Marv's Red River Gorge Info

Kentucky's Red River Gorge is a picturesque area of ridges, deep valleys, and high cliffs. It is located in the Daniel Boone National Forest. The Gorge area is heavily wooded, and is green even in the winter because of the evergreen trees and rhododendron bushes. It is cris-crossed with well-marked hiking trails.

The Red River Gorge area is in southeastern Kentucky. It is about 30 minutes from Lexington, about 2.5 hours from Cincinnati, and a similar drive time from Louisville or
Huntington/Charleston. Maybe 5 hours from Columbus or Indianapolis. In other words, it is convenient for a weekend backpacking trip from surrounding states.

Directions

These are directions from Cincinnati, but are equally good from other places on I-75 or I-64. I-75 south to Lexington, then I-64 east to Winchester, then southeast on Mountain Parkway to Slade, Kentucky. It is interstate/parkway all the way.

Parking

There are numerous trailhead parking spots. For overnight parking, because of occasional vandalism, I recommend only two places. Koomer Ridge Campground in warm weather, and Natural Bridge State Park lodge all year.

Directions to Koomer Ridge Campground: Exit Mountain Parkway at Slade, left off the exit to Highway 15, right on Hwy 15, about 3 miles on Hwy 15 to campground on left. Park in trailhead parking lot.

Directions to Natural Bridge State Park lodge: Exit Mountain Parkway at Slade, right off the exit on Hwy 11. Go about 2 miles on Hwy 11, then turn right at sign for Hemlock Lodge. Park at the lodge.

Maps

It seems every little store in the Slade area has free one-page maps. They are adequate as long as you understand that, as a rule, every trail will have a pretty good hill somewhere on it. If you want topos, purchase the Slade and Pomeroyton quadrangles.

Probably the best available map is "Red River Gorge Geological Area". It is a roadmap-sized topographic map showing all the roads, trails, streams, and points of interest in the Gorge area. This map is available from the Stanton Ranger District, 705 West College Avenue, Stanton, KY 40380; telephone 606-663-2852. The price is $5.

Two Hikes

If you are new to the area, the following are a couple of hikes that would be good for a weekend backpack trip.

From Koomer Ridge Campground

Leave the trailhead parking lot and go left on the paved road until you come to a concrete
outhouse on your left. Go down hill and to your right thru the campground onto Koomer Ridge Trail. Koomer Ridge Trail (220) follows the ridge top, then winds downhill to Chimney Top Creek where it joins Rough Trail (221). Go right on Rough Trail, cross the creek, go uphill to Chimney Top Road, go thru the parking lot and on downhill to Parched Corn Creek. At the bottom of the hill go around a massive rock and then onto the level. Soon the trail will cross the creek on your right (be alert or you will miss this right turn) and go uphill to a parking lot and Hwy 715 at Angel Windows. Stay on Rough Trail (221) across the road and downhill to Swift Camp Creek. Each of these creeks flows in all seasons, and so water is readily available. Also, there are campsites along the streams.

You might also consider camping at Parched Corn Creek if you are tired when you reach there. Stay to the left side of the creek, do not cross over and go up hill to Highway 15 as described above. Downstream from the crossing there are good campsites on both sides of the creek. If you are adventurous, you can take a rugged day hike downstream to the Red River.

From Natural Bridge State Park Lodge

Proceed down the hill from the lodge, counter-clockwise around the lake and up steps to Hwy 11, left on Hwy 11 for about 0.1 mile, and right into Whittleton Campground. Out the back of the campground is Whittleton Trail (216) which will take you uphill, along a creek, to Hwy 15. Just across Hwy 15 is Tunnel Ridge Road. Follow Tunnel Ridge Road for about 1 mile to a picnic area on the right. Exiting the back of the picnic area is Rough Trail (221). At that point Rough Trail is level, then goes left and down a steep hill with some stairs. At the bottom of the stairs you will find Gray's Arch, one of the natural arches in the area. Continue on Rough Trail, up and down hills, to Chimney Top Creek and camp in that area. You will cross several creeks with water and campsites readily available if you get tired.

Danger

There are cliffs in this area. Almost once a year someone loses their life falling off a cliff. Because of that, the Gorge sometimes has a bad reputation with non-hikers. However, with normal precautions, there is absolutely no reason for this to happen. The trails do not require you to climb cliffs, nor do they take you dangerously close to cliffs. Almost every place you would want to camp will not have a cliff nearby. The trails do pass near cliffs, and you will need to restrain children. One final word: alcohol/drugs, wandering around at night, and cliffs make up a dangerous combination.

Terrain

The entire Gorge area is hilly. You will climb up and down one or more hills on almost any hike. The hills are manageable for almost all hikers that do not have a physical limitation. There are many rocky outcroppings. The Gorge is not empty or open, it is full of trees; and only in the winter can you clearly see the cliffs from the bottom.

There are a number of impressive natural arches in the area. They are marked on the free maps from the local stores. Three of the bigger ones are Natural Bridge above the Lodge, Gray's Arch on Rough Trail near Tunnel Ridge Road, and Sky Bridge on Hwy 715 (you can drive up to this one). The trails are well used and obvious, are well marked, and have signs at intersections.

Reference

The Red River Gorge Geological Area