One of the places I was most looking forward to visiting during our 6 weeks in Kentucky was Carter Caves State Resort Park.
I’d seen photos of the park when What’s That Rattle visited last year, so I added it to our list of things to do as it looked beautiful there. Our original plan had been to stay a few days in eastern Kentucky near the park, but we ended up having to stay in Lexington for an additional few days. We therefore decided to drive the 1.5 hours east to Carter Caves State Resort Park during our time in Lexington.
I was immediately enamored as we entered the park as it’s a pretty drive alongside a creek. This would become a familiar – and welcome – scene as we spent more time in the park.
We parked outside the visitor center and got a trail map from inside (you can view the map here). We didn’t have any specific hiking trail in mind, so Shae asked the staff if they had any ideas.
They suggested the Three Bridges Trail, a 3.5 mile loop trail that takes you past – you guessed it – three bridges. These aren’t just any bridges though, they’re natural bridges formed in the rocks by erosion.
Having hiked 10 miles a couple of days beforehand, a shorter hike sounded good to me, plus it’d mean we’d get to see some interesting rock formations along the way.
Three Bridges Trail
The Three Bridges Trail starts just across the road from the visitor center parking lot, so we left our car there.
If you follow the steps up in the picture above, you’ll come to the start of the trail. Seeing as it’s a loop trail, you can head to the left or the right and you’ll end up back at this spot either way. Shae and I decided to head up to the right to see Smokey Bridge first.
Smokey Bridge was the most impressive of the three natural bridges on the trail, so that might affect whether you want to see it first or last.
The Three Bridges Trail is marked by red trail blazes, with the trail well marked all along the way.
I’d say this is a moderate trail. There’s quite a lot of hiking up and down hills, plus you’ll definitely want to have decent footwear.
Smokey Bridge
After hiking for about 0.75 miles, we reached Smokey Bridge. It was just after 1pm by that point, so Shae, Truffles and I stopped there for lunch which was at the top of a creek. That meant we got to enjoy the sound of flowing water while we ate – you can see the curve of the water in the photo below which came flowing out of the rock face.
In theory you can walk down the creek to Smokey Bridge, but the rocks were very slippery. We therefore walked down the main trail path on the left.
It was dry down there during our visit, but I imagine there might be some kind of water flow through Smokey Bridge when there’s been heavy rain.
You can see a set of steps on the right of the photo below – that’s the route you can take to continue along Three Bridges Trail.
We also took the opportunity to look back up towards where we’d eaten lunch. As you can see, Carter Caves State Resort Park is simply beautiful to walk around.
We walked through Smokey Bridge to take a look at it from the other side. I took a photo of Shae standing at the bottom to give a sense of scale as to how big it is.
After one last photo, we continued along the trail.
Raven Bridge
After leaving Smokey Bridge, we continued along the Three Bridges Trail for another 0.75 miles or so to get to Raven Bridge. Just before getting there, you have to head up to the left and walk a short distance on the Raven Bridge Trail.
After 0.1 miles, we approached Raven Bridge from beneath.
The Raven Bridge Trail continues for another half mile, going up and around Raven Bridge before meeting back up with the Three Bridges Trail. However, where it links up is back to the trail is the section we’d already walked along, so we walked the 0.1 miles back along the path we’d already taken to continue the Three Bridges Trail in the same direction we’d been traveling.
After another mile, we reached the third of the three bridges along the trail – Fern Bridge.
The trail takes you beneath Fern Bridge along another fern bridge.
I stopped for a minute on the bridge to enjoy the view and take a couple of photos…
…at which point Truffles decided she wanted to photo bomb.
Once she was done trying to be the center of attention, she led the way for the last mile back to the trailhead.
Natural Bridge
Once we’d completed the Three Bridges Trail, we figured we’d take in another natural bridge that you can find in Carter Caves State Resort Park. And that bridge is called… Natural Bridge. Note though that this isn’t the same Natural Bridge as the one at Natural Bridge State Resort Park.
It’s only half a mile or so from the visitor center parking lot, so about one mile round trip.
There was a shallow creek next to the start of the trail, so Shae decided to walk across with Truffles. As it got a little deeper, she needed a little more encouragement (AKA mild pulling) to walk all the way across.
After heavy rain, the creek probably becomes more of a stream. I’m sure it looks lovely either way.
Seeing as it was such a short trail, it didn’t take long to get there.
Natural Bridge curves round to the left and looks like it probably has more water running through it at other times of the year.
After enjoying Natural Bridge for a few minutes, we headed back along the trail. Before leaving Carter Caves State Resort Park, we stopped down by another stream to enjoy the scenery.
Final Thoughts
We had a wonderful time at Carter Caves State Resort Park and I’d have been quite happy returning for another hike if we were staying closer by.
The fact that you can see four different natural bridges by hiking fewer than five miles is awesome. The hike isn’t too strenuous and it’s a beautiful walk, especially with all the creeks and streams you’ll pass.
This was one of my favorite places we visited during our six weeks in Kentucky, so I’d highly recommend visiting if you’re in the area. It’s located in northeastern Kentucky and is close to the borders of southern Ohio and the western side of West Virginia.
Address
Carter Caves State Resort Park, 344 Caveland Dr, Olive Hill, KY 41164
The scenery was breath-taking!
It was – Kentucky’s state parks were all so beautiful.