Hiking The Princess Arch Trail in Red River Gorge
The Princess Arch Trail (#233) is located in the Red River Gorge in the Cumberland District of the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky.
The parking lot for the trailhead can be found at the end of Chimney Top Rock Road (37.82526, -83.6177).
This is a 0.60 mile out and back hike with about 100 feet of elevation gain and it’s pet friendly.
From the parking lot follow the diamond blazes along the ridge through a pine/hardwood forest with rhododendron shrubs growing along the trail.
I’ll warn you those rhododendron love to grow their roots over the trail so be careful not to twist your ankle.
Once you get to the 32 foot Princess Arch you can go straight and walk over the top of the arch or left and go under the arch.
There is a small loop and the end of the arch that allows you to go under and over so hiker’s choice as to which you choose first.
Once you are done checking out the arch return the way you came to your car. I will note that the hike back is slightly uphill most of the way, but it’s not really hard.
Princess Arch is by far the longest and most impressive arch we saw in the hikes we did in the area.
Chimney Top Rock Road is a long dirt road, but it’s worth the trip to check out Princess Arch.
The trailhead for Chimney Top also starts in the same parking lot so you get to do two hikes once you reach the end.
