college, grad school and work life. With the business needing more help, and having determined that she hated living in cities, Dania came back in 1995, rejoining her 2 sisters, brother, and father in the family operation. Dania has been involved in the business since its beginnings. She has worked in all aspects of operations, from guiding rafts, to creating brochures, to bringing the company into the 21st century with the transition from paper to the internet.
Over thirty years later, Dania now leads the resort as Owner and General Manager, and is Captain of the Cumberland Star Riverboat. Her steady leadership, commitment to the business, local roots, and genuine love for this area shine through in everything she does. She strives to create safe, inclusive, and memorable adventures for guests and staff alike.
For Dania, this isn’t just her job — it’s her home, her history, and her passion. By focusing on helping every customer make unforgettable memories, Dania continues to lead Sheltowee Trace Adventure Resort in a way that ensures it will flourish long into the future.
Over thirty years later, Dania now leads the resort as Owner and General Manager, and is Captain of the Cumberland Star Riverboat. Her steady leadership, commitment to the business, local roots, and genuine love for this area shine through in everything she does. She strives to create safe, inclusive, and memorable adventures for guests and staff alike.
For Dania, this isn’t just her job — it’s her home, her history, and her passion. By focusing on helping every customer make unforgettable memories, Dania continues to lead Sheltowee Trace Adventure Resort in a way that ensures it will flourish long into the future.
History of the Business:
We started, and remain, a family run business.
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.
And so we Continue...
We are still a family run business. Dania's youngest sister, Keila, runs the retail store and is the principal buyer for our retail store. Dania is married to her husband, Doug, and they have 2 children - Daniel (age 19) and Katie (age 17). Doug gets pulled in frequently to help with IT issues. Her children work for the business as well. Daniel is a raft guide and reservationist, while her daughter is part of the cleaning crew. All of Dania's siblings: Ricky, Michelle, and Keila as well as sons-in-law (James and Doug) have 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.
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