Enjoying Central Kentucky - Red River Gorge

For the outdoor enthusiast thinking about relocating to Lexington or new to the area, Central Kentucky has many treasures within an hour's drive of Lexington. One of my favorite destinations is the Red River Gorge. Both the experienced and novice hiker can find trail after trail to enjoy in the Red River Gorge.

If you're looking for a quick easy day hike, try one of our family favorites: head to Natural Bridge State Park mid-morning. Park at the sky lift and take this up to the top (I recommend purchasing the round trip ticket and hold on to that ticket). The sky lift takes you to the top of the Bridge and from there you can find a number of trails. We typically traverse the bridge and take the trail that leads down to Hemlock Lodge for lunch. After lunch we take the Old Trail back up the mountain to the bridge (this will get your heart rate up) where we squeeze through Fat Man's Misery and end up back on top of the trail and return to parking via the Sky Lift. There's another short easy trail from the top of the bridge that gives you a great view looking back at the bridge for the fall visual effect.

Another easy but very rewarding trail is Sky Bridge. This super trail is mostly paved and provides very accessible access to Sky Bridge. If you're hiking with dogs or small children hold tight to them as you cross over the bridge (my dad confessed recently that he won't go over the bridge because he's scared of heights!). The top of the bridge affords a great view of the area and the underside provides a fascinating look at this natural wonder. Both Sky Bridge and the Natural Bridge trails are about the best introduction you can give yourself if you are new to the area. It's also fairly easy to do both of these spots in the same day as the Sky Bridge trail is no more than a mile.

A couple of great websites for more information about the Red River Gorge are www.RedRiverGorge.org and www.RedRiverGorge.com. The first site has a number of the trails listed there. If you can find it, I've also long relied on a book called Kentucky's Land of Arches.

My children also suggested I mention that one should definitely stop at the Dairy Queen in Stanton for a blizzard on the way home. After all, you'll burn a lot of calories hiking and you'll need a treat!