Red River Gorge

[Preacher_68]

Anyone hiked this area, I'm looking at the area that includes Koomer campground and Grays arch etc. Thinking of spending a few days and making some sort of loop out it. Looking for suggestions on time of year, things to be aware of, any other good hikes in the area, etc. I'm taking my 14 year old son and maybe my 21 year old son with me.

[Cookerhiker]

I hike there quite frequently. The best time of year is early spring when the weather warms up, the forest floor starts greening with early wildflowers, and the leaves are not out yet. Best of all, the arches, natural bridges, rockhouses, and clifflines are more visible before the onset of foliage. So if your son gets a school spring break, that's the time to go.

You can base-camp at either Koomer Ridge campground (National Forest) or Natural Bridge State Park. The latter is geologically part of the gorge and adjoins the RRG Scenic Area within the National Forest. In addition to its very impressive namesake, there are numerous rock shelters and cliff lines in the park. There's good hiking in both the state park and the RRG Scenic Area.

[Preacher_68]

Thank you for the information

[MidTenn Trekker]

Thank you for the information

We hiked in the Red River Gorge a few years ago on a Boy Scout outing. Beautiful rock formations. Watch for copperheads, as we saw several there. Have fun.

[gbolt]

I did two day hike trips a few years back. One to the Natural Bridge area and the other to Gray's Arch. I want to get back and actually do some backpacking because it is an open camping permit area. Just haven't found the time to plan it out. However, I did enjoy Sintax77's you tube video on the Gorge. Here is the link http://youtu.be/5Johk_ftei8 if you like watching as well as reading. Would love to hear others take on the Gorge.

[Cookerhiker]

We hiked in the Red River Gorge a few years ago on a Boy Scout outing. Beautiful rock formations. Watch for copperheads, as we saw several there. Have fun.

That's interesting in that during the 5 years I've lived in KY, I hike the Gorge year-round, including snake season. In fact, I was there yesterday. Never seen a copperhead or a rattler.

I did two day hike trips a few years back. One to the Natural Bridge area and the other to Gray's Arch. I want to get back and actually do some backpacking because it is an open camping permit area. Just haven't found the time to plan it out. However, I did enjoy Sintax77's you tube video on the Gorge. Here is the link http://youtu.be/5Johk_ftei8 if you like watching as well as reading. Would love to hear others take on the Gorge.

As you probably know, you can't backcountry camp in Natural Bridge State Park. As far as the Gorge, I've seen backpackers and there are some nice places to camp. Some are in the gorges by water sources although personally, I'd prefer to camp atop the ridges to see sunrises, sunsets, and full moon. You'd have to lug your water up there, but no single ascent is more than 500' of elevation change; most are less.

The Gorge is compact enough that you could also base-camp at either Natural Bridge SP or Koomer Ridge Campground in the National Forest and cover the entire Gorge via day-hiking.

As I stated in my previous post, I strongly recommend hiking the Gorge in early spring (mid-March to mid-April) or late fall (late October-mid-November) because the best views of the clifflines, arches, and rockhouses are when the leaves are off the trees.

[-SEEKER-]

"As you probably know, you can't backcountry camp in Natural Bridge State Park."

While this is true, Natural Bridge's Backcountry was the first place I ever camped. The Hamilton Country Park District had a special program where they got permission to take a small group backpacking and we camped in the backcountry. They taught us Leave No Trace Principles and we were give little tags afterward. It was a great first time experience.
As for the Gorge, I went with another group and we visited Pilot's Knob, an area where we were shown Petroglyphs and Gray's Arch. In that area there was a small monument to a young man from my area who had lost his life there. People were encouraged to contact his family and hear his story. I did so and got a very nice phone call from his Father. This was in May of 2001 so I'm not sure if the same experience could be had today.

[Cookerhiker]

"As you probably know, you can't backcountry camp in Natural Bridge State Park."

...Petroglyphs and Gray's Arch. In that area there was a small monument to a young man from my area who had lost his life there. People were encouraged to contact his family and hear his story. I did so and got a very nice phone call from his Father. This was in May of 2001 so I'm not sure if the same experience could be had today.

While I can't cite statistics, tragedies like this still occur. If not literally every year, they're still often enough. Edges can be slippery and although the Gorge isn't mountainous like the Whites or the western US, the cliffs are high enough; a 200' fall will kill you as easily as a 2,000' fall.