{{short description|State park in Kentucky, United States}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}} {{Infobox park | name = Natural Bridge State Resort Park | image = Natural Bridge KY-27527-3.jpg | image_caption = Natural Bridge as viewed from Lookout Point | image_size = 280 | image_alt = Natural Bridge as viewed from Lookout Point | type = [[List of Kentucky state parks|Kentucky state park]] | location = [[Powell County, Kentucky|Powell]] and [[Wolfe County, Kentucky|Wolfe]] counties, [[Kentucky]], United States | map = Kentucky#USA | map_caption = Location in Kentucky##Location in United States | map_size = 280 | relief = 1 | coordinates = {{coord|37.776836|-83.6833147|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coords_ref = <ref name=preserves/> | area = {{convert|1900|acre}}<ref name=atlas/> | elevation = | established = 1926<ref name=history /> | administrator = Kentucky Department of Parks | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | visitation_ref = | website = {{Official website}} | module = }}
'''Natural Bridge State Resort Park''' is a public recreation area located along the Middle Fork of the [[Red River (Kentucky River tributary)|Red River]], two miles south of the unincorporated community of [[Slade, Kentucky|Slade]], in [[Powell County, Kentucky|Powell]] and [[Wolfe County, Kentucky|Wolfe]] counties, [[Kentucky]], United States. The [[state park]] lies adjacent to the [[Red River Gorge]] geologic area and is surrounded by the [[Daniel Boone National Forest]]. Its namesake [[natural bridge]] is the centerpiece of the park. The natural [[sandstone]] arch spans {{convert|78|ft}} and is {{convert|65|ft}} high. The natural process of weathering formed the arch over millions of years. Some of the most famous sites in the park are the arch itself, "Lover's Leap", and "Fat Man's Squeeze".<ref name=parks/>
The park is approximately {{convert|2300|acre}}, of which around {{convert|1200|acre}} is dedicated by the [[Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves]] as a nature preserve.<ref name=preserves/> In 1981, this land was dedicated into the [[nature preserve]]s system to protect the ecological communities and [[rare species]] habitat. The first federally endangered Virginia big-eared bats, ''[[Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus]]'', recorded in Kentucky were found at Natural Bridge State Resort Park in the 1950s.
==History== The park was founded as a private tourist attraction in 1895 by the Lexington and Eastern Railroad. In 1910, [[Louisville and Nashville Railroad]] acquired the land when it purchased the Lexington and Eastern Railroad. In 1926, [[Louisville and Nashville Railroad|L&N]]'s President Wible L. Mapother turned over its approximately 137 acres to the Kentucky State Park Commission,<ref name=lnrr/> making it one of Kentucky's original four state parks when that system was established the same year.<ref name=history/>
==Trails== There are over {{convert|20|mi|km}} of trails over uneven terrain from moderate to strenuous difficulty, including trails to White's Branch Arch, Henson's Cave Arch, and other scenic areas. The park's {{convert|0.5|mi}} "Original Trail" to the natural bridge dates from the 1890s. Other trails include the {{convert|7.5|mi}} Sand Gap Trail and the {{convert|0.75|mi|km|2|adj=on}} Balanced Rock Trail. Five miles (8 km) of the {{convert|307|mi}} Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail run through the park, including the Whittleton Trail which connects the park to the Red River Gorge Geologic Area. "Fat Man's Squeeze", a narrow passage in the rock formation, leads to the bottom of the arch.<ref name=trails/>
==Formations== Natural Bridge has several unique sandstone rock formations, including the Balanced Rock. This is a huge block of sandstone balanced on the edge of a cliff near the Natural Bridge. The "Balanced Rock", is located on Trail #2, not far above Hemlock Lodge. In the early days of the Park, it was called the Sphinx because, when viewed from the correct angle, it crudely resembles the Sphinx in Egypt. Although it is now called the Balanced Rock, it is in fact a pedestal rock - a single piece of stone that has weathered in such a fashion that its midsection is narrower than its cap or its base. This formation is one of the biggest and most perfectly formed examples of a pedestal rock east of the Rocky Mountains.{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}}
==Gallery== <gallery mode=packed class="center"> File:Natural_Bridge_Below.jpg|The natural arch of the bridge as seen from below. File:Natural Bridge KY-27527-2.jpg|The bridge as seen at ground level. Image:Balancedrock-ky-12-13-08.jpg|Balanced Rock on Trail #2. Image:Natural Bridge KY-27527-1.jpg|Sky Lift to the natural bridge area. File:KY rock cliff.jpg|Rock cliff within the park. File:Natural Bridge State Park Kentucky.jpg|Natural Bridge in Autumn. </gallery>
==References== <references> <ref name=parks>{{cite web |url=https://parks.ky.gov/explore/natural-bridge-state-resort-park-7796 |title=Natural Bridge State Resort Park |publisher=Kentucky State Parks |access-date=March 16, 2025}}</ref>
<ref name=atlas>{{cite web|url=https://www.kyatlas.com/ky-sp-nb.html |title=Natural Bridge State Resort Park |publisher=Kentucky Atlas and Gazetteer |date=2025 |access-date=March 16, 2025}}</ref>
<ref name=history>{{cite web |url=http://parks.ky.gov/parks/resortparks/natural-bridge/history.aspx |title=Natural Bridge History |publisher=Kentucky State Parks |accessdate=September 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140216183510/http://parks.ky.gov/parks/resortparks/natural-bridge/history.aspx |archive-date=2014-02-16}}</ref>
<ref name=trails>{{cite web |url=http://parks.ky.gov/parks/resortparks/natural-bridge/trails.aspx |title=Natural Bridge Trails |publisher=Kentucky State Parks |accessdate=September 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204203706/http://parks.ky.gov/parks/resortparks/natural-bridge/trails.aspx |archive-date=2014-02-04}}</ref>
<ref name=preserves>{{cite web |url=https://eec.ky.gov/Nature-Preserves/Locations/Pages/Natural-Bridge.aspx |title=Natural Bridge State Park and Nature Preserve |publisher=Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet |access-date=March 16, 2025}}</ref>
<ref name=lnrr>{{Cite web|url=https://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/ln/id/20805/rec/50|title=Louisville & Nashville Employes' Magazine |publisher=Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company |date=July 1926 |website=digital.library.louisville.edu|access-date=2017-02-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214203648/https://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/ln/id/20805/rec/50 |archive-date=2017-02-14}}</ref> </references>
==External links== {{commons category|Natural Bridge State Resort Park}} {{Portal|Kentucky}} *[https://parks.ky.gov/explore/natural-bridge-state-resort-park-7796 Natural Bridge State Resort Park] Kentucky State Parks *[https://kentucky.simpleviewcrm.com/sched/getfilebykey.cfm?filekey=1e25bdbf-49f1-4e0a-b5be-b513c4612dba Natural Bridge State Resort Park Map] Kentucky State Parks
{{Kentucky Parks}} {{EMCF Attractions}}
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[[Category:State parks of Kentucky]] [[Category:Natural arches of Kentucky]] [[Category:Protected areas of Powell County, Kentucky]] [[Category:Protected areas of Wolfe County, Kentucky]] [[Category:Daniel Boone National Forest]] [[Category:Nature centers in Kentucky]] [[Category:Landforms of Wolfe County, Kentucky]] [[Category:Landforms of Powell County, Kentucky]] [[Category:Protected areas established in 1926]] [[Category:1926 establishments in Kentucky]] [[Category:Parks established in the 1920s]]