Hike Princess Arch Trail, Red River Gorge, Kentucky

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Princess Arch Trail #233 extends along a dry wooded ridge to the scenic Princess Arch. The trail is located in the Red River Gorge on Cumberland Ranger District. The cliffs in the Red River Gorge are beautiful, but they can be dangerous if you step too close to the edge. Each year, someone is seriously injured or killed from falling off a cliff in the Red River Gorge. Please exercise caution and avoid getting near cliff edges. The Red River Gorge Geological Area has more than 100 natural arches, the greatest concentration of arches east of the Rocky Mountains. The defining geologic strata of the Red River Gorge were formed about 300 million years ago. Sediment, sand and pebbles eroding from the ancient Appalachian mountains were carried by a great river and deposited as a delta at the edge of a shallow inland sea that covered much of the middle part of North America. Over millions of years, the mountains were worn down, the sediments turned to rock and the inland sea receded. Gradually, streams began cutting down through the relatively flat layers of sedimentary rock. Because sandstone is a harder rock, it resisted erosion better than the shale and siltstone layers above and below. Erosion and weathering over millions of years sculpted the striking sandstone cliffs and intriguing geologic features that we see today in the Red River Gorge.

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