Ski Lift to Natural Bridge

Rappelling from rocky cliffs. Scaling improbable heights on an ATV. Ziplining from mountain top to mountain top. Riding a ski lift. Paddling past deadly boulders while whitewater rafting.  Sort of sounds like a shot list from the Avenger’s new movie doesn’t it? In actuality, it’s all doable in your next vacation if you explore Kentucky. They’ve got a park for that.

Everyone knows about the Kentucky Derby; but there’s a wealth of other activities to enjoy year –round for the adventure seeker. Above are just some of the things I experienced last month in Kentucky, but action adventure activities that I missed include hot air balloons, powered parachutes, skydiving, canoeing and kayaking, caving, climbing, tree climbing. horseback riding, mountain biking, boating, sailing, scuba diving and shooting.

In fact, Kentucky has a separate Adventure Tourism department in the state government, so you know they mean business. Centrally located in the US, it’s a quick trip from just about anywhere to get here. In this series, we’ll be looking at five great places I can personally recommend for your next adventure vacation:

·         Natural Bridge State Resort Park in Slade, KY

·         Red River Outdoors – Slade, KY

·         Cumberland Falls State Resort Park in Corbin, KY

·         Sheltowee Trace Outfitters in Whitley City, KY

·         Black Mountain Thunder Ziplines and Off-Road Adventure in Evarts, KY

Hit them all in one week or spend a week at each, there’s plenty of adventure waiting in Kentucky.

Natural Bridge State Resort Park is one of Kentucky’s 17 ‘resort’ parks where there is a lodge with rooms and a restaurant. On 2,380 acres of land, Natural Bridge is one of the larger ones. It offers year round cabins (11) and lodge facilities (35 rooms) with a pool, as well as seasonal camping. Chef Susan in the Sandstone Arches Restaurant whips up a great selection of buffet items including fried chicken and catfish. Rumor has it that many people drive all the way from Cincinnati, OH just for the catfish.

The rooms in the lodge are quite comfortable, all with forest views and balconies cantilevered over the edge of the woods.  Mine had a pair of queen beds with table and chairs and a six drawer dresser. A flat screen TV, big coffee pot and full carpeting made me feel right at home. Wi-Fi let me keep in touch and post some photos to Facebook.

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The signature attraction and the namesake for this park is the Natural Bridge, a natural sandstone arch bridge – 78 feet across and 65 feet tall. To see it, you’ve got to get to the top of the plateau. Taking a ski lift or walking to the top are both options, but we took the easy way out and opted for the ski lift. It was a nice long ride – exceptionally quiet and smooth – probably the quietest I’ve ever experienced.

There are 20 miles of trails in the park and a couple well marked trails lead to either Lookout Point or the arch itself.  We took the Laurel Ridge Trail first, winding our way around to see Natural Bridge in profile from Lookout Point. The trail gets its name from the Mountain Laurels you’ll find on either side as you hike. From Lookout Point, you get great views of Natural Bridge and an expansive look at the rest of the park.

Hiking over Natural Bridge itself is not the least bit technical, since the arch is a good 24’ wide at its narrowest. This trail is actually the most hiked trail in Kentucky since it was opened in 1926. The arch itself has been estimated to be somewhere between 200 thousand and 1 million years old. Whichever it is, that’s old.

Join me in the next article where we jump off a cliff, do some climbing and grab some wild pizza at a great little climbers’ hangout.

Outdoor adventure – think Kentucky