Encompassing a section of the Cumberland Mountains in eastern Kentucky, the 708,000-acre Daniel Boone National Forest features some of the most rugged terrain between the nearby Appalachian Mountains and the Rocky Mountains on the far side of the Great Plains. Established in 1937 as the Cumberland National Forest, it is characterized by steep forested slopes, sandstone cliffs and narrow ravines. The Forest still bears the scars of coal mining and commercial logging, which occurred before the national forest designation.
Popular activities on the Forest include camping, hiking, fishing mountain biking, rock climbing, horseback riding, canoing, and hunting various game animals, including elk, which were re-introduced between 1997 and 2002. Iconic features include natural sandstone arches, the Red River Gorge, two wilderness areas, Cliff Palace Pond, historic ironworks furnaces, and the Barren Fork Accessible Heritage Trail.
Red River Gorge is designated as a national geological area. It features many sandstone arches, the Wild and Scenic Red River, and the Clifty Wildernes Area. Cliff Palace Pond is a small, nondescript pond on Keener Point Knob, but the pond and nearby stone shelters contain a 10,000-year record of human habitation.
By the 1830s, Kentucky was the third largest iron producer in the country. Remnants of iron furnaces remain on the Forest, including Fitchburg, the world’s largest charcoal furnace at 81 feet tall. Constructed in 1868, it was the last charcoal-fired iron-smelting furnace built in the U.S. It is recognized for its intricate architectural design and dry-stone masonry construction.
The 0.75-mile Barren Fork Trail is located in an area that was once a coal mining town and is paved for wheelchair accessibility. The community was home to more than 100 coal-mining families, and the mine produced some of the highest quality coal in the region until it closed in 1935 as a result of labor disputes.
The Forest also features two scenic byways, the Zilpo National Forest Scenic Byway and the Red River Gorge Scenic Byway.
Photo: Natural Arch in Daniel Boone National Forest (Forest Service photo).
