Clifty
Ghost town · Carter County, Kentucky

Clifty is a ghost town in Carter County, Kentucky. It is one of 11 former communities in Carter County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 39th among the 101 Kentucky counties with a vanished settlement on record.
The U.S. Geological Survey lists Clifty as a historical populated place on the Bruin topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 38.2214° N, 83.0363° W.
Key facts
| USGS quadrangle | Bruin |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 859 ft |
| Nearest living town | Olive Hill, KY |
| Distance to it | 9.2 miles |
| GNIS feature ID | 2337226 |
| Coordinates | 38.22144, -83.03633 |
What's there now
Clifty is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Olive Hill, KY (population 1,488), about 9.2 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 859 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.
Nearby places
- Gomezghost town · Elliott County · 5.2 mi
- Antiochghost town · Carter County · 5.3 mi
- Rossghost town · Carter County · 6.9 mi
- Shady Groveghost town · Elliott County · 7.9 mi
- Clay Forkghost town · Elliott County · 8.1 mi
- Lick Creekghost town · Lawrence County · 8.2 mi
- Davy Runghost town · Carter County · 8.4 mi
- Cold Springsghost town · Carter County · 9 mi
- The Cross Roadsghost town · Carter County · 9.5 mi
- Blaines Traceghost town · Elliott County · 10 mi
- Silicaghost town · Carter County · 10.7 mi
- Lindsey Chapelghost town · Carter County · 10.8 mi
Questions
Where is Clifty?
Clifty is in Carter County, Kentucky, at 38.2214, -83.0363.
How many ghost towns are in Carter County?
Carter County, Kentucky has 11 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names) — GNIS Domestic Names, feature record (public-domain)
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line and ACS — Census Gazetteer + ACS 5-year population (public-domain)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.