Nada Tunnel

They should have stopped just prior to entering the tunnel and read the sign that told the history of the tunnel because it says that the tunnel was made to allow steam engines to carry logs out of the gorge area and that ONLY one man was killed during the construction of the tunnel when he was trying to dry out some damp dynamite by a campfire...not a smart way to dehumidify dynamite apparently. Another fun fact about the Nada tunnel that not many people know is: as there area several children that live past the tunnel on that road and always have been over the years , the county has to provide school bus service to them and the bus has very little room to pass thru the tunnel but manages to do so everyday, morning and evening. Years ago when school buses carried an axe on them, in case of an accident to chop the windows out to escape...the schoolbus driver for the Nada Tunnel route, during the winter months, would quite often have to use the bus axe to get out and chop the ice sickles from the mouth of the tunnel before the schoolbus would fit into the tunnel. She drove that route for many years and was driving when law required that the axes were deemed unsafe on the buses and were no longer permittable to be on or in the vehicle, so she resorted to keeping the axe hidden in the bushes nearby so she could still chop her way into the tunnel. Chopping the ice sickles required climbing onto the hood of the bus to be able to reach high enough to clear them for the bus to pass...that's dedication. Not sure how it's done now or if school is canceled if it's that bad. Additilnally: Another interesting thing you can expect to see as soon as you turn off the main road and onto the tunnel road itself, is people that live in the immediate area, that are selling firewood due to the fact that it is against the law to bring firewood into the area from ANYWHERE else to prevent bringing in wood boring bugs that dont already call the area home, that would feed on the trees in the area, possibly killing them. Works out well for the folks that live around the tunnel and gorge as their arent many jobs in the area. Only 2 or 3 gas stations, a Subway sandwich shop, and numerous state park shops with tshirts and gifts. Theres a natural spring about half a mile before entering the tunnel that many people like to stop and drink from just for the sake of drinking untreated water source, which is ok cause a few local peoples collect the water to drink in their homes and have for many years, even though they have city water but I checked the ph of it once and the ph was on the low side...not dangerously, I have also checked the ph of store bought spring water and some of them were even lower than that spring. The county no longer operates a public pool for many years now, so on a daily basis there are many people that drive to the area to swim in a few of the deeper pools in the creek. My favorite activity when I'm driving thru the area, is to pull into the gravel parking lot of the main hiking trail and read the license plates from all the cars and see how far people travel just to hike and climb the rocks at the Red River Gorge area...not uncommon to see vehicles from as far away as Canada, Washington, New York, and many other states. A possible factor for that could be the colleges that are within an hours drive or so from the area. University of Kentucky and EKU (Eastern Kentucky university) which has people from all over. I once worked for an ambulance service that allowed students from EKU to do ride along programs for paramedic students to get their hands on training hours and once therwere two young men from Iran that were attending EKUs paramedic program because it has a reputation of being the BEST in the world and these two guys were see here for their training with the intention of returning home to be the personal paramedics to travel with the shaw of Iran, in his motorcade, to provide care in the event of an emergency to the then ruler of the country.

I live a short ride from the RRG as we call it here in KY. Pitching tents in KY is a great thing in the woods with your girl. As far as Deals Gap and the Dragon, east KY is hundreds of miles of unmarked curves and steep drops. Love it here

Great looking area to ride, that tunnel was great. thanks for showing.

What an amazing tunnel! We have similar ones here, but not as long and on dirt roads. Looks like a really beautiful place. What amazed me the most was that you can just pitch a tent anywhere. You can't really do that here in most places.

That tunnel is EPIC! I drive through that forest occasionally (will be again Friday.) Getting off the beaten path out there is awesome. Sometime I'm going to have to go up there and check that spot out myself.

Nice road. Agree about taking it all in as opposed to carving it up.

I know what you mean; my camera doesn't do places like that justice. Wow, that was some bad-ass tunnel.  So, what do people in cars do if it's one lane? That was amazing!!! Really enjoyed that!

That was so cool!  Beautiful ride man.

beautiful scenery ...Great video ... The tunnel was lovely :)

If you hear banjos and someone say, "You sure got a purty mouth," twist the throttle and get the hell outta there.

BEAUTIFUL! Thanks.

Nice video I have not been there for years.

FYI: You cant actually pull over and pitch a tent in the Red River Gorge. You have to be at least 100 yards from any road or trail. Some areas do require a camping permit.

Definitely a great area to ride!

Dude that seriously is gorgeous!!! Wow! And love the little jokes. Hahaha! Nice font too. Looks vaguely familiar. Lmao!

What if a bear walked in the other end of that tunnel? That is the question,,,,,,,,,, A few miles from there is road called scenic drive, gravel road with cliffs,, swerve those potholes,, and check out Southfork Elk View in Breathitt. If you don't see horses in the road, go back and forth a few times you will

Awesome ride man!

Nice views.

man i need to ride up that way

nothing like some good old views to let the day go by:)