East Central Kentucky

Just 8-weeks into our 2023 Season we arrive at Kentucky’s 2,900-acre canyon system on the Red River and within the Daniel Boone National Forest. With rock formations ranging from rugged cliffs to natural bridges to the largest collection of sandstone arches east of the Rockies, it’s undeniably beautiful and breathtaking. One website claims that this area has the most arches rivaled only by Arches National Park in Moab, Utah. We’ve had the luck to visit both parks and the obvious difference is that in Kentucky the arches are surrounded by lush green forests and in Utah the arches are easily spotted on sparse dessert floor.

Red River Gorge

The gateway to Kentucky’s outdoor enthusiasts wonderland is Slade. Here are the adventures we enjoyed in the area.

Things we recommend nearby:

Natural Bridge State Resort Park

“I care to live only to entice people to look at Nature’s loviness.”

– John Muir

Natural Bridge State Resort Park is a Kentucky state park located along the Middle Fork of the Red River, adjacent to the Red River Gorge Geologic Area and surrounded by the Daniel Boone National Forest. Its namesake natural bridge is the centerpiece of the park.

Within the park there are 10 easily accessible hiking trails that range from 1/2-mile to 7.5- miles. They offer something for every skill level.

How we experienced the State Park:

In our 2-week stay in the area we experienced the Park a couple of different ways.

We didn’t want to miss the adventure of taking the Sky Lift to the top so we chose a mid-week day and arrived at the Natural Bridge Sky Lift Gift Shop at 9:30 am, opening time for them. We were the first ones on the Sky Lift to the top. Although the hike up isn’t bad and only about 1-mile, we wanted the experience. For $11 per person you can take a 1-way ride. For $17 per person you can purchase a round trip.

We explored the top of the bridge admiring the views of Battleship Rock and then over to the Lookout Point overlook looking at the 100-foot Bridge and then back to under the bridge. In all of that our favorite novelty was Fat Man Squeeze. We opted to take Laurel Ridge Trail passing the Devil’s Gulch Stairway, all the while marveling at the the construction of the wooden stairs and craftsmanship of the rock stairs.

Red River Gorge

Hiking

Creation Falls via Rock Bridge Trail

This is described as “the most scenic trail in Red River Gorge” and we wouldn’t dispute that claim. This is an easy 2-ish mile loop trail. We did it backwards from the AllTrails route and arrived at Creation Falls in no time and well before the crowds.

Just around the corner from the falls, is the Rock Bridge which is something to behold.

We highly recommend this short but scenic hike while in the area. It gets an A+ in our book.

Pinch ’em Tight, Rush Ridge & Gray’s Arch Loop

This is another popular hike in the RRG area. Described as “moderate” it does include some steep areas near Gray’s Arch but the payoff is well worth the effort. We started at the Gray’s Arch parking lot following the Rush Ridge Trail to Rough Trail taking the short but steep climb to the arch and then finishing on the Gray’s Arch Trail back to the parking lot.

In all my GPS recorded it as 5.5-miles which we did in 3-hours taking into account all of the stops along the way for photographs. There was a long pause at the Arch admiring the beauty and watching the “tourons” climb to the top and scramble around in dangerous predicaments.

Nada Tunnel

Nada Tunnel, a historic 900-foot long tunnel along Kentucky Route 77 in the Red River Gorge Geological Area. The unlit tunnel seems designed to intimidate drivers as it barely fits one car width and is hard to see the other end when beginning the drive in. 

It’s reportedly haunted by a climber who fell to his death in this area. Other sources claim is a former tunnel construction worker who died when a stick of dynamite exploded. Both of these stories are attributed to the legend that sometimes at night, a glowing green light is often seen in the tunnel.

Admittingly, we didn’t travel the Nada at nighttime, but did need to traverse it several times during our stay.

