Red River Gorge and Natural Bridge State Park

There’s more than one way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

This year, instead of drinking green beer on a patio, I traveled to Red River Gorge in eastern Kentucky with two friends for an overnight hiking trip. Before this trip, I hadn’t slept in a tent since I was a kid, so I was really excited (and a little nervous, because you know, bears…) about the opportunity to sleep under the stars and roast marshmellows over a campfire. In reality, we had to put a cover over the top of the tent to keep the rain out, and there was no campfire to roast marshmellows over, also because of the rain. But hey, that’s why we brought wine, which we enjoyed inside the tent after a long day of exploring, protected from the rain (and the bears).

Candidly, the camping piece of our weekend was not very primitive. We pitched our tent in an assigned spot at a campground. We drove right up to our spot and actually had access to indoor plumbing. All things considered, these were ideal conditions for a novice camper like me. We got to experience sleeping outside (next to a babbling brook, I might add), but didn’t have to carry all of our supplies up the side of a mountain. I have no doubt that I could handle more extreme camping, but I’ll never underestimate a scenario that allows me to sleep out in nature without sacrificing bathroom access.

After we prepared the campsite and erected our tent on Saturday morning, we set out to find and climb the infamous Indian Staircase, a very smooth  and steep rock face that adventurous hikers can scale with no equipment by relying on small recesses worn into the rock over hundreds of years.

An important thing to note about Red River Gorge is that many of its 100+ trails are unmarked and can be difficult to find unless you know what you’re looking for. For example, Indian Staircase is only accessible through a series of spur trails originating  from the Bison Way Trailhead. Despite some thorough research, my friends and I accidentally hiked around the backside of this section of the gorge and came out on top of Indian Staircase.

The path we followed was completely gorgeous, but I honestly can’t tell you how we ended up on top of Indian Staircase, except that we opted for the more upward route every time the trail split. We thought that this would eventually lead us to the foot of the staircase, but we came around a sharp corner on a high and narrow trail only to realize that we’d already reached the top via an alternate route. Oops! Ideally, we’d have hiked to the bottom of the staircase and ventured up, as crawling down proved to be much more of a challenge than climbing up.

After a slow, careful descent of Indian Staircase, we followed a series of paths back out to the Bison Way Trailhead. From there, we made our way over to the Cloud Splitter Trail, which proved to be the most difficult, but most rewarding, hike of the weekend. As with the trails that provide access to Indian Staircase, the trail up to Cloud Splitter isn’t signed. However, on this hike, the “always upward” strategy works. I could provide more specific direction, but actually finding this gem is part of the fun, so good luck (:

This one felt like an obstacle course, demanding and dangerous at times but totally worth the effort. After a steep upward hike that involved scrambling over rocks and hoisting ourselves up the steep path, using roots and vines for leverage, we reached the mouth of a cave. The visible trail ends here, presenting hikers who want to proceed further with two options: through the cave or over it. Each route has a unique and breathtakingly gorgeous end point, but both present significant challenges.

We decided to venture through the cave first, enticed by rumors we’d heard about the view from the opening on the other side. To say the least, getting through the cave involved more climbing and crawling than hiking. The total distance from the mouth of the cave to the opening on the other side can’t be more than 100 yards, but the end isn’t visible until you’re almost there.

Needless to say, this part of the journey would be uncomfortable for a person of size or anyone who feels apprehensive in small, confined spaces. The view that awaits the ambitious hiker on the other side, however, is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The opening provides a stunning view of the gorge below, and the flat lower surfaces of the cave allow hikers to comfortably sit with their feet dangling over the sharp edge for an exhilarating view of the surrounding scenery.

We stayed here for a while, taking in the gorgeous views, before traveling back out to the mouth of the cave and making our way up the final section of rock that leads to the top of Cloud Splitter. Admittedly, this part of the journey was terrifying, but thrilling at the same time. Apparently, the park service puts ropes in place here during the peak summer season, to assist hikers with the most perilous section of the climb. The ropes weren’t up yet, this early in the year, so I channeled my inner Spiderman and asked God for forgiveness on a couple of unresolved transgressions (just in case) as I shimmied across the smooth and nearly vertical rock surface that diagonally climbs up toward more level ground.

As you may suspect, I survived, and the reward was absolutely worth the risk. The top of Cloud Splitter provides a spectacular 360 degree view of Red River Gorge. It’s one of those truly special experiences that’s difficult to capture in words or photos and impossible to comprehend unless you’re there in person to take it all in.

With rain and nightfall approaching, we descended back into the gorge and rewarded ourselves for the 6+ miles of strenuous hiking with a pizza feast at Miguel’s, a dive that’s deservedly popular with both locals and visitors. Sleep came easily in our tent that night, as the result of full stomachs and tired muscles (and the wine, of course).

The following day, we headed over to Natural Bridge State Park, an area adjacent to Red River Gorge and a short 20 minute drive from where we camped. We set out on a 3.5 mile hike along the Natural Bridge and Battleship Rock Trail.

The first mile of the hike is a steady uphill climb through a combination of natural inclines and manmade staircases. The path traverses through a serene forest before it curves upward through a narrow, rocky passage and emerges on top of Battleship Rock. Battleship Rock provides a beautiful view of Natural Bridge from about a mile away (as pictured above), but the trail eventually leads across the top of the bridge, which in return offers an unobstructed view of the immense Battleship Rock (as pictured below).

The section of the trail between Battleship Rock and Natural Bridge is fairly level, as it’s on top of the wall of the gorge, and there are plenty of opportunities to veer off the main trail to explore short spurs that lead to various overlook points on either side. After crossing over the top of Natural Bridge, the trail then descends down, around, and under the bridge, offering hikers amazing views of this natural phenomenon from every angle.

All things considered, this St. patrick’s Day celebration may have been my best one yet. I didn’t have any green beer or find any four-leaf clovers, but I felt beyond lucky to experience this holiday in an unconventional way with friends who share my passion for exploring. I’m not sure what’s on deck for April, but March’s adventure at Red River Gorge will be tough to beat.