Bad Branch Falls State Nature Preserve is a 2,639-acre protected gorge near Whitesburg in eastern Kentucky on the north face of Pine Mountain beside Jefferson National Forest. Known for its 60-foot waterfall, it was established in its current form in 1985 through a transfer from The Nature Conservancy to the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission and expanded through later acquisitions. The preserve contains steep streams, cliffs, ridges, and rich hemlock-mixed mesophytic forest habitat that supports more than 30 rare plant and animal species, including the federally rare blackside dace. Valued for both strenuous hiking and conservation, it is an important refuge in the central Appalachians.