Muir Valley is about 400 acres in size and contains over seven miles of cliff line. It is our hope that this pretty little piece of Kentucky with its spectacular "rockscape" will become a haven for climbers, hikers, and lovers of nature. Because there is no outside funding or revenue stream, we appreciate your time and efforts in helping us maintain the land and its trails.

We ask for no admission fees. You may climb, hike, and enjoy the natural beauty as our guests, but at your own risk. Everyone who wishes to come into the Valley to rock climb MUST first sign a release form on this website.

We would very much appreciate your respect for Muir Valley and your following the reasonable rules and guidelines posted below.

Liz and Rick Weber
Owners of Muir Valley, LLC

Warnings for Visitors to Muir Valley

Muir Valley, LLC is a Kentucky Limited Liability Corporation, owned by Richard and Elizabeth Weber. The primary asset of Muir Valley, LLC is a parcel of land located near Rogers, Kentucky, of roughly 400 acres that includes a rocky, steep-sided valley. Muir Valley Nature Preserve, LLC is a Kentucky Limited Liability Corporation, owned by Richard and Elizabeth Weber, that leases the land owned by Muir Valley, LLC and manages it as a nature preserve and rock climbing arena, known as Muir Valley. Muir Valley is managed as a place of recreation which people can use without being charged an admission fee. As such, Muir Valley Nature Preserve, LLC (hereafter referred to as MVNP)) is making Muir Valley available to the general public under the provisions of the Kentucky Recreational Use Statute.

It is important that you carefully read the list of warnings of the hazards and potential dangers, both identified and unknown that may exist in Muir Valley, and that you also read the Kentucky Recreational Use Statute. Both these documents accompany this notice and can also be downloaded from the www.muirvalley.com website.

Your presence in Muir Valley signifies that you have read, understand, and agree with all the provisions of the Kentucky Recreational Use Statute, and that you have read and understand the warnings of dangers and hazardous conditions that may exist in Muir Valley that are listed below.

Please notify Muir Valley Nature Preserve (MVNP) as soon as reasonably possible of any unusual dangerous condition or hazard that you see or encounter in the Valley that is not identified in the following warnings. This includes, but is not limited to, loose, missing, or worn hardware on the rock climbing routes, loose rocks, and any and all activities by other persons that could be considered to be reckless and an endangerment to the wellbeing of other people in Muir Valley.

If you are not willing to accept full responsibility for your presence in Muir Valley, then do not enter the property.

Willful disregard of any of the following warnings may result in your loss of any privilege to visit Muir Valley.

1. WARNING: It is virtually impossible for MVNP to be aware of every hazard and dangerous condition that may exist in the 350 acres and 7+ miles of cliff line that constitute Muir Valley. It is, therefore, necessary that you acknowledge a general warning that hidden and unknown dangers may exist in Muir Valley that cannot always be specifically identified and warned or guarded against.

2. WARNING: Rock climbing is a dangerous sport, participation in which can cause permanent paralysis or other serious injury ,or even death, to you or to those around you. You should never climb without extensive training by experienced climbers. You should never climb without proper high-quality rock climbing gear. And, you should never climb if you are not willing to accept full responsibility for the consequences of your participation in this dangerous sport.

3. WARNING: The rock in Muir Valley is substantially Corbin Sandstone. This is a very soft, friable sedimentary rock that is laced with pockets, fissures and soft chossy sections. Even the best of hardware permanently affixed to or temporarily placed into this rock can fail unexpectedly and catastrophically due to the poor structural integrity of this rock.

4. WARNING: The rock in Muir Valley contains sections that are either loose or that can be easily loosened. These sections can spontaneously fall off a cliff, or they may be inadvertently or purposely pulled off by a climber. In any case, rock fall poses a constant threat to visitors to Muir Valley and therefore poses a danger to the climber and/or persons below the climber. All persons participating in rock climbing and/or those present in the vicinity of rock cliffs should wear protective headgear designed specifically for a rock-climbing environment.

5. WARNING: Never climb inside the many caves in Muir Valley. The ceilings are often flaky and prone to breaking and falling.

6. WARNING: ALL artificial installations typically used in rock climbing, including, but not limited to, rock anchors, glue-in bolts, bolted hangers, chains, cables, quicklinks, permadraws, quickdraws, and carabiners, found on the property have been placed by a number of individuals, including the owners of the property, for their convenience, and your use of any of these installations is undertaken solely at your own risk and discretion. The rock in which hardware has been affixed has been known to fail. If you climb in Muir Valley and rely for your personal safety and/or the safety of others with you on any piece of hardware affixed to any rock surface, you do so at your own risk and with the full knowledge that this hardware may fail catastrophically and without warning.

