This intricate canyon system features an abundance of high sandstone cliffs, rock shelters, waterfalls, and natural bridges.

The multitude of sandstone and cliff-lines helped this area become one of the world's top rock climbing destinations and is home to the Red River Gorge Climbers' Coalition.

The Army Corps of Engineers set about their business of making the structure a reality; however, many felt that such actions would destroy the unique ecosystem residing in the dam inundation area.

This group obtained the help of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas by participating in a Dam Protest Hike which drew local and national attention to the situation.

The Dam Protest Hike took place on November 18, 1967, at the Clifty Wilderness area junction of Swift Camp Creek and the Red River, Highway 715.

[10] The Red River Gorge's Sky Bridge appears in the 1955 film The Kentuckian, starring and directed by Burt Lancaster.

[citation needed] The Red River Gorge Geological Area, including Clifty Wilderness, has a very diverse biology.

The Gorge is home to a great variety of wildlife including hawks, owls, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, deer, fox, black bears, and two venomous snakes: the copperhead and the timber rattlesnake.

Experts believe that plants of Canadian origin were established in the Red River Gorge area during the Pliocene-Quaternary glaciation which started about 2.58 million years ago.

Rock shelters and other sites in the Red River Gorge Geological Area contain artifacts of prehistoric occupancy by indigenous people, beginning with the Paleoindian period.

Plant materials and other relics, such as woven mats and leather moccasins that would decompose in more typical sites are well-preserved in the dry, nitrate-rich soils found in rock shelters.

[19] Miguel's Pizza, a restaurant in Slade, Kentucky, is widely regarded as the hub of climbing culture in the Red River Gorge.

[23] The Daniel Boone National Forest Gladie Visitor Center is located in the Red River Gorge in Slade, Kentucky.