You have a wide choice of lodging at Natural Bridge. Hemlock Lodge is a 1950s style state park facility in the center of everything. The state park also offers cottages deep in the forest on the slope across from the lodge. The park offers two very nice campgrounds, although the Whittleton Arch Campground is in deep forest along Whittleton Creek, so it's a lot cooler in Summer. The Li'l Abner Motel is just a mile away. Cliffview Lodge is an upscale option. And there are over 100 cabins for rent within five miles of the park. |
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| Hemlock Lodge contains 35 rooms, featuring private patios looking out over the deep forest, as in the photos above. When the park is fully functioning (it has never recovered from COVID), it has a really good restaurant, a really good tavern, and a mediocre gift shop (with all items made in China despite being surrounded by local Kentucky artisans). Rooms contain refrigerators, TVs, Wifi and tubs. The mattresses are very comfortable. Decor is best described as Mid Century Rustic. Prices are reasonable, often as low as $75- 100 a night, but they go up in Summers and Octobers. Maintenance and cleaning have been poor for decades. Metal surfaces, such as railings and flashings, badly need sanded and repainted. Rooms themselves are kept clean, but patios are not swept so expect leaves, acorns and cobwebs. For some bizarre reason the toilets are kindergarten models, very low, so if you have knee or hip issues you'll have problems. The Lodge is only steps away from the main trailhead and Museum and a very lonnng staircase leads down to the pool. Despite years of neglect and current undermanagement, this is still a very good place to stay. |
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Natural Bridge State Park offers four two bedroom and seven one bedroom cottages. All include outdoor grills, full kitchens, tableware, cooking utensils, a dishwasher, and linens. Cottages are five minute walks from Hemlock Lodge with its restaurant and tavern (if you're lucky enough to be there when they're open), steps away from the various trailheads, and a lonnng staircase down to the pool and lake. The cottages are built on a steep slope so from your vehicle you'll have a long staircase either up or down, with about 100 stairs. Pack accordingly. You're in deep forest with everything from Deer to Bear, but Raccoons are particularly common. You can't leave anything, especially food items, on the decks. These are 1950s era cottages, very rustic, and have not been well cared for over 60 years. Staying here is a step up from camping but these are not 21st Century luxury units. You come here for the magnificent Mixed Mesophytic Forest and access to the hiking trails. There is no WiFi. |
Natural Bridge State Park offers two campgrounds : Whittleton Arch and Middle Branch. Whittleton Arch is smaller but as you can see from the photo at right is very nice, deep in forest, along Whittleton Creek. This photo shows trailers but there's a special loop just for tents.
There are all the usual amenities : picnic tables, grills, power hookups, etc. In June, July and August this is ideal because it's in the shade and a cool breeze flows down the valley at night. Whittleton is across Route 11 from the main park. It also has the huge advantage of having two major trailheads : one for the Whittleton Arch Trail, and the other connecting to the entire Red River Gorge Trail network. During the week it's reasonably easy to get a spot here but it fills up every weekend. Middle Branch, by comparison, is a much bigger campground just up from Hoedown Island, on the same side of Route 11 as the main park, but it's out in the open and sites get much hotter in Summer. There's no WiFi service at either site. At Whittleton, the further up the creek you go, the quieter it gets at night. Whittleton is better suited to small tents and small trailers such as tear drops (as shown in the photo). The narrow winding drive is hard for large units to navigate and the sites are a bit small for large tents. |
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However, if the state park is full, or you just prefer to stay somewhere else, there's Li'l Abner's Motel a mile from the park entrance. It's clean, reasonably priced, with air conditioning, TV, phones, refrigerators, kitchenettes, Wifi, Microwaves, a pool, outdoor grills, picnic tables, a picnic shelter for rainy days, coffee in the office and comfortable beds. There are also suites and cottages. This is a 1950s motel which has retained its 50s vibe. The owner is on premises, very friendly, and if something isn't right he'll fix it on the spot. You need to bring your own shower supplies, as none of the usual shampoo, conditioner, body wash or other amenities are provided. However, the water is hot and the shower is fine. |
| Another option is a cabin outside the park. There are just over 100 cabins within three miles of Slade, almost all of them high on ridges with good views. A third are small, two person units with hot tubs, fireplaces and kitchens. The others are larger units for four, six, or eight people. The Natural Bridge and Gorge area has only become a huge tourist attraction in the 21st Century, so these cabins have all been built within the last 20 years. Many are truly beautiful, homes you would be happy to live in as your major residence, except, built for tourists, they lack the garages, basements, attics and storage capacity homes built for residences have. There are a dozen cabin rental companies, but the major ones are Natural Bridge Cabin Company, Scenic Cabin Rentals and 5 Star Cabin Rentals. |
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If you really want to spice up your weekend or vacation, rent a treehouse. They're the newest fad in the Natural Bridge and Red River Gorge area and some of them are truly amazing. You do have to have a tolerance for heights, and with their steps they're clearly not handicap accessible. But if you can climb steep stairs and handle eating and sleeping in the treetops, spending time in one of these beautiful structures will be an unforgettable experience. Sunrises, sunsets and storms as seen from a treehouse are amazing, and you'll be looking at Owls and Red Tailed Hawks at eye level.
Companies to contact for treehouse rentals are The Canopy Crew, Red River Gorge Cabin Rentals and Red River Gorgeous. |
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