Overview. This is a nice day hike or first day of backpacking starting at Rock Bridge Trail in Clifty Wilderness and finishing at the Rough-Swift Camp Creek Trailhead on KY-715. Included are two waterfalls and three arches on nearly all marked trails with the exception of the spur to Turtle Back Arch, requiring a short Class 3 Scramble. Be sure to check the hiker notes and cautions below before hiking this route.

Route Type | Point to Point (shuttle required)
Total Distance | 9.16 miles
Elevation Gain | 1,796 feet
Overall Difficulty | Moderate with Class 2 & 3 Scrambles

GPS Waypoints
Rock Bridge South Trailhead | 37.769917, -83.566831
Creation Falls | 37.769386, -83.561469
Rock Bridge | 37.770033, -83.561339
Rock Bridge-Swift Camp Creek Trail Junction | 37.770194, -83.559625
Pooch’s Turtle Falls/Turn to Turtle Back Arch | 37.775894, -83.565564
Class 3 Scramble | 37.776881, -83.566325
Class 2 Scramble | 37.777289, -83.567050
Turtle Back Arch | 37.777386, -83.567019
Swift Camp Creek-Wildcat Trail Junction | 37.789247, -83.571456
Turn to Angel Windows | 37.798369, -83.590656
Angel Windows Trailhead | 37.798767, -83.591197
Angel Windows | 37.800022, -83.592906
Swift Camp Creek-Rough Trailhead | 37.801839, -83.590656
Red River Gorge Area Map

Parking. There is a great deal of parking at both trailheads. Leave one vehicle at the Swift Camp Creek-Rough Trail parking lot on KY-715 and one at the Rock Bridge Trail parking area. OR, book a shuttle with Leave No Trace Adventures. On busy weekends, these lots can be full. Park only in designated areas to avoid a hefty ticket. If parking overnight, pick-up a permit at a local gas station and display it on your vehicle.

Trail Navigation. Locate the Rock Bridge South Trailhead (the first trailhead on the one way parking loop) and begin walking downhill. Circle around to visit Creation Falls and Rock Bridge before moving uphill to reach the junction with Swift Camp Creek Trail. Go straight through the intersection and continue until reaching the top of Pooch’s Turtle Falls that was trickling on my visit after several dry days. Just across the drainage, you’ll see a “T” carved into a tree. This is A spur to Turtle Back Arch. Move past this and come to a large opening/camping area. Move straight across this barren land to find the trail uphill on the other side. This area is a spaghetti network, but generally move uphill in a northwesterly direction toward the scramble waypoint listed above. Once above the scramble, continue on the south side of the rock and find a second scramble just past a cut tree and noted in the waypoints as Class 2 Scramble. This will take you to the top of the rock. Go to the other side and look for a large root in a carve out of the rock - this is the route down to Turtle Back Arch. Wrap around the rock, descending to first see Turtle Back Window, then the arch. Retrace your steps to return to Swift Camp Creek Trail or walk the more intuitive route as I did to reach the main trail. Turn left and continue up Swift Camp Creek Trail until reaching the final turn at Son’s Branch. The trail here has a big enough drop that you should take the alternate route on approach right, crossing the small stream, moving over/around some deadfall, and finally, regaining the official trail. Continue uphill toward KY-715 until reaching a fork noted in the waypoints above. This is the spur to Angel Windows Trailhead. Cross the road and hike Angel Windows Trail out and back before crossing over the road again and taking the other fork leading to the end of Swift Camp Creek Trail and the beginning of Rough Trail. This is a large parking lot with room for up to 22 vehicles. Hop in the car you left here or wait for your pick-up.

HIKER NOTE - Slow Travel. It had been a number of years since my last hike on this trail, and it continues to erode. Plan for slower travel. I had planned for 20 minutes/mile and wound up at 30 minutes/mile. The section between Pooch’s Turtle Falls and the final turn away from Swift Camp Creek is the slowest part. I would say travel is faster on Rough Trail by comparison - even with its much steeper average grade.

HIKER NOTE - Waterfalls. Pooch’s Turtle Falls was a trickle, so I didn’t bother visiting the viewing area below. If you visit during a wetter period, the scramble is south of the waypoint listed and is slick and steep. You’ll descend and then wade through the creek before reaching a cove-like area below the falls.

HIKER NOTE - Adding Rough Trail & Spurs. I had intended to make this a longer day, but didn’t have enough time after some commitments in the morning and slower than expected travel times. I’ll document that next portion another day and combine these two segments into a longer, more interesting backpacking route hiking either westbound (as I did here) or eastbound from Martin’s Fork.

CAUTION - Class 3 Scramble. There is a short scramble with less than perfect hand/footholds up some relatively slick rock on the approach to Turtle Back Arch. Take care here to avoid a big slide/bounce/major injury/death. Rope would be nice, but none is in place. Look carefully to find the appropriate holds. The low holds are slick depressions in the rock - stay centered/balanced atop these as you grab the handholds above. These are much higher quality holds. Transfer weight uphill and finish the scramble to the top. On the way down, start with the high quality holds and lower your feet into the depressions while transferring weight over the top of them to achieve balance. It’s not terribly difficulty to execute, but if you’re not used to moving in this way, it can be sketchy/scary/dangerous. When hiking alone, take extra care here.

CAUTION - Deadly Drops. Long falls from high places are the #1 non-health related cause of death for hikers in Kentucky. Keep your distance from the edges of cliffs to avoid a deadly fall. Young children should be kept close.

CAUTION - Poisonous Snakes. Copperheads and timber rattlesnakes can be found in the area. Should you encounter one, stop and slowly back away. Always give venomous snakes a wide berth. Know Before You Go => University of Kentucky Venomous Snake Guide

CAUTION - Black Bears. Ursus Americanus - a.k.a. the American black bear is growing in population throughout much of Kentucky. Know Before You Go => US Forest Service Black Bear Safety Tips