Hiking Kentucky's Natural Bridge Near the Red River Gorge

Natural Bridge in Eastern Kentucky

Kentucky's Natural Bridge State Park provides an opportunity to share with you everything that is wrong with the state park system in some states. With signs everywhere stating not to wonder off the trail, the state has built an offensive set of trails that are often fenced in. As well, to get more people to show up in this beautiful state park, they have to build amenities that often intrude on its fragile nature. For instance, for those people who can't walk a half mile trail, the shortest from parking lot to the natural bridge, there is a ski lift you can ride for $9. I thought state parks were to encourage man and nature, not intrude on it. (If you can't walk half a mile...) The fences and other eye sores prevented me from examining a cave along the trail.

They have to put restaurants, gift shops, swimming pools, man-made lakes, and other eye sores to get people to show up. Remember, this is a state park in a forested area near the Daniel Boone National Forest.

None-the-less, the Kentucky's natural arch is impressive despite all the man-made silliness that takes away from the nature experience. The park offers 18 miles of trail, which do take you in remote locations in the park away from the main tourist attraction and in face with some beautiful cliffs in the Cumberland Plateau.

Features beyond natural bridge include Battlerocks and Devil's Gorge.

There's not a lot of lodging in the area, and the Lil' Abner Motel socks it to people if you are looking for a hotel. As well, camping wasn't allowed in the state park through winter until April 1, so camping was limited to a field next to a pizza joint. Another complaint, for some reason many of these nature nazis in these parks don't like dogs hiking the trails. No dogs allowed. This may be because of the black bear population, but still...

All this doesn't take away from the beautiful and impressive natural bridge. It's size is unbelievable, and while you have to do some uphill hiking to get to it, you can be at the top in about 30 minutes from a parking lot a half-mile away at a slow pace.

Here's some photos:

The last stretch of trail to the top of Natural Bridge is
quite narrow.

A view from the top.

If you pay $9 rather than hike the .5 miles from the nearest
parking lot, you have no right to complain about gas
prices. How about a little healthy effort. It's only a half
mile from the closest parking lot (which I didn't park at).

Humbug!

Natural Bridge from an adjacent cliff.

A dusting of snow in late March.

On top of the Natural Bridge. You can see where some morons needed to
let you know they had been there by carving their names into the stone,
the equivalent of a graffiti artist in the city.