You have many choices of trails in this state park. To see a short description of each trail click here. Here is a basic map with all of the trails.
Trails around the Natural Bridge
The original trail to the Natural Bridge is only .75 mile. However, it climbs over 500 feet. Also, you have to navigate a very narrow stair and passageway right before the top.
There are several interlocking trails around the Natural Bridge. Most of them involve a lot of stairs.
Battleship Rock Trail
Battleship Rock Trail is a relatively is a pretty flat trail that will take you to the bottom of the Natural Bridge. This .75 mile trail only gains 230 feet in elevation. Part of the trail intersects Laurel Ridge Trail by way of Devil’s Gulch Stairway. We chose to take the trails in the way where we went UP this stairway. Good choice. I think trying to come down this would have been much scarier.
Balanced Rock Trail
This .75 mile trail has over 600 stairs and begins behind Hemlock Lodge. It ends up at the Natural Bridge. Many people choose to take the original trail on the way up to Natural Bridge and this trail on the way down.
Laurel Ridge Trail
This .75 mile trail has some beautiful views as you walk around the rim of the cliffs. The sky lift intersects this trail.
Again, there are many more trails. Most of them are under a mile. They intersect so much that we took portions of every single one of them around Natural Bridge. As I mentioned, there are quite a bit of stairs, so you need to be in reasonable shape. If you have very small children, some of these trails could be challenging or even dangerous if they tend to run off on their own. The Sand Gap Trail at 7.5 miles and the Hood’s Branch Trail at 3.75 are longer hikes if you want more of a challenge.
Trails in Whittleton Campground
We decided to save these trails for our next trip to the area. You can take a short .3 mile trail to Henson’s Arch and cave, a short .25 mile to the pond below Hemlock Lodge, or a 2 mile trek to Red River Gorge.
We loved hiking in the area. Next week I will share the drive and hikes in Red River Gorge that is just a few minutes from Natural Bridge.