Hey Guys!

This post will conclude our time in the Red River Gorge area.

Read Day 1 here, Day 2 here, Day 3 here & Click here to see links to all of my blog posts

Click here to see my YouTube channel

I just loved waking up to these views!

If you’ve never stayed in a treehouse, I highly recommend you try one out!

After getting out of bed and making our coffee, we headed straight to the hot tub!

When I made my reservation for the treehouse, they had an option where you could pay $50 for a late check out so, I chose to do that so we wouldn’t have to rush around trying to get packed up and leave by 11 am.

Instead of checking out at 11, you got to check out at 12:30 pm.

It was $50 well spent in my opinion!

And it meant we could spend more time in the hot tub! 😉

After our time in the hot tub, we headed to the kitchen to make our breakfast.

I had leftover steak from our dinner the night before so, I had that with some eggs, bacon and fruit.

My hubby hates eggs so he made himself a ham and cheese croissant.

After breakfast, we started packing up so we would have plenty of time to relax before we had to leave.

Once we were all packed, we took a few last pictures of the property.

We really enjoyed our time here and I would definitely book this property again!

The treehouse can accommodate up to 8 people but personally, I would never stay here with that many people since there’s only one bathroom…. and not to mention, there’s only one comfortable bed!

After leaving the treehouse, we drove down to the bottom of the hill and parked across the street so we could hike to another arch before we left.

It was called Grays Arch.

There is another trail located here called Martins Fork. This is a 7-8 mile loop trail that includes Grays Arch and one other arch.

Click here for the top 10 hikes in the Red River Gorge

The trailhead to Grays Arch starts across the road from the parking lot.

The hike is about 2 miles round trip.

At the beginning of the trail, you will cross a small bridge that crosses a stream.

This is another very pretty hike!

You will be walking along a scenic and winding trail through the forest that passes by spectacular rock formations and a small stream.

You will also cross a few of these small “bridges” along the way.

After walking for about 10-15 mins, we decided to turn back because the trail was very muddy and I didn’t have on my hiking shoes!!

Hiking back 🙁

I highly recommend you always wear good hiking boots or shoes when on any of these trails…not only were most of them muddy, but they had a lot of exposed rocks and roots!

Tip: After getting home and researching this hike, you definitely will want to add this one to your list! I am so disappointed that we didn’t do it…the arch looks amazing!

As we were walking back to our vehicle, I spotted these flowers blooming alongside the creek.

We saw lots of beautiful flowers blooming in this area.

After leaving here, we decided to go get some ice cream.

There are a couple of places you can get ice cream in this area…one is called the Red River Gorge General Store and the other is called The Brick.

We decided to try out the Brick.

It’s located in an old historic building that was built in 1909 and used to be the general store for a “self-sustaining” orphanage.

Watch a YouTube video about it here & read more about the ice cream shop here

There were several flavors to choose from!

They also offered smoothies, milkshakes, banana splits, fresh baked pastries and coffee!

I ordered two scoops…one scoop of the brownie batter cookie dough and one scoop of the cookie dough.

Had I known they give you these enormous scoops, I would have only ordered one scoop!

The hubby ordered a scoop of the cherry and a scoop of the brownie batter cookie dough.

It was so good!

The also sell locally made pottery from the Turtle Farm Pottery.

After enjoying our ice cream, we stopped at a nearby souvenir shop.

They had this cool bear bench on the front porch so, I convinced my hubby to sit in so I could take his picture….he looks so excited doesn’t he? 😉

Tip: This area is huge for rock climbing…you can also zipline, take a kayak into a cave, swim, book an outdoor spa, book a massage here or here, take a UTV tour, take an off road jeep tour, visit a reptile zoo, play mini golf, or visit a petting zoo – Click here for more things to do

After leaving the gift shop, we decided to head home since we had a 3.5 hr drive ahead of us.

On the way home, we had to drive through Lexington, KY where Keeneland, the big horse race track is located.

We also passed the incredible Kentucky Castle!

You can book a stay here or book a spa treatment!

In June they hold their annual Lavender Festival.

Read reviews here

Later we passed a sign that said Lincoln Homestead so we got off the exit to check it out.

It was at least a 20 min detour.

When we finally arrived, we discovered it was Abraham Lincoln’s uncle’s house.

The house was built in 1797 by Mordecai Lincoln and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Mordecai Lincoln was the oldest son of Captain Abraham Lincoln and uncle of President Abraham Lincoln.  

The house is the only existing structure owned and occupied by a member of the Lincoln family in Kentucky that still stands on its original site. 

It’s located approximately one mile from the main visitor center at the Lincoln Homestead State Park.

You can tour the house but I’ve read that it’s temporarily closed.

The park features the original home of Lincoln’s mother, as well as replicas of the 1782 cabin and blacksmith shop where his father was reared and learned his trade.

You can watch a YouTube video about the park here

We only stopped at the Mordecai Lincoln House as we were unable to locate the other houses.

You can also golf here.

After leaving here, we continued our drive home.

A while later, we spotted another sign that said Lincoln’s boyhood home.

So, once again, we decided to get off the interstate and check it out.

This was another 20+ min detour and it was in the middle of nowhere!

The Abraham Lincoln Boyhood Home is the farm where the Lincoln family resided from 1811 to 1816.

It is one of the many places to visit along the Kentucky’s Lincoln Heritage Trail. 

The family left Knob Creek and Kentucky in December 1816 and moved to Spencer County, Indiana.

The park was closed when we arrived but we could still walk around and check out the house and read the information plaques.

The Lincoln family lived on 30 acres of the 228 acre Knob Creek Farm from the time Abraham was two and a half until he was almost eight years old.

This log cabin was reconstructed in 1931-33 from logs that dated back to the 1800’s…this cabin is a replica of Lincoln’s boyhood home as the original structure no longer exists.

The larger log cabin is a one-and-a-half story log building, constructed in 1933. The tavern was built to serve motorists stopping by the site and to exhibit Lincoln memorabilia.

This is the creek where Abraham Lincoln almost drowned when he was 7 yrs old.

You can read here about the story told by the friend who saved him

After leaving here, our GPS took us through the small town of Hodgenville, KY where you will find a bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln in the middle of town.

There is also a museum honoring our 16th president of the United States.

After these stops, we headed home.

Thanks for reading!

For more things to do along this route,  read my other blog post here and scroll down to the bottom of the page

Click here to see my YouTube channel