Natural Bridge State Resort Park lies in Kentucky’s sandstone hill country along the Middle Fork of the Red River near Slade, beside Red River Gorge and within Daniel Boone National Forest. Centered on a natural sandstone arch formed over millions of years, it became a private tourist attraction in 1895 before entering the state park system in 1926 as one of Kentucky’s original four state parks. The park now covers about 2,300 acres, including a protected nature preserve established in 1981, and features more than 20 miles of trails, notable rock formations such as Balanced Rock, and important habitat where federally endangered Virginia big-eared bats were first recorded in Kentucky.