Shedenhelm's Law of Backpacking states that, "All trails have more uphill sections than they do downhill or level sections." Boy, is that the truth! Especially o the way back to the car! Remember, I am a FAT girl hiking! :)

I am trying to start with more of the "family friendly" hikes. Natural Arch, off of US 27 between Somerset and Whitley City fits this bill perfectly. First, you pull into a beautiful picnic area. NOTE: There is a $3 day use fee for the area, but it well worth it. The picnic area includes a covered pavilion and grill, swings, and the cutest amphitheater!  (I am trying to figure out how to do a wedding there! The only drawback I can think of is that the bride would have to get ready in the outhouse!).

Unlike the first two hikes I shared, this one is to a beautiful arch! Natural Arch is one of Kentucky's largest sandstone arches. The arch is located in the Natural Arch Scenic Area a short drive off of US Highway 27 (approximately 20 miles south of Somerset, KY). From US 27, there is a small sign stating "Natural Arch". We had always seen the sign as we traveled along US 27, but had never ventured close enough to check it out. The Scenic Area is located about 2 miles from the highway on Day Ridge Road (KY 927). Turn right if coming from Someret. The area is easy to locate once on this road. Again, there is a kiosk with envelopes for your to leave the $3 for parking. There are blanks for you to fill out your vehicle information, but we rarely have a writing instrument in our Jeep, so we leave our portion of the envelope that you tear off, easily assessable on the dash board.


There is a beautiful vantage point about 200 yards from the parking area where anyone can see the arch without leaving the comfort of the sidewalk.

March, 2013

Another short walk will take you a bit closer to the arch. you must return to the parking area and take Trail 510. It is mostly black top/sidewalk, but as you get closer to the lookout, the terrain gets a bit uneven and would be difficult for some to maneuver across. Here you will find the second look out area.

This is why I love this park!
The entire family could enjoy their time here and get a great view of an amazing arch!

The trail continues on down to the arch itself. There are many stairs on this trail, which are the most difficult part of the hike, not including the trail that makes a 5 mile loop back to the arch. After about .2 mile, the trail intersect with Buffalo Canyon Trail # 508. Here, turn right and follow the combined path of both trails, to the base of the arch.

Tony at the base of the arch

 

The arch is 50 feet in height and 90 feet long.

There is a sign at the arch that tells about the Native Americans that once lived in this area. They called the arches "light houses" for the way the sunlight filters through the opening. I cannot think of a more beautiful name!

"Light House" seems appropriate, doesn't it?

You can return back to the parking lot the same way you arrived at the arch, or you can continue on the rest of the 5.5 mile hike. This day, we returned to the parking area due to the late time of our arrival. Later on, we  returned for the entire hike. As you will see by the pictures, the seasons are completely different! We returned in January of 2014, after a pretty good snow. This day was fairly "warm" for January, so we decided to take advantage of the weather and...HIKE! What we hadn't counted on was for the creeks to be up due to the melting snow.

The first of many creek crossings

 I originally took this shot for the "beautiful snow on the fallen tree across the creek" angle. I did not know at the time that the tree would be my way across the creek!

Tony, the Builder, crossed the makeshift bridge with no problem!

Becky, the Chicken, crossed inch by inch!

 Around two miles into the hike, you will cross Copper Creek. Usually, it is not hard to do so. The creek was up so high, we had to wander upstream and try to find an alternative way across. Remember Becky the Chicken? I was too afraid to cross on the wet, slippery rocks that my husband had no trouble bounding across. I think he was ready to ring my neck! But, we were too far from the Jeep and way too far from home to get wet on this January hike! So.......we hiked and hiked until we found a fallen tree sturdy enough to cross. Here I go...again!

 

A nice shot of my foot as I cross the snowy tree!

Of course, all that back tracking we did got us way off course for the trail on the other side. We don't like "Daniel Boone"-ing it (forging our own trail), but in this case it was necessary. 

Tony found a nice set of antlers in the woods.

 On this side of the creek, there was a lot more snow covering the ground. We took one wrong turn and had to double back to the trail.

Once back to the arch, you take the same, initial path. At this point, our 5.5 mile hike had turned into a six or seven mile adventure. The hike itself was great! But, climbing back up all those steps was not. I would, however, like to try it without the snow, flooded creeks, and tree trunk bridges. Maybe we'll go back...in June, July, or August!

The 5.5 mile loop is definitely NOT a Neeley Family Friendly hike. We'll reserve this one for just my husband and myself!

P.S. When we are out and about, we drop by Natural Arch Scenic Area from time to time. These were taken in late spring, while the dogwood trees were still in bloom.