Tourists will have a chance to zip through the Red River Gorge thanks to a $250,000 loan from the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority.Kentucky Zipline Adventures plans to open later this year and will offer six ziplines ranging from a few hundred feet to more than 1,500 feet long. It will operate in Clay City eight months a year and is expected to employ 15 to 18 people.
In ziplining, an activity popular at adventure tourism spots and often seen in television obstacle courses, participants wear a harness that is attached by pulley to an inclined cable high above the ground and strung between platforms. Participants then travel, or "zip," between platforms, usually at tree-line level.
The Red River Gorge in the Daniel Boone National Forest in central Kentucky is an excellent setting for a world-class zipline tree-canopy tour.
Red River Gorge, now officially known as the Red River Gorge Geological Area, has over 100 natural sandstone arches, making it the greatest concentration of arches east of the Rocky Mountains. In addition to the arches and spectacular sandstone cliffs the area is most known for, there is also a 9-mile stretch of the Red River that was designated as a National Wild River in 1985.
Click here and here for more information on the Red River Gorge, including several hiking opportunities. I highly recommend the Auxier Ridge Trail, Grey's Arch and the Sky Bridge Loop as an excellent introduction to the Gorge area.
Jeff
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