After driving mountain roads, your family will enjoy a stop at Natural Bridge State Resort Park. With options for camping, lodge or cabin stays, this is the perfect staging point for several days of outdoor activity. Unwind poolside below Hemlock Lodge (free pool access for lodge and cottage guests; open to public for a nominal fee) or explore Hoedown Island Lake by pedal boat or hydrobike.

Hold hands and don't make any sudden moves aboard the Sky Bridge (don't worry it is wider than it looks!)    M. Kopp

Rested up, it’s time to hit the trail. If climbing up to Natural Bridge is too much of a hike for young legs, consider taking the Skylift, starting 1/2 mile from the park entrance. The lift takes passengers to within 600 feet of the 78-foot long, 65-foot high sandstone arch. If you’re planning on skipping the lift, the Original Trail (3/4 mile, built in 1890’s) is the most popular hiking option for an arch view.

The park has nine different hiking trails, ranging from 1/2 to 7 1/2 miles in length, so you can mix and match to meet your family’s hiking abilities. The Natural Bridge State Resort Park Trail Guide pamphlet has an overview map and trail descriptions. While at the brochure rack, be sure to pick up a copy of the Red River Gorge pamphlet -- ‘cause that’s where you’re going next!

Passing through the 900-foot, unlit, single-track Nada Tunnel into the Red River Gorge, it’s easy to imagine you’re entering a world of adventure. The 13-foot wide by 12-foot high tunnel once echoed with the sound of locomotives hauling logs out of the Gorge. Nada doesn’t mean nothing in this case, it’s an anagram for Dana -- the name of the lumber company who purchased 25,000 acres in the Gorge in 1909 and opened up the remote wilderness.

In 1933, the Forest Service bought a chunk of the Gorge for a new National Forest. There are over 100 arches and 60 miles of hiking trails waiting to be explored. This year marks the grand opening of the Gladie Cultural Environmental Learning Center -- interpreting the history of the Gorge through 13,000 years of human occupation with hands-on displays and video presentations.

Floating the Red River   M. Kopp

Just a few miles up the road is the seasonal, open-air "office" of the Red River Outfitters -- where canoes are rented, paddles sized, lifejackets donned and, following a short walk down to the river, boats are launched.

Following on the heels of a flood with trees down and river levels higher than normal, I questioned the Class 1+ rating (meaning it has few challenging sections) at times, but overall the paddle was leisurely and tranquil. We skimmed beneath green canopies, past lush grottos and saw occasional cabins tucked in the woods. Paddling 5 1/2 miles in about three hours with several novice teams in the boats, our group came away muddy but smiling!

The short canoeing season (usually April to June) is water level dependent -- sometimes going longer or shorter, although according to Garry Chaney (owner of Red River Outdoors), many people are willing to extend the season by dragging the boats through low water level sections just to get out on the river.

After a fun, half-day of paddling, finish the drive through the scenic Gorge. Sky Bridge arch makes a great short hike to stretch the kinks out (and kids will love walking across the wide, 75-foot long arch and climbing back up the loop-trail stairs).

Now that bodies are limbered up it’s time for the ultimate adventure -- rock climbing. With a twist! The Via Ferrata at Torrent Falls is a family-friendly (age 10 and up) climbing facility that will thrill, chill and captivate. It offers the experience of being out on the rock with the support of engineered iron rungs for extra handgrips and footholds. Via Ferrata means "iron path" or "iron way".

Torrent Falls is the first climbing system of its kind in the United States. Circumnavigating a natural rock amphitheater, climbers wear safety-tested harnesses and clip into a sturdy cable. Using metal rungs drilled into the rock, they work their way through the beginner/family section on the right-hand side of the rocky, horseshoe-shaped alcove. Lots of rungs, lots of support.

Bumping up a notch, the intermediate route takes away just a few of the man-made holds, challenging climbers to use the rock a bit more as they wind their way behind the falls. The advanced route becomes black diamond near the end of the complete 3400-foot climb, but don’t worry, there are five points along the way where climbers can bail out.

Owner Mark Meyer’s daughter Nicole holds the record for the course -- 24 minutes, 8 seconds (it will take most of us three hours to do the same, if we finish!). Climbers can climb as many times as they want, all for one daily price. After working up an appetite, stay for a bite of Mark’s Mountain Barbecue -- the pulled pork is mouth-watering and in quantities enough to share (but only if you’ve wimped out of the climbing!).

Natural Bridge State Park offers plenty of water fun.   M. Kopp

If You Go:

For general information on travel in Southern & Eastern Kentucky, visit the SEKY Tourism Development Association at www.tourseky.com. Natural Bridge State Resort Park is about a 45 minute drive southeast of Lexington. Information on the park can be found at www.ky.gov/agencies/parks/ and click on the map at Natural Bridge. For information about trail conditions, maps and recreational opportunities in Daniel Boone National Forest/Red River Gorge, go online to www.southernregion.fs.fed.us/boone/ and click on Stanton District. Investigate Red River Outdoors and their offerings at www.redriveroutdoors.com. Visit Torrent Falls virtually at www.torrentfalls.com.