Coffee Shops in Red River Gorge

Take a break at one of the coffee shops in Red River Gorge while sight-seeing in this gorgeous corner of Kentucky.

Red River Gorge is one of our favorite places in Kentucky to get away and unwind. We do like to bring along one favorite part of our routine from home: a morning cup of coffee.

You can, of course, glam things up a little by making your own coffee at camp, from simple to fancy, depending on what kind of equipment you want to bring along.

But if you're out and about and want to pick up a freshly made cup somewhere, here are our favorite coffee shops in Red River Gorge.

Daniel Boone Coffee Shop

Daniel Boone Coffee Shop is the OG place to get coffee in the gorge. It's been around for several years now, and has excellent coffee (it's among my favorites in the area).

There are also good food options here, including pastries, bagels and breakfast sandwiches.

It's a cute shop that also sells beer, liquor, goods from local artisans, and area souvenirs.

The main disadvantage is that it's often overcrowded, both inside and out. The parking lot is tiny. If the lot is full, I recommend trying again later, because that often means the line to order is LONG. (They sometimes have a separate line for drinks-only orders, which moves a little faster.)

The Brick

The Brick has my favorite coffee in the RRG, and it also sells delicious ice cream and hosts pieces from a local pottery shop (Turtle Farm). So it's a fun place to have a treat and browse.

There's not really any food sold here (except for the ice cream). Sky Bridge Station is next door, but isn't open for breakfast.

The Brick is close to Koomer Ridge Campground.

Miguel’s

This classic RRG pizza shop now has a coffee bar during breakfast hours.

I enjoyed a really solid latte here, if a bit smaller than the large lattes at Daniel Boone Coffee or The Brick.

Miguel's serves up generous food portions. If you're ravenous for breakfast, this is a great option because the breakfast meals are huge.

The only cons here are the smaller cup sizes for lattes, and at times a long wait because many people from the rock climbers' campground are also waiting for breakfast.

Coffee seems to be only available during breakfast hours at Miguel's.

Gypsy Grind Coffee Company

Gypsy Grind is a new coffee and crêpe cafe in the (also new) Mushroom Grove Shopping Village.

Some food options are offered, including sweet and savory crêpes and a few pastries. We were pleasantly surprised by how good their savory crêpes are.

Parking is easy here. You can only order to-go, but there's a small sitting area outside. It's probably not the best choice for inclement weather days unless you have somewhere else to take your food and coffee.

Red River Gorge Coffee Co.

In spite of the name, this one’s actually a bit outside the gorge, in Beattyville.

I haven’t been yet, but it looks nice. It serves breakfast sandwiches, along with a few different lunch options and sweet treats.

Will even more coffee options pop up in the future at Red River Gorge? If they do, we'll update here!