United States Jpogi · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
159 metres, to scale.
A slice through Red River Gorge where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.
Standing on the floor, to scale: Great Pyramid · 139 m
Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is.
159m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
2.6km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
22°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
211m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In August the afternoon reaches 31 °C. The best months to hike are in April and in October. The rim freezes at night from December to February.
- 5°4°Jan
- 7°6°Feb
- 13°12°Mar
- 19°18°Apr
- 24°23°May
- 28°27°Jun
- 30°29°Jul
- 31°30°Aug
- 28°27°Sep
- 20°19°Oct
- 13°12°Nov
- 7°6°Dec
Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.
Canyon system in Kentucky, National Natural Landmark
Red River Gorge is a canyon in United States, cut by the Red River. The relief model measures 159 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 2.6 km wide where the cut was taken. It lies within Daniel Boone National Forest.
Getting there.
- Camptonnearest town · 12 km in a straight line
- Parking 100 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Chimney Top Rocknearest viewpoint · 1.3 km from the floor
- Blue Grass Airport (LEX)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 90 km in a straight lineCar hire in LexingtonDiscover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In April and in Octoberbest months to hike (estimate)
Plan the visit
Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
The river
The Red River runs highest from February to May and in December.
The Red River carries about 4.6 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from February to May and in December.
- 5.3 m³/sJan
- 6.9 m³/sFeb
- 9.7 m³/sMar
- 11 m³/sApr
- 9.4 m³/sMay
- 5.5 m³/sJun
- 5.2 m³/sJul
- 2.0 m³/sAug
- 1.5 m³/sSep
- 3.3 m³/sOct
- 4.1 m³/sNov
- 6.2 m³/sDec
From about 1.5 m³/s in the lowest month to 11 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 370 km².
Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.
From the sky.
The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.
N
1.4 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 5.5 × 5.5 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 18viewpoints within 5 kmChimney Top Rock, Gray's Arch, Indian Staircase and 15 more
- 11marked hiking routes within 4 kmRough Trail @221, Sheltowee Trace NRT Section 13, Sheltowee Trace NRT Section 12 and 8 more
- 144climbing crags within 3 kmHuevos Grande, Sassafras Tease, Sassafras Rock and 141 more
- 3footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmRough Trail, Sky Bridge Trail #214
- 1rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- 6named waterfalls within 4 kmBox Falls, Bell Falls, Copperas Falls and 3 more
- 54car parks within 3 km
- 4information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 26campsites within 8 kmMiguel's Campsite, Whittleton Campground and 24 more
- 2hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmHemlock Lodge, Sky Bridge Station
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- caves within 3 km
- bus stops within 2 km
- restaurants and cafés within 4 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Campton12 km in a straight line
- Frenchburg13 km in a straight line
- Stanton22 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Red River Gorge.
The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.
Peakyas11 mountains within 15 kmFigures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Month by month
The weather, at the floor and at the rim.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 5 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 24 | 28 | 30 | 31 | 28 | 20 | 13 | 7 |
| Afternoon · rim | 4 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 23 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 27 | 19 | 12 | 6 |
| Night · rim | -5 | -4 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 7 | 1 | -3 |
| Rain (mm) | 82 | 91 | 99 | 116 | 126 | 110 | 130 | 89 | 90 | 94 | 83 | 104 |
| Rainy days | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 |
| Sun hours/day | 3.2 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 6.7 | 7.1 | 8.4 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 7.1 | 5.6 | 4.6 | 2.9 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 12 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | 4 | -5 | 82 | 3.2 |
| Feb | 7 | 6 | -4 | 91 | 3.9 |
| Mar | 13 | 12 | 0 | 99 | 4.9 |
| Apr | 19 | 18 | 6 | 116 | 6.7 |
| May | 24 | 23 | 12 | 126 | 7.1 |
| Jun | 28 | 27 | 16 | 110 | 8.4 |
| Jul | 30 | 29 | 19 | 130 | 8.0 |
| Aug | 31 | 30 | 18 | 89 | 7.9 |
| Sep | 28 | 27 | 14 | 90 | 7.1 |
| Oct | 20 | 19 | 7 | 94 | 5.6 |
| Nov | 13 | 12 | 1 | 83 | 4.6 |
| Dec | 7 | 6 | -3 | 104 | 2.9 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (211 m) and the rim (384 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
Photographs
Seen from the trail.
Recent years
Wet years, dry years.
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 110% | 154% | 136% | 111% | 116% | 92% | 72% | 98% | 119% | 126% | 61% | 82% |
| 2021 | 110% | 150% | 117% | 61% | 51% | 116% | 125% | 144% | 89% | 93% | 57% | 94% |
| 2022 | 165% | 161% | 66% | 74% | 90% | 55% | 156% | 110% | 37% | 27% | 85% | 66% |
| 2023 | 138% | 116% | 95% | 57% | 62% | 80% | 99% | 96% | 43% | 57% | 47% | 70% |
| 2024 | 150% | 114% | 83% | 102% | 97% | 84% | 83% | 105% | 130% | 6% | 129% | 98% |
| 2025 | 95% | 200% | 91% | 191% | 147% | 112% | 100% | 34% | 114% | 131% | 91% | 60% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q2136041) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| River flow and basin | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
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