Double Arch, Courthouse Rock & Auxier Ridge Loop

Another of the more popular hikes in the area is this 6-mile loop that is described, by AllTrails, as moderate. There are a few climbs but nothing aggressive so we think the “moderate” is more for the length of the trail that really clocked in at 6.5-miles by my FitBit GPS. All in all it was a great day hike with many striking highlights including the Double Arch, Courthouse Rock and the impressive set of stairs leading up to the AWESOME Auxier Ridge.

Auxier Ridge

By far, our most favorite experience of the trip was our overnight camping experience on Auxier Ridge where from one side we marveled at the sunset over Double Arch and on the other side we witnessed the sunrise over the valley below. We cherry-picked a night by carefully watching the weather so we knew it would be dry and cool, perfect for hammocking. We packed our trusty packs with the minimal gear, ate a large lunch at The Lunch Box and set off on the 2-mile walk to the perfect spot.

Sky Bridge

Sky Bridge Trail #214 is a short 1-mile semi-blacktop loop trail that extends into a high and narrow pathway along the ridge, finally culminating at Sky Bridge where it looks out onto stellar views. The trail then moves past the bridge along a cliff shelf before winding its way up a flight of stairs (75 steps to be exact) that lead back to the parking area.

Paddling

Mill Creek Lake

A small but beautiful lake surrounded by towering sandstone cliffs and bountiful forest it is conveniently located in the heart of the Red River Gorge, just 3-miles south of Natural Bridge State Resort Park on Hwy 11. It was a beautiful morning with ‘smoke on the water‘ for our excursion. Mike took his time with pictures, I zipped around the lake 3-times trying to get in a workout.

A rental company has a location on site to rent kayaks. It is a popular fishing spot for blue gill.

Overlooks

Chimney Top Rock

This is trail #235, a 3/4-mile round trip trail to this scenic lookout that towers 400 feet above the Red River. As you look out over the ridges and valleys of the gorge, it’s easy to mistake them for mountains.

Dining

A few of the local dining options that we enjoyed were:

The Lunch Bucket

Located at 115 Nada Tunnel Road in Stanton just outside Slade, it’s easy to see why they have a 4.9⭐ Goggle rating. It’s a take out only restaurant with a wide variety of reasonably priced menu items. They are especially famous for their bacon cheeseburgers which we can attest to being very-very good.

Sky Bridge Station

A local watering hole serving local craft brews and basic American eats. It has a friendly atmosphere with large tables inside and out and is located in Pine Ridge, KY at the entrance that will get you to Sky Bridge Trailhead off KY-715.

The Brick

Next door to the Sky Bridge Station sits The Brick where you can enjoy an ice cream, coffee or pastry in an adorable relaxed setting while perusing local pottery by Turtle Farm Pottery.

Daniel Boone Coffee Shop

A busy locally owned neighborhood coffee shop that features The Best Coffee in Red River Gorge! Besides their extraordinary espresso, they also have great breakfast sandwiches, paninis, homemade baked goods and all natural fruit smoothies. There is also a lovely gift shop featuring crafts by local artists, t-shirts and much more. You can also pick up some adult refreshments to enjoy by the campfire.

Campground

We stayed at 4 Guys RV Park located in nearby Stanton. We were not happy with the campground since it is directly adjacent to two major road systems.

Even the best planning can sometimes leave you in a lurch. The road noise at any time of day was loud and obtrusive so that we didn’t enjoy spending time outside our rig. Admittingly, we booked a site on the new Creek Side, but even if we had scored a site inside the park around the coveted pond, you can still hear the road noise at all times of day and night.

If we were to return to this area, we would likely stay at either Callie by the Lake or the Natural Bridge State Park.

In Closing

We enjoyed our short 14-night stay in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge. We feel like we covered most of the highlights. We could have done everything in 7-days and if you wanted an estimate on time-frame we’d even suggest 5-days.

Stay tuned for lots of posts and more importantly….. photographs by James Frazier (aka Mike).

Dream Big….Travel Far….Live Well

Photography

Many of these highlighted photographs will be featured and purchased through our website and made into wall art, tapestries, t-shirts and more. If you see something you like without a link, please go here to our website page Nspired Eye Photography

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