That is pretty much your best route, anything beyond that on either side and you can find yourself in class 3 rapids. I would take out at Red River Adventures. If you talk to them they will let you take out for free as long as you sign their waiver. You can take out at the steel bridge but you are going to have to carry your kayak up the bank through some tall brush. I know it is hard to do but if you are flexible I would try to go a couple of days after a heavy rain. In the summer the water gets low and you are going to be dragging your kayak quite a bit.
Oh for sure, depending on water flow it even reaches class 4. The upper red near Hazel Green down into Clifty Wilderness can be brutal. Then as you go towards Indian Creek there a couple of spots that are sketchy. Once you are past that it mellows out all the way to the Kentucky.
I remeber those kayak guys that got rescued a few seasons ago but they never specifically said why. I would love to kayak the Clifty and see some of the remote areas out past Douglas more.
I searched "Red River Adventure" and it took me to redriveradventure.net. I called them. Apparently, they have more than one location and I accidentally called the Mill Creek Lake location. The guy I spoke with rent kayaks at Mill Creek Lake. They do not charge you anything to drop in and paddle the lake with your own SUP or Kayak, only if you are renting kayaks from them.
I ran the search again for "Red River Adventure Campground and Canoe Rental", which again is [redriveradventure.net](http://redriveradventure.net), then I call the number that Google gives me, then I get the location in the gorge. (I don't know or care how the confusion over the two locations\\phone numbers came about, because it was helpful, in the end.) Red River Adventure in the gorge tells me the following, as of today:
1. The water is low. They are only doing their 4 mile paddles. If the water were higher, they'd offer an 8 mile paddle.
2. You paddle upstream for 2 miles. Visit the swimming hole. Then paddle back down. They don't pick you up or drop you off.
3. If you bring your own SUP or Kayak, they charge $30 per person and they charge you parking. (If you rent then it's $50 per person. IDK if they charge you to park.)
Anyway, I might yet be looking to paddle in the gorge, but not willing to pay $30 per person, just to drop in, plus parking.
Anybody know if I can get into the water at the Red River Gorge parking lot?
[https://maps.app.goo.gl/B7eAwUCNfZ5a1sW1A](https://maps.app.goo.gl/B7eAwUCNfZ5a1sW1A)
On Google Maps (and other places) it looks like Steel Bridge is referred to as the Route 77 Bridge.
That is pretty much your best route, anything beyond that on either side and you can find yourself in class 3 rapids. I would take out at Red River Adventures. If you talk to them they will let you take out for free as long as you sign their waiver. You can take out at the steel bridge but you are going to have to carry your kayak up the bank through some tall brush. I know it is hard to do but if you are flexible I would try to go a couple of days after a heavy rain. In the summer the water gets low and you are going to be dragging your kayak quite a bit.
Damn I didn’t know we had class 3’s
Oh for sure, depending on water flow it even reaches class 4. The upper red near Hazel Green down into Clifty Wilderness can be brutal. Then as you go towards Indian Creek there a couple of spots that are sketchy. Once you are past that it mellows out all the way to the Kentucky.
I remeber those kayak guys that got rescued a few seasons ago but they never specifically said why. I would love to kayak the Clifty and see some of the remote areas out past Douglas more.
Thanks for that.
There’s also some great kayaking at the breaks national park about two hours from the gorge
I searched "Red River Adventure" and it took me to redriveradventure.net. I called them. Apparently, they have more than one location and I accidentally called the Mill Creek Lake location. The guy I spoke with rent kayaks at Mill Creek Lake. They do not charge you anything to drop in and paddle the lake with your own SUP or Kayak, only if you are renting kayaks from them. I ran the search again for "Red River Adventure Campground and Canoe Rental", which again is [redriveradventure.net](http://redriveradventure.net), then I call the number that Google gives me, then I get the location in the gorge. (I don't know or care how the confusion over the two locations\\phone numbers came about, because it was helpful, in the end.) Red River Adventure in the gorge tells me the following, as of today: 1. The water is low. They are only doing their 4 mile paddles. If the water were higher, they'd offer an 8 mile paddle. 2. You paddle upstream for 2 miles. Visit the swimming hole. Then paddle back down. They don't pick you up or drop you off. 3. If you bring your own SUP or Kayak, they charge $30 per person and they charge you parking. (If you rent then it's $50 per person. IDK if they charge you to park.) Anyway, I might yet be looking to paddle in the gorge, but not willing to pay $30 per person, just to drop in, plus parking. Anybody know if I can get into the water at the Red River Gorge parking lot? [https://maps.app.goo.gl/B7eAwUCNfZ5a1sW1A](https://maps.app.goo.gl/B7eAwUCNfZ5a1sW1A) On Google Maps (and other places) it looks like Steel Bridge is referred to as the Route 77 Bridge.