The Red River Gorge Climber’s Coalition (RRGCC) secured 718 acres and 14 miles of cliffline at the Red River Gorge (commonly called “The Red”). The RRGCC first began to pursue access to this additional area over 10 years ago. In 2015, the coalition, in partnership with Access Fund, submitted a proposal to allow climbing on the land, but to no avail.
Around 5 years ago, the coalition team noticed the land appeared on Zillow, ready for purchase. The only catch? The $1.7 million price tag.
“We teamed up with the Access Fund to try to scramble and just figure out how we could possibly purchase this land,” RRGCC’s Marketing Director Tara Taylor says. “1.7 million was something that was just way out of reach for our small nonprofit.”
How 700+ Acres Was Purchased and What It Adds to The Red
The coalition cobbled together various funding sources: the James Graham Brown Foundation, anonymous donors, the U.S. Forest Service and USFWS Kentucky Field Office, and the Kentucky Natural Lands Trust. Even with all this funding, the coalition took out around $600,000 in loans, seeking public support and donations to repay.
It’s hard to overstate the sheer amount of routes this purchase will add to the Red River Gorge. “The Pendergrass-Murray Recreational Preserve (PMRP) is about 700 acres [and has 650 routes], and we just gained 718 acres. So, in total, it’s like getting a whole other PMRP,” Taylor says.
The PRMP climbing area was on private land before this acquisition. The 2004 purchase by the RRGCC permanently protected it from closure to climbers.
In addition to adding acres to the PMRP and the Miller Fork Recreational Preserve (MFRP, purchased by the RRGCC in 2013), the newest purchase will create an entirely new climbing area: the Cave Fork Recreational Preserve (CFRP). The area’s 582 acres will be home to hundreds of new routes that exhibit classic traits of RRG sport routes: long and pumpy with plates, pockets, and huecos of bulletproof sandstone.
What You Can Do to Help Rock Climbing at Red River Gorge
The coalition is raising money to repay its loans and to work on building infrastructure at these crags. Before they can open to climbers, the new crags need bolts, other hardware, trails, parking lots, signage, and bathrooms. The process is just beginning, and there is no firm timeline for an opening date. The various sectors will open piecemeal, one at a time, likely within the next few years.
Recently, The Zoo area of the Red was closed due to private owners’ concerns; this increase in access comes at a critical time. It marks a turning point for the coalition: “The coalition has never really thought on this big of a scale before,” Taylor says. “This is why it’s important to invest in your local climbing organization … Those donations and memberships and volunteering your time, this is what it’s working towards.”
For more information, visit rrgcc.org.
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