Fall is peak season in the Red River Gorge. Here’s how to make the most of it.

When the temperature drops, the sandstone cliffs and arches of the Red River Gorge come alive with fall color — so too does the gorge’s small trailhead parking lots and winding two-lane roads.

Weekends in October are the busiest at one of Kentucky’s most popular natural features, a traffic study conducted last year by the state’s transportation cabinet showed. Traffic in the area has been increasing since 2020.

“October and into early November (is) a very busy time here on the forest,” said Tim Eling, a spokesperson for the Daniel Boone National Forest. “The weather’s usually pretty nice, drier, lower humidities, leaves changing colors. Just a lot of people love to come out then.”

Folks looking to experience a picturesque Kentucky autumn can do so on the more than 700,000 acres of nearby public land — most of which can be reached within a few hours drive of Central Kentucky. The 29,000-acre Red River Gorge is a small but spectacular part of that.

The Smoky Mountains Fall Foliage prediction, which uses data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, expects fall foliage to be at its peak in Central and Eastern Kentucky during the last two weeks of October.

Every five years, the Forest Service conducts surveys to see what the most popular forms of recreation are. “Driving for pleasure” always ranks highest, Eling said. After that, generally hiking, camping, hunting, fishing and rock climbing also rank highly in the fall months.

Below is a guide (which only scratches the surface) on how to enjoy a Kentucky fall in the Red River Gorge, popular state parks and on federally managed Daniel Boone National Forest.

Wherever you go outdoors, remember to follow Leave No Trace principles. October is also the start of Kentucky’s fall fire season which lasts until December 15. For the latest on fire regulations, bans and conditions on the forest, Eling recommended checking the National Forest’s website. Additionally, calling the ranger district nearest to where you’ll be exploring is a great way to get the latest, local information.

“The Daniel Boone National Forest has four ranger districts, and each one of those has people that work there and can help answer questions,” Eling said. “Sometimes they have more specific knowledge about a particular area on their district.”

How do I avoid the crowds at Natural Bridge or Red River Gorge?

If you’re looking to find more solitude in nature or simply hoping to secure a parking spot at your favorite trailhead, then Eling recommended getting there early in the day.

“If it’s a nice weather day, the earlier you can get out, the better,” Eling said. Getting to your destination by 9 a.m., he said, is much better than arriving around late morning to midday. According to the state’s traffic study of the gorge, early afternoon on October Saturdays are some of the busiest times of the year.

Visiting the gorge on a fall weekend will likely guarantee some crowds, Eling said. Trying to visit on a weekday can make a big difference. On a Wednesday in October 2022, the state’s traffic study measured a little under 1,000 vehicles per day passing along KY Route 77, a major road through the gorge. On the busiest Saturday, that number was closer to 2,500.

Simply going where the crowds aren’t — like a different part of the gorge or larger National Forest — is also a sure-fire way for more solitude. Eling recommended the Sky Bridge Recreation Area within the gorge and the Natural Arch Scenic Area in southern Kentucky. It’s home to a nearly 100-foot wide sandstone arch.

“This is a beautiful, huge arch and there’s some trails there that go under the arch and you can get a great view looking up at it,” Eling said.

Scenic drives around the Daniel Boone National Forest

A couple of scenic drives weave through the Forest, Eling said. Perhaps the lesser known being the Zilpo Scenic Byway, an 11-mile road that offers views of Cave Run Lake near Morehead. It’s a “beautiful drive with lots of vistas where you can see the leaves changing colors and also be looking over the lake,” Eling said.

The 46-mile Red River Gorge Scenic Byway goes through the gorge itself, running at times along the Red River, and offers access to several hiking trails and passes through the iconic Nada Tunnel — known by many as the gateway to the gorge.

While much of the roads around the Red River Gorge are able to handle the fall traffic, minutes-long delays can occur at the 900-foot-long tunnel that is only wide enough for one direction of travel at a time. It’s nothing like a Lexington rush hour, but the state’s traffic study did observe a nearly nine-minute wait at the tunnel on an October Saturday in 2022.

The forest also offers off-roading opportunities. According to the Forest Service, the Redbird Crest and White Sulphur OHV trails are the two designated off-highway vehicle trails.

Take a hike

If you’re just getting into hiking or new to the area, the gorge’s Scenic Byway offers multiple short hikes. The nearby Natural Bridge State Resort Park — which like the Red River Gorge is also typically accessed via the Slade exit on the Mountain Parkway — also offers multiple hikes that are around two miles in distance while offering great views.

Popular hiking apps and websites like AllTrails or the Hiking Project offer maps and descriptions of hundreds of curated trails of varying difficulty. There are hundreds of trails in the Forest; an app may help narrow down your search to suit your skillset.

A more challenging hike could include taking on sections of the Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail. The 343-mile trail runs from near Oneida, Tenn., up the entire length of the Daniel Boone National Forest to near Morehead. Along the way, it passes by Cumberland Falls State Park, Natural Bridge and is the backbone trail of the Red River Gorge.

The Sheltowee Trace Association helps to maintain and promote the trail, said Steve Barbour, the non-profit’s executive director. Those looking to sample some of the easier parts of the trail should do so around Cave Run Lake or Laurel Lake. If you’re looking for a more remote location, he recommended the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.

Especially in the fall and spring, many through-hikers take on the entirety of the trail in one typically three-week backpacking adventure. The association offers shuttle services to hikers and events for folks looking to get involved.

“I just dropped off a hiker from Atlanta, Georgia, who’s starting today to hike the whole thing in the next three weeks,” Barbour said. “And he came specifically because the leaves are changing and wanting to get into the woods.”

If you’re looking to get into backpacking, the association is offering a fall introductory course from October 27-29 in the Red River Gorge.

Climbing and water sports

The Red River Gorge is also a world-renowned rock climbing destination. A 2021 study estimated that climbers spend nearly $8.7 million annually in the five counties around the gorge.

The non-profit Red River Gorge Climbers’ Coalition has purchased and made available hundreds of acres of prime climbing territory. Eling said the Forest Service can also direct folks interested in climbing to private businesses that have the proper permitting for the forest.

You can also paddle, kayak or fish on the Red River — a little over 19 miles of which is the only river miles in Kentucky to have a National Wild and Scenic River designation.

More info on fishing, hunting and other recreational activities can be found on the Daniel Boone National Forest’s website.

Farther afield

There’s more outdoor fun to be had in Eastern Kentucky beyond the Daniel Boone National Forest. They include:

• Pikeville’s recently opened off-road Hillbilly Trails System

• The under development, long-distance Pine Mountain State Scenic Trail

• A multitude of state parks that can be found here

• A map of the state’s nature preserves and heritage sites