As an avid hiker and a frequent visitor to Shanty Hollow, Cory Ramsey sees something new to admire every time he comes to the lake and walking trail in far northern Warren County.

A trip to Shanty Hollow on Sunday proved dispiriting, however, when Ramsey encountered graffiti that had been sprayed recently on a number of rocks along the trail leading about a half-mile into the woods toward the waterfall.

“This is the first time I’ve seen it on this level,” said Ramsey, an Adventure Tourism ambassador for the state who has documented his travels in blog posts on the state’s Adventure Tourism website. He also has his own Map Dot Facebook page, where he documents travels.

On a large, mossy rock near the waterfall, the message “welcome to hell” is emblazoned in orange spray paint, and a number of similar messages and crude drawings have been sprayed on rocks both along the trail and resting in the creek bed leading out from the waterfall.

A large, dented truck bed liner rests on one end against one of the vandalized rocks, though it isn’t known whether those who spray-painted the rocks also left behind the large piece of trash.

“You would hope the woods was really a place where you wouldn’t find this sort of nonsense,” Ramsey said.

Debbie Miller of Roundhill, who has been to Shanty Hollow numerous times over the years, was one of a number of hikers out Wednesday morning who said she was disappointed in the recent spate of vandalism.

“I don’t see why they would have to come back here and do this,” Miller said about the graffiti. “I call this God’s country because only God could have made something like this.”

Removing graffiti from the rocks at Shanty Hollow can prove to be a delicate task, because pressure washers and sand blasters typically used for removal can erode or otherwise damage the natural rock formations, Ramsey said.

A larger problem involves deterring future vandalism.

While much of the land surrounding Shanty Hollow Lake is on private property, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife owns the lake itself and responds to complaints of illegal activity on the trail.

Mark Marraccini, a spokesman for the fish and wildlife office, said that people who spray graffiti or commit other forms of vandalism at Shanty Hollow can be charged with criminal mischief.

“Littering, obviously, and destruction of private property, all of those are things that people who do that could be charged with and we would not hesitate to do that,” Marraccini said, adding that Fish and Wildlife has performed operational details in the past in areas subject to vandalism and other illegal activity.

Marraccini said that local fish and wildlife officers may already be aware of the vandalism.

“Our district officers, who are assigned counties, they may be far more aware of the happenings there in their area,” Marraccini said. “It may well already be at the top of their list as an issue to handle.”

Ramsey said it’s not uncommon to encounter other hikers on his visits to Shanty Hollow.

“This place has gotten more popular in the last several years and with that, you attract all types of people,” Ramsey said. “We don’t have the same patrols as state and national parks to be protected as it should.”

— Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter at twitter.com/jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.