Old Frankfort Pike, Natural Bridge State Park, & Red River Gorge

Old Frankfort Pike, deemed a federal scenic byway, runs for 17 miles from Frankfort to Lexington. We thoroughly enjoyed this drive through the rolling hills of prestigious horse farms, extravagant mansions, and groves of beautiful old trees - all of which were outlined by picket fencing or old stone walls.

Beyond Lexington, we headed toward Natural Bridge State Park. Since it was lunchtime when we arrived, we stopped at the renowned Miguel's Pizza (overrated in our opinion) before locating the Low Gap trailhead. This trail starts at the Sky Lift parking lot and is the quickest path up to the Natural Bridge. The trail brings you to the base of Natural Bridge where you must climb up narrow stairs called "Fat Man's Squeeze" to get to the top. Luckily, we made it through! We had to wait a few minutes to walk across the top of the bridge because a band was shooting a music video while we were there. Once over the bridge, there is a trail to follow that took us to Lookout Point and Lover's Leap. The views were spectacular! For fun, we rode the Sky Lift back down to the parking lot.

Fat Man's Squeeze

On top of Natural Bridge

Natural Bridge from Lookout Point

Lover's Leap

Riding the Sky Lift back down

Next stop was Red River Gorge in the Daniel Boone National Forest. We drove through the Nada Tunnel, a narrow one lane tunnel, which is the entry point into the Red River Gorge Geological Area. We stopped and walked around the outside of the Gladie Visitor Center area where there is a historic barn and cabin. Back in the car, we drove a short distance to the Sky Bridge Trail. This trail passes over and beneath Sky Bridge (one of hundreds of sandstone arches in the area). It was a nice, leisurely walk that afforded some beautiful views of the Red River Gorge.

The Nada Tunnel

Sky Bridge

Although it was late in the day, we couldn't pass up stopping in the little town of Corbin, Kentucky. Corbin is the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken and the restaurant that sits on the site of the original KFC also doubles as a museum meant to honor founder, Harland Sanders. Too bad we had already eaten dinner!

Tomorrow we will explore the Cumberland Gap National Historic Park.