Waiting for 36 years. A long awaited adventure in Red River Gorge Kentucky!

Natural Bridge from the Scenic Overlook after you hike on top of it.

Red River Gorge Kentucky is a rock climber and backpackers Midwest adventure dream come true. Three hours away from Columbus. 90 minutes away from Cincinnati.  I had spent 18 years in Columbus and 18 years in Cincinnati and never made it to the Red River Gorge Area of the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky. That finally changed and I had a long awaited adventure in Red River Gorge Kentucky!

I’d like to formally apologize to Red River Gorge for this mistake on my part.

It’s not that I didn’t believe the stories.  I had heard the epic stories of outdoor adventure.

It’s not that I hadn’t been told by friends that I just had to go and I was missing out. I was being told that constantly.

It’s not that I didn’t know it had the best rock climbing scene in America not in California.  I was aware.

It’s not that I wasn’t aware of the epic backpacking and hiking options.  I was.

Jill G enjoying some views!

After 36 years I FINALLY made my first pilgrimage to Red River Gorge Kentucky. 

It wasn’t on purpose and I wasn’t trying to avoid it.  

It was certainly in the plan but I will say I was definitely surprised by just how incredible of a place this was.  Even with my decades long anticipation it blew my mind.

If you have been waiting to go to Red River Gorge Kentucky please stop waiting and just go. Finally I can say I have been to THE RED and my experience was profound. I have been back since in a first short period of time!

Black Snake cruising in the Daniel Boone National Forest

Here are my top 3 reasons why you should visit Red River Gorge Kentucky.

Windows Arch Trail. This is a great short walk/hike to impressive rock features in Red River Gorge. Nice photo opportunities are abound on this short walk and it’s also where we saw our snake! This trail is located just 10 minutes down the main road from Rock Bridge before you pull off on the gravel trail to head back to that parking lot and trailhead.

Numero Uno: The Hiking.

Natural Bridge (including the Lover’s Leap, Needle Staircase, and Gulch routes) is a wildly entertaining day hike. Throw in Whittleton Arch, the Indian Staircase, Rock Bridge, and Swift Camp Creek Trail and we had more than we could handle in three days roaming the area. We hiked about 25 miles worth of trails and saw only a smidge of the marked trails that we could have gone on. Throw in hundreds more of unmarked trails in the National Forest and you have a recipe for epicness!

You can hike endlessly here and with it being a National Forest you can roam forever, camp in much more isolated places than a National Park, and overall experience diversity and wander in a way that you might not be aware Kentucky has to offer.

The entracnce to Devil’s Gulch on Natural Bridge Hike.

Numero Dos: Rock Climbing.

This is THE pre eminent rock climbing spot in the US not located in California. There were folks from Tanzania, Quebec, and all over the states there to climb. Rocktober Fest was on the horizon but people come year around to climb here.
RRG is a mecca for rock climbers and I can’t even begin to estimate how many crags have been rung up just in the time of the writing this blog. Hundreds if not thousands just as you sit here and read this sentence.
If you are a rock climber, enjoy watching rock climbing, or want to give it a whirl this would be a great space to start. Or a place to challenge yourself. Whatever your level RRG is one of THE places to climb in the US.

Rock Climbing the Via Ferrata Loop above. You shimmy across thin ledges, climb up, climb down, and climb sideways on the Advanced Route 4. It took me about 45 minutes to do this route and I needed a nice break afterwards before attempting more. I was also SOAKED in sweat from this route.

The above right pic is of me hanging on the rungs of the Via Ferrata Loop. As I mentioned before it’s very safe but it doesn’t mean it’s not still hard or a tad scary!

If you are climbing in Red River Gorge as a beginner check out Southeast Mountain Guides for this option! The Via Ferrata Loop is a great way for someone who has never rock climbed before to get out on some really intense routes but do it in a safe way.

They have six routes ranging from beginner to BLACK DIAMOND and after a short orientation, safety check, and tutorial you have four hours to climb as much as you want on the routes. It definitely would benefit you to be in good shape and not have a huge fear of heights.
I did the first four routes and the balance pole which included an advanced route and it took me the better part of 2.5 hours to complete! I was also up and hanging over 100 foot drop offs at several spots on the route.

It’s perfectly safe but if you are still scared to death of heights this might be a tad much for your first time, but sometimes you gotta face your fears right?!?!
Either way it’s a great chance to get your feet wet or a fun activity with friends and family even if you are an experienced climber.

Whittleton Arch. Big enough it looks like a cave!

Numero Tres: Miguel’s Pizza

There’s a pizza shop that offers communal camping, a basketball court, and a community of outdoorsy folks that is hard to find anywhere in the world in such an authentic way.  Let alone in the backwoods of Kentucky!
But Miguel did it.  We camped there for two nights and LOVED it.  The camping is cheap for climbers ($3 per person per night) and the pizza is good and the coffee is hot.
A night at Miguel’s is hard to explain until you do it yourself.  It’s the “Camp Four” of the East!

There were tons of other reasons I could list in why you should visit RRG.  We found a wonderful coffee shop, hit the via ferrata climbing loop with the Southeast Mountain guides as I mentioned before, and explored the National Forest region as much as one could expect to do in just three days.

Swift Camp Creek Trail.

It’s a shame I waited 36 years to visit what I would consider the best outdoor adventure area in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, and West Virginia. (I picked Ohio since I was living there then and the states that it borders and touches.)

I certainly won’t be waiting that long to head back there.

Maybe that’s a good theme for life.  If you have been waiting to do something you have been told is awesome, stop waiting and go do it. Life is now. Spend it doing good for the planet and lighting yourself up inside with joy. The older I get the more I am shifting to this thought process that this is what is important in life and you can really simplify how you live and go about your days by just focusing on these small items.
Anything else is kind of moot and a time waster. It will only suck our energy dry instead of give us more to make us feel stronger and build up others (both humans, animals, and plants) in the same way.

Have you been to Red River Gorge in Kentucky?
Any other outdoor adventures in the Midwest I am missing that I need to visit?

Comment below and thanks for reading! If you want more Outdoor Adventure ideas in America make sure you tune in to our podcast HERE.

Because Adventure Feeds the Soul,
Mike R