Kentucky State Parks

Kentucky has 49 state parks — one of the most comprehensive state resort park systems in the US, with lodge-and-cottage accommodations in scenic settings.

Natural Bridge State Resort Park (Slade)
The centerpiece of the Red River Gorge area — Natural Bridge (78 feet high, 65 feet long) is the finest natural arch in Kentucky. The Original Trail (1.5 miles round trip) ascends to the arch through mixed hardwood forest. The skylift provides a non-hiking alternative. The park's Hemlock Lodge sits in the forest below the bridge; naturalist programs run in summer.

Cumberland Falls State Resort Park (Corbin)
Home of the "Niagara of the South" — Cumberland Falls drops 68 feet across a 125-foot-wide sandstone ledge on the Cumberland River. On full-moon nights, a moonbow (lunar rainbow) forms in the mist below the falls — one of only two places in the Western Hemisphere where this phenomenon occurs reliably (the other is Victoria Falls, Africa). The park lodge, hiking trails along the river gorge, and the moonbow viewing are unique.

Carter Caves State Resort Park (Olive Hill)
In northeastern Kentucky — Carter Caves has 20 caves in a small area, three of which are accessible by tour (Cascade Cave, X Cave, Saltpeter Cave). The Natural Bridge in the park (a different arch from the Red River Gorge Natural Bridge) and the cave ecosystem are the draws.

Land Between the Lakes NRA (Golden Pond)
Between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley in western Kentucky — a federal recreation area with 170,000 acres of forest and two major lakes. The Homeplace (a living history 1850s farm), the Elk and Bison Prairie (a 700-acre wildlife viewing area with free-roaming bison and elk), and the Golden Pond Planetarium are the main attractions.

Breaks Interstate Park (Elkhorn City)
On the Virginia-Kentucky border — the Russell Fork of the Big Sandy River has carved the "Grand Canyon of the South" — a 5-mile-long, 1,600-foot-deep gorge through Pine Mountain. The whitewater rafting (Class IV-V, October release weekends) is among the finest in the eastern US.