Nada Tunnel

In the early 1900s logging was king in the hills of eastern Kentucky, and the timber-rich Red River Gorge was a prize. The trouble was getting the felled trees out over such broken terrain. The Dana Lumber Company's answer was to punch a rail tunnel straight through a ridge so a small locomotive could carry logs from the Gorge to its mill in Clay City rather than fight the long way around.

The work was brutal. Between December 1910 and September 1911, crews bored through the rock with steam-powered drills and blasted their way forward with dynamite, and the tunnel that resulted measured roughly 12 feet wide and 13 feet high, just enough for the log train. The tunnel took its name from Nada, Kentucky, a small logging town that once stood miles beyond it and has since all but vanished.

When the timber ran out and the logging railroad was abandoned, the tunnel could have been forgotten. Instead its narrow bore was pressed into service as a one-lane road, and because it lay squarely on the western approach to the Gorge, it became the classic way in. Today Kentucky Route 77 threads through it, and passing through the dark, dripping tunnel has become a small rite of passage for anyone heading to the cliffs and arches beyond.

The tunnel remains almost exactly as the loggers left it: unlined rock overhead, water seeping down the walls, and barely room for a single vehicle. That authenticity is the whole appeal. It is not a modern, tiled highway tunnel but a raw survivor of the logging era, and driving through it feels like slipping backward in time on the way to one of Kentucky's great natural wonders.

What waits on the other side is the reason people come. The Red River Gorge Geological Area, part of the Daniel Boone National Forest, is a maze of towering sandstone cliffs, deep green hollows, and more than a hundred natural stone arches, one of the finest concentrations of rock arches in the eastern United States. It draws hikers, backpackers, and rock climbers from all over the country.

Just beyond the tunnel and the neighboring towns lie some of the Gorge's best-known sights, from soaring natural bridges to overlooks that gaze out across the whole cliff-lined canyon. The tunnel makes a fitting overture: a tight, dim passage through the rock that opens onto a landscape of the very same stone, carved instead by wind and water over unimaginable time.

Take it slow and take turns. Because only one vehicle fits at a time, the etiquette is simple: stop at the entrance, look all the way through, and if you see headlights coming, wait and let them clear before you go. Switch your own headlights on, since the tunnel is unlit, and mind the low, close ceiling, which means large RVs and trailers should find another route entirely.

There are no services at the tunnel, so fuel up and grab supplies in nearby Stanton or Slade first. On busy fall weekends, when the Gorge fills with leaf-peepers and climbers, expect to queue a little, and bring some patience. Handled with care, driving through Nada Tunnel is one of the small, genuine thrills of a Kentucky road trip, and the perfect way to arrive at the Red River Gorge.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.