7. WARNING: Be very careful hiking along the tops of cliffs. Most of the seven plus miles of cliffs are from 50 to 145 feet high. and many are overhung with very little structure beneath the edge. An average of two people a year die from falls (usually at night) from the cliffs in the Red River Gorge area.

8. WARNING: As a nature preserve, Muir Valley has wildlife, including, but not limited to: poisonous insects, such as the northern millipede; venomous snakes, such as copperheads and rattlesnakes; and allergens or poisonous plants, such as poison ivy and pokeweed.

If you have any suggestions or questions or wish to report any problems, please feel free to contact Rick or Liz Weber, owners of Muir Valley Nature Preserve, LLC at 606-668-9066, 317-291-0354, or e-mail us at:. rweber at accenttech dot com.

Rules for Visitors to Muir Valley

1. You must read and understand the documents “Warnings to Visitors to Muir Valley” and the Kentucky Recreational Use Statute. Your presence in Muir Valley signifies that you agree that you have been adequately warned by Muir Valley Nature Preserve, LLC (MVNP) of hazards that may exist in Muir Valley and that you consider MVNP in full compliance with the provisions of this statute.

2. You must notify MVNP as soon as reasonably possible of any unusual dangerous condition or hazard in the Valley,of which you may become aware.

3. To rock climb in Muir Valley, you must first submit and have accepted the Muir Valley Release Form. You must either fill out and submit this form on line at www.muirvalley.com or do so on a temporary paper form, good for three days, available at the kiosk at the main Muir Valley parking lot.

Click here to go to the Release Form.

4. You must be eighteen years of age or older or be accompanied by your parent, your legal guardian, or responsible adult to enter this property. Those minors climbing with a responsible adult, such as a professional rock climbing guide, must have had the Muir Valley Release Form completed and submitted on-line on their behalf by their parent or legal guardian before entering Muir Valley. Climbers under age 18, who can demonstrate a proficiency in rock climbing, will be permitted to climb in Muir Valley on a case-by-case basis and only with special permission of the MVNP.

5. Persons under the age of eighteen years (minors) must be supervised by their parent, legal guardian, or responsible adult and remain in the presence of that parent or guardian 100% of the time that the minor spends in Muir Valley.

6. These activities are permitted in Muir Valley: rock climbing, hiking, trail running, and enjoying nature.

7. These activities are NOT permitted in Muir Valley: sport rappelling, bungee jumping, rope jumping, taking long intentional falls (sometimes referred to as “victory whippers”), mountain biking, shooting firearms, hunting, trapping, camping, campfires, or operating motorized vehicles. Victory whippers are defined here.

8. Climbing of a type known as free soloing or highballing, which is done without proper and adequate protection in the form of rope belaying, spotting, or using bouldering pads, is unnecessarily dangerous and not permitted in Muir Valley. The only three forms of rock climbing permitted in Muir Valley are sport climbing, wherein the climber utilizes hanger brackets bolted to the rock faces, for protection, trad climbing, wherein the climber provides and temporarily affixes his/her own passive and active gear to the rock faces for protection, and bouldering, wherein the climber, sans rope, climbs routes that remain close to the ground and uses bouldering pads to provide a safer landing. Aid climbing is not permitted in Muir Valley.

9. Do not climb above the anchors or top out on any climb in Muir Valley.

10. Do not toprope through the anchor chains (or rings). This means do not run your rope from the belayer up and through the anchor hardware and back down to the climber. This produces unnecessary wear on the anchor hardware and may increase risk to you or climbers who use this hardware subsequent to your use of it. Instead, attach quickdraws or carabiners and slings to the anchor system and run your toprope through them.

11. Unintentional falling is part of responsible rock climbing. Rock climbers are expected to be experienced and skilled in the technique of taking falls, and belayers are expected to be experienced and skilled in safely arresting the falls of the climbers they are belaying.

12. No rock climbing routes of any kind may be put up in MVNP without the written permission of MVNP. If you wish to put up a climbing route, FIRST contact the owners with your ideas PRIOR to starting the project and they can help you get started. We are keeping a database of route setting projects in the valley. All new routes must have a database ID and be approved buy the owners (or their representatives). This is necessary to prevent overbolting and inappropriate setting of routes.

