Berea, KY Outdoor Activities

Suspended up to 250 feet above the Kentucky wilderness and stretching up to 1,900 feet long, Red River Gorge's five ziplines web out across its namesake ravine and Daniel Boone National Forest. Harnessed visitors clamber up to platforms and across sky bridges for a pterodactyl's-eye view that greets them during two- or three-hour zipline canopy tours. The final two legs of the tour are dual racing lines, where riders zoom at up to 50 miles per hour. Explorers can also traverse the wild in the comfort of a U.S. Army hummer during off-road tours, which wind through the Kentucky mountains with seasoned guides behind the wheel.

Deep within the Appalachian Mountains, the forest's leaves flutter as a blurry figure speeds by. But the creature high above the treetops isn't a bird, a plane, or a sports mascot recently released back into the wild. It's a person strapped into one of Black Mountain Thunder Zipline’s 11 ziplines, which take customers some 400 feet above the ground and at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. Spread over 1.5 miles, the ziplines wind through canopies and down mountain slopes on trips that last roughly two hours. Expert guides tag along on every tour to ensure safety and instruct adventurers on equipment.

Stearns Coal & Lumber Company, which controlled more than 200 square miles of land in Kentucky and Tennessee, built the K&T Railway to navigate and export its vast mountain resources. Now owned by a nonprofit organization, the K&T Railway still chugs along the same scenic pathways, importing sightseers and history buffs to glimpse the area's coal, lumber, and railroading past. Trips down into the gorge of the Big South Fork River drop almost 600 feet of elevation in 5 miles, with the train's sturdy engine conquering the steep mountain descent and ascent. In addition to traditional trips, the railway also offers specialty excursions that include hiking trips, twilight Halloween-themed rides, and a Santa Express fueled by the burning presents of disobedient children.