In 2007 we made a short visit to the Kentucky Red River Gorge primarily looking at camping here for a more detailed look. As I reported on the Kentucky page the campgrounds here were too primitive for us or required a RV we do not have. Although we camped at Cave Run we took this one day to drive down and see if the fall colors were any better in the gorge.
As shown here from one of the overlooks the color was nice but not spectacular.
Surrounding this old cabin at Gladie, Kentucky and for most of the area the color was not quite as good. As you can see behind the cabin there are again some trees with the leaves totally gone and some in the foreground totally green.
We did hike a few of the rather rough trails like this one down to Whistling Arch which is claimed to moan when the wind hits the opening just right.
This tree along the trail reminds me of Dally Parton's Wildflowers lyrics saying they don't care where they grow. The tree, even hit by lighting, doesn't have much of a choice and stubbornly clings to the bare rocks on the hillside.
Here is the north entrance to the Nada Tunnel. The south entrance and some of the history is shown on the Kentucky page. One of the problems of logging in this area is the lack of transportation. In the early 1900s they typically used what are called "Splash Dams" which impounded the spring runoff behind a log palisade that opened suddenly to release a tidal wave carrying the logs downstream. Today's roads are much better and modern practice uses helicopters to lift logs out of difficult areas.