Bad Branch Falls State Nature Preserve

Bad Branch Falls State Nature Preserve
Bad Branch Falls State Nature Preserve
	Bad Branch Falls
	Map of Kentucky
Location	Letcher County, Kentucky, United States
Nearest city	Cumberland, Kentucky
Coordinates	37°04′03″N 82°46′20″W / 37.0675°N 82.7721°W
Area	2,639 acres (1,068 ha)
Established	September 26, 1985
	Official website

Bad Branch Falls State Nature Preserve is a 2,639-acre (10.68 km²) nature preserve in Letcher County, Kentucky. Originally dedicated by the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves on September 26, 1985, the preserve originally covered 435 acres (1.76 km²) and included Bad Branch Gorge, a forested gorge with a 60-foot (18 m) waterfall tumbling over sandstone cliffs on the south face of Pine Mountain. Subsequent acquisitions have expanded the preserve west into the Presley House Branch watershed, northeast into the upper reaches of the Bad Branch watershed and a small portion of the north face of Pine Mountain. The preserve also protects Kentucky's only known nesting pair of common ravens. Bad Branch has been designated a Kentucky Wild River. There are 7.4 miles (11.9 km) of foot trails and bridges over uneven strenuous terrain.^[1]