Red River Gorge, Natural canyon system in Slade, Kentucky, United States

Red River Gorge is a natural canyon system with sandstone cliffs and arches within the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky. The gorge cuts through forested hills and displays rock shelters, overhangs, and small streams that have carved through the soft stone over thousands of years.

Archaeological evidence shows human occupation from over 12,000 years ago, with rockshelters holding hearths, atlatls, stone tools and storage pits. Nada Tunnel, a 900-foot logging tunnel 12 feet wide and 13 feet high, was built between 1910 and 1912 using dynamite, steam drills and hand tools; one worker died when frozen dynamite exploded near a fire. A decades-long fight against a proposed flood-control dam ended in 1993 when a 19.4-mile stretch of the Red River gained federal Wild and Scenic protection.

Climbers call the area "the Red" or "the Gorge", and the Red River Gorge Climbers' Coalition is based here. The sandstone cliffs and cliff lines made it one of the world's top rock climbing destinations. The gorge's rockshelters hold petroglyphs of animals and were used for storage pits of plants, nuts and tools.

Backcountry camping requires a permit that must be requested from the forest service in advance. More than 60 miles (95 kilometers) of marked trails run through the terrain and offer different difficulty levels for hikers and climbers.

A rare white-haired goldenrod grows in a limited section of the gorge and is found nowhere else in this form. The rock arches formed through erosion and freeze-thaw cycles, with some openings becoming visible only in recent decades.