Name: Sunrise Hike at Bender Mountain
Start: 2025-10-11T06:00:00-04:00
End: 2025-10-11T09:30:00-04:00
Location: Bender Mountain

There's nothing more beautiful than sharing a sunrise over the water with good company, and this hikes promises that and more. Sunrise is usually between 7:30 and 7:45 at this time of year, so if you don't mind getting up a little early, we'll be undertaking a relatively short hike on the North Paw Paw Gap and South Paw Paw Gap trails through the Bender Mountain Nature Preserve, part of the Western Wildlife Corridor, to the ridgeline to see the sunrise over the Ohio River. If you want to continue to explore on your own, there are several more trails and an historic cemetery on the property that is the final resting place for some of the original residents of that area of the city. This is a natural trail up the side of the valley, so expect some loose rocks and soil, exposed root, etc. There is the potential for a very minor creek crossing; however, if there have been heavy rains prior to the event, there is an alternate route that we can take to the ridgeline that will bypass the creek entirely.
Fair warning, the South Paw Paw Gap trail is steeper than you would expect it to be based on the elevation listed below. We will take frequent breaks as we make our way up the trail, but please be wary if an early morning climb doesn't sound enjoyable.
To sign up, follow the link below or click on the link in my bio!
Distance: ~1.4 miles roundtrip (0.7 up, 0.7 down)
Minimum elevation: 490 ft.
Maximum elevation: 733 ft.
Difficulty: Moderate
If you have any questions, please email [email protected]
https://www.lgbtqoutdoors.com/events/alex10112025