No hardware of any kind may be permanently affixed to any rock in Muir Valley without the written permission of the MVNP.

13. Please pack out all trash, especially non-biodegradable trash and toilet paper. Please do not throw cigarette butts on the ground. And, thank you for carrying out trash left by others!

14. Dogs are not allowed in Muir Valley. This includes the parking lot. Leaving your dog tied to your car or, worse yet, shut in your car puts you dog at unreasonable risk of injury or death by overheating.

15. Harvesting of plants or plant specimens is to be done only with the expressed specific permission of MVNP owners.

16. Please do not damage trees and vegetation. Stay on existing trails. The Valley has been recently lightly logged. In time, the land cut by the more severe logging trails will be restored to its natural state. New footpaths may be established only with prior approval of the Muir Valley Owners.

17. Absolutely no digging for and/or removal of relics will be permitted in caves, rock shelters, or anywhere else in Muir Valley.

18. Please respect our neighbors' property and privacy. Drive slowly on the approach road. Children are often present. Park only on Muir Valley land in areas designated for parking.
19. Illegal drugs and alcoholic beverages are NOT permitted anywhere in Muir Valley. Period.



KENTUCKY RECREATIONAL USE STATUTE

KENTUCKY REVISED STATUTES
TITLE XXXVI. STATUTORY ACTIONS AND LIMITATIONS
CHAPTER 411. RIGHTS OF ACTION AND SURVIVAL OF ACTIONS

411.190. Obligations of owner to persons using land for recreation

(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Land" means land, roads, water, watercourses, private ways and buildings, structures, and machinery or equipment when attached to the realty;
(b) "Owner" means the possessor of a fee, reversionary, or easement interest, a tenant, lessee, occupant, or person in control of the premises;
(c) "Recreational purpose" includes, but is not limited to, any of the following, or any combination thereof: hunting, fishing, swimming, boating, camping, picnicking, hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, pleasure driving, nature study, water-skiing, winter sports, and viewing or enjoying historical, archaeological, scenic, or scientific sites; and
(d) "Charge" means the admission price or fee asked in return for invitation or permission to enter or go upon the land but does not include fees for general use permits issued by a government agency for access to public lands if the permits are valid for a period of not less than thirty (30) days.

(2) The purpose of this section is to encourage owners of land to make land and water areas available to the public for recreational purposes by limiting their liability toward persons entering thereon for such purposes.

(3) Except as specifically recognized by or provided in subsection (6) of this section, an owner of land owes no duty of care to keep the premises safe for entry or use by others for recreational purposes, or to give any warning of a dangerous condition, use, structure, or activity on the premises to persons entering for such purposes.

(4) Except as specifically recognized by or provided in subsection (6) of this section, an owner of land who either directly or indirectly invites or permits without charge any person to use the property for recreation purposes does not thereby:
(a) Extend any assurance that the premises are safe for any purpose;
(b) Confer upon the person the legal status of an invitee or licensee to whom a duty of care is owed; or
(c) Assume responsibility for or incur liability for any injury to person or property caused by an act or omission of those persons.

(5) Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of this section shall be deemed applicable to the duties and liability of an owner of land leased to the state or any subdivision thereof for recreational purposes.

(6) Nothing in this section limits in any way any liability which otherwise exists:
(a) For willful or malicious failure to guard or warn against a dangerous condition, use, structure, or activity; or
(b) For injury suffered in any case where the owner of land charges the person or persons who enter or go on the land for the recreational use thereof, except that in the case of land leased to the state or a subdivision thereof, any consideration received by the owner for the lease shall not be deemed a charge within the meaning of this section.

(7) Nothing in this section shall be construed to:
(a) Create a duty of care or ground of liability for injury to persons or property;
(b) Relieve any person using the land of another for recreational purposes from any obligation which he may have in the absence of this section to exercise care in his use of the land and in his activities thereon, or from the legal consequences of failure to employ such care; or
(c) Ripen into a claim for adverse possession, absent a claim of title or legal right.

(8) No action for the recovery of real property, including establishment of prescriptive easement, right-of-way, or adverse possession, may be brought by any person whose claim is based on use solely for recreational purposes.

Amended in 1998, 2000, 2002.
Reviewed by AAHS in July 2001.
Reviewed and updated by AAHS in May 2003.