Red River Gorge KY

“Hi there. I am planning a three or four day backpacking trip at Red River Gorge in early June. I've never been there before so would really appreciate some suggestions on trails, sights to see, camps, etc. How are the crowds there? Thanks!”

“tara, do a search of all threads for "red river gorge"...there are about 5 threads with tons of info. That should help get you started!”

“Thanks. I checked out the threads you suggested. There was a lot to read! I've got a map of the RRG and a book. I'll use some of the info in the threads to plan a nice loop.”

“tarabull, you do realize that you will owe us a trip report and pics when you return! Looking forward to it....”

“Tarabull, RRG is kinda like my home turf so once you start to get a plan together I'll be happy to help with any info that I can.

How many miles would you like to do in a day? Wanna do some swimmin' or fishin'? Will there be kids and/or booze(no cliff-side camping)? Do you wanna see a few arches(Gray's arch is definately worth a quick side trip)? Are you looking at a loop or a shuttle?

As for crowds, once you get a couple miles from the trail head the crowd REALLY thins out. I would really suggest against car camping, the rednecks can be pretty thick near the roads.

RRG is the gem of Kentucky, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.”

“...Jerbear wheeere aarre yoouuu?(sung like Car 54 theme)

He od'a be chimin' in here soon...”

“Yo bear, Hey crow, how ya doin! RRG is way cool and once you get in you will have peace. So how many places do you want to see. Camp swift is my favorite and close to water. Did a hike a month ago in clifty wilderness and the map sucked. Shewltowe is another good trail. It humps! Ifin you are just gonna do one hike. I suggest seeing the arches on the greys arch loop, chimney rock, sky bridge and indian staircase. I will be headin back down to NC Fri to do some more explorin B back in a week or so. Good luck!”

“Thanks for all the input so far! I will attempt to respond to everything: Utahiker - A trip report will not be a problem. Pics on the other hand, might be a problem. I'm not the most computer literate. So I don't even know how to get pictures on a website...walkincrow - We are pretty open about the number of miles we will hike in a day. Depending on the "ups and downs" of the land, up to 10 miles is good. We plaln to head out on the trail on Thursday morning and return to the car on Sunday. We'll swim, fish, whatever. Kids, you ask? Sort of... no children. But we're all kids at heart. The group is myself, my boyfriend, my brother (late 20s to early 30s) and my father (54). Some other 20-somethings may come along as well. Booze? There may be a small flask of something in one of our packs but not enough to do any harm so cliff side camping would be fine. In fact, it sounds GREAT. As far as scenery goes. We just want to see what there is to see. Arches, rivers, etc. Whatever you suggest is fine by us. A loop is preferred since we don't know much about getting a shuttle. We'll only have one car w/ us. jerbear - We want to see as much as we can see. sounds like you all know the place really well. So I am really looking forward to hearing some trail suggestions. Thanks!”