Natural Bridge State Resort Park RV & Campground Guide

If you enjoy fishing, you can cast for bluegill, bass, rainbow trout, black crappie, longear sunfish, green sunfish, channel catfish, and black bullhead on Mill Creek Lake. Fishing equipment is lent free of charge. You will need a Kentucky fishing license, which you can purchase online at the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Natural Bridge State Resort Park has several geocaches that attract intrepid treasure hunters. There is also an EarthCache near Natural Bridge. If you have a hand-held GPS or a smartphone, you can join the scavenger hunt and leave items for the next searchers to discover.

This park is a wonderful place to spot small mammals and amphibians. Look for white-tailed deer, cottontail rabbits, and chipmunks on the ground, and hawks in the skies. There are several interesting rock formations in addition to the famed Natural Bridge, and the forests are filled with ferns, trees, and plants. Spring is the perfect time to view wildflowers, and fall foliage is gorgeous in October.

May and June are the best months to spot and listen to the neotropical woodland warblers who make the park their home. Late September is a good time to experience the fall migration, and December, January, and February are fun times to see woodpeckers, kinglets, nuthatches, and cardinals among the bare branches. Many colorful species, like the American goldfinch, indigo bunting, and belted kingfisher, live in the park year-round. The Whittleton Branch Trail, Hood’s Branch Trail, Rock Garden Trail, and Mill Creek Lake are excellent places to see the birds you love.

The park is a lovely place to stargaze, although you may need to drive a bit to get away from the artificial light near the cabins and lodge.

The park hosts more than 118 species of plants, including uncommon plant species like spinulose wood ferns in the old-growth forest. You can find eastern hemlock, sweet birch, white pine, tulip tree, northern red oak, sugar maple, walnut, and yellow buckeye along the trails, and the upland forests contain chestnut trees as well as white, scarlet, and black oaks and Virginia pines. The forest floor has liverworts and mosses, edible and medicinal plants, and many stunning wildflower species. Wetland areas feature cinnamon ferns, sedges, bulrush, silky willow, and Canada lily.

The park’s Mill Creek Lake is a quiet and beautiful spot for paddling, kayaking, and canoeing. You may bring your own boats or rent a kayak or canoe during the summer season, which lasts from Memorial Day through Labor Day. A launch ramp is available.

You can bring your mountain, hybrid, or road bike to Natural Bridge State Resort Park, but there are no designated bike trails. Contact park officials for details.

Ten trails ranging from 0.5 to 7.5 miles long await hikers of all skill levels. Most run through a designated nature preserve. The 1.6-mile Balanced Rock Trail, the park's steepest, takes you up 600 limestone steps to the mouth of a small cave, then continues until you reach the top of Natural Bridge. Whittleton Trail is a 4.5-mile path connecting Natural Bridge and Red River Gorge.

You can swim at your own risk in Mill Creek Lake, but it is not recommended. For a small fee, you may use the park’s spacious pool complex, which includes a spacious stone bathhouse, a large river-themed pool with floor bubblers and directional water jets, and a fenced wading pool with a fountain.

Rock climbing is forbidden within Natural Bridge State Park, but serious climbers may want to visit the nearby Red River Gorge Geological Area for world-class sport climbing opportunities.