Muir Valley Climbing and Nature Preserve — Attraction in Kentucky

Muir Valley has an astounding collection of climbable walls, tough but really great hikes, and beauty on a scale almost unimaginable in comparison to the urban Midwest.

Routes range from beginner to no thank you and there are plenty of each spread out over the many walls throughout the valley.

There is quite a bit of trad and a smattering of top rope routes but this place seems mostly for sport climbs.

There are plenty of books out there on the gorge and the Mountain Project app is pretty accurate here due to the traffic it sees. Most of the routes have a little coin in the rock below them with the name and difficulty etched in.

Many of the climbs are newly bolted and we actually ran into a guy who maintains Muir Valley and was replacing old bolts and putting mussy hooks on the tops to make them more safe. There is a poster with a QR code in the pavilion near the parking lot to report any bad bolts - so the place is well cared for. They also provide loaner stick clips and water in the same area at the start of the trails.

There are a few outhouses on the main trail, but bring your own hand sanitizer and toilet paper to be on the safe side - they may well be out.

I would recommend closed toe shoes at the very least, if not actual hiking shoes or boots to get to and from your wall of choice. The trails are maintained but most of them have at least some rough patches and you don't want to go over any edges here.

Do some research before you go to find the right experience for you, and don't forget to sign a waiver at Muir Valley's website! Sadly, no pets are allowed. Other than that, the place is perfect. So be safe...

Had soooo much fun! We stayed in a cabin. It was the perfect size. It had plenty of dishes and alliances. The two side rap around porch and jacuzzi was wonderful. The house found have used a detailing but wasn't that bad. My bed was really hard but we grabbed a egg carton foam and it was ok. We had a grill and fire pit too. There were tons of awesome trails to walk. There were several different levels of rigor. There was rock climbing. Some of the equipment such as poles and eye hooks were provided for climbers. There was a crazy amount of activities around us too. There is cave kyaking, sky lift, natural bridge, waterfalls, off roading, and tons more! I can't wait till we...

We hiked to horseshoe falls (about 2 miles roundtrip) and it was amazing! Super cool cave formation, my kids all did it. There are tons of climbing walls with clip ins and benches and easy access. There is a $15 honor system parking fee but well worth it for the high quality climbing. There is a covered picnic area at the entrance, a waterbottle refill station, grabbing sticks for anyone's use, 2 bathrooms, and a soda vending machine...