Jefferson Memorial Forest features a campground for tent camping and can accommodate both families and groups. Although the Forest is only minutes from Metro Louisville, camping here seems like a much more remote camping experience. Located within the Horine Reservation, the campground is in the uplands of the Forest and has good separation between individual campsites. Seven family campsites and four group campsites are available. Latrines and water are near to all the sites.

Horine Reservation Camping at Jefferson County Memorial Forest 

To find the campground, follow your GPS to Horine Reservation at 12304 Holsclaw Hill Rd. If you follow GPS to Jefferson Memorial Forest, you will end up at the zipline &amp; welcome center. Once on Holsclaw Hill Rd, follow the road &amp; signs to the campground until you reach a gate. A 4 digit code is given to you when you make a reservation. The gate gives a nice sense of privacy &amp; security for the campsite. The camp sites are easy to find and well marked with big signs. I was at Group Site 1This site is huge! Just a guess, but I would say around 1.5 acres. About 2/3 of this site is open, grassy field. The other 1/3 is shaded. The shaded area has 3 large picnic tables, water, fire ring &amp; a private latrine. I purchased firewood in advance &amp; it was delivered to our site before we even arrived. The dumpster is conveniently located near this site. The private latrine is a small, open-air structure near the shaded area of the site. There are 2 composting toilets &amp; the toilet paper was fully stocked. The building is partially open the elements, so it was a little dirty (to be expected) but we used our hose and sprayed the floor clean. The toilets are "squatting" toilets. Which mean they are close to the floor (see pic). There are plenty of wooded areas to explore &amp; hiking trails nearby &amp; several great areas for hammocks. The site looks well maintained &amp; had recently been mowed prior to our arrival. There are enough trees &amp; space to give plenty of privacy between sites. This site is perfect for a large group or family wanting to tent camp together. The picnic tables are the large, sturdy kind. The fire ring was huge with an attached grill. There was another fire ring and 2 more picnic tables in the open grassy area, closer to the road.  Designated parking is near the road, which is a bit of distance for carrying a lot of gear. However, since the ground was completely dry, we dropped our gear at the shady area and then parked our car at the road. Overall, this is a great space with unexpected beauty!

Close to town with a country feel

Loved hitting the bourbon trail and being able to head back into nature! This place afforded us the ability to enjoy the city and then kick back at a nice scenic spot. Very great accomadations!

Surprisingly Secluded 

We stayed at JMF as a shake down for a primative camping trip to TN. It was nice and quiet - and so close to home!

We will be back for a trip to "get away" for sure!

Great getaway! 

Awesome camping for being so close to the city!


This place is close to Louisville and really fun to camp at. There are two great trails right next to the camping area. The interior trail called the orange trail is shorter but great to not run into anyone. Group sites are my favorite, as there is more room. all the sites are spaced out and really nice! The only down fall is the planes that continue to fly over, but that is it. We love this place and the convenience of location to the city! 



Love this place!  You are literally ten minutes from anything you want or need.  Once you get to the top of the hill you are far removed from the noise, hustle and bustle of city/suburb living.  The camp sites are all wooded and primative, preserving the peaceful serenity of such a beautiful and heavily forested area.  Forgot to mention the miles of walking trails ranging from easy to difficult.

Perfect Day or Weekend Getaway

Close to home and close to nature. Overall this campsite is amazing in the sense that its in a very natural setting. The firepit is pretty huge and you can cook on it real easy. By request, you can have firewood delivered here. Would go back. 

Local with a twist of Nature

Great time at Horine Reservation 

I have camped at this site several times. Ear plugs are a must as it is in the direct flight path of a major airport.  My boyfriend had a Fitbit and was able to spot how many times an airplane flew over our tent in the evening/early morning hours.  It must be a UPS hub or FedEx as the planes were huge and at all hours. 

  

That being said it is a great price.  The website is tricky to book a campsite as it makes it hard to see when the next possible opening will be for a site. I generally like to call them and talk with them. 

  

https://web1.myvscloud.com/wbwsc/kylouisvillewt.wsc/search.html?display=Graphical&amp;module=RN&amp;SessionID=3bb71b8d84b010181f21869c61cf90362a51483dc408a88f9bab64a6d8d2aeb427f42bd33bf91267e6e01993787a935c416873490e8325527edd040d64fd9bb2

  

On each visit, I learn more about the area and the trails.  They have 4 trails that you can explore.  

  

The sites are mixed which did cause some confusion as other campers were on my site when I rolled in.  I had to explain that I had Group Site 2 and they had Family Site 2.  This is a big difference.  Once they finally believed me they moved onto the next site and already had my camp fire going for me.  

  

The nice thing is that they deliver firewood to your campsite. You don't have to pick it up at the camp store and make a mess of your car.  For Family sites per night you can order a bundle at $15.00 and for the Group Sites you can order a bundle at $30.00.  I did not feel like the wood was lacking as it was a nice load of wood.  They delivered it while we were out hiking.  I simply ordered some at the main site/office each morning depending on what I felt like later on in the evening based on our group plans/weather. 

  

Our campsite did have water as you can see from the pump.  Then we had porta johns.  I traditionally come to this campsite every 2 years for a local festival in Louisville.  You will want to notice that the rates can change for certain busy times such as during the races. 

  

For a group site they only allowed 2 cars.  The rest of the cars had to go to an overflow lot which was near by.  It was a short walk but can be a hassle.  Don't expect to park plenty of cars at the site even if it is a group site. 

  

They do have dumpsters at the campground aka park but not at your campsite. Be prepared to pack it in and pack it out. I do like how they have a gate with a code but it is heavy.  I had to have my friends help me lift the gate as I am not a strong build. It is the long swinging arm kind and had to be lifted slightly to help me get the lock out of it. 

  

As I mentioned the location is why we keep coming back.  The folks in the office are friendly and there is lots to do in Louisville.

Great location but bring ear plugs 

Having lived 62 years in Kentucky, less than twenty minutes from the Jeff. Forest, leaving to explore USA, then returning to my home state allows me a unique point of view. The seclusion here and the closeness to nature is a grand slam! Due to fall, the sites seem much closer than they are due to the thinning foliage. Friendly neighbors, standard picnic table/fire pit/port-a-potties/potable water.
Roomy campsite and room for my son to visit in his car with my van parked inside the campsite. Lots of trees for hammocking. Lots of downed wood for easy collecting, lots of trails ranging from 1.5 to 13.0 miles through gorgeous mixed forest of old and new growth deciduous and coniferous hardwoods.

$15/night; Jefferson Memorial Forest Family Campgrounds

This is a great little well-kept campground. Unfortunately it’s in the departure path of Louisville’s airport, so be prepared for once-a-minute takeoffs if the airport is using its southbound runways for departures. UPS releases about 100 planes from around 3-5am. 

For some this is a problem, for others or if you use ear plugs maybe not so much. Others might even like the drone of jet engines. Just something to keep in mind. The trails nearby are nice as well. 

Noisy nights 

Tent sites have so many trees surrounding them. If you're looking for more privacy anything off of the loop will do just fine. We stayed at FS1 and could only catch glimpses of other campers, although you do hear and see folks on trails frequently. The ground is SUPER SOFT due to all the pine needles that have fallen over the years. We moved our tent around a bit to get it anchored firmly for expected wind at night... some spots were to soft, but it made for good sleeping!  

  

Firewood was ordered in advance when I booked the site, delivered to our spot while we were setting up.  

  

We took our dog and he had a great time(on leash of course!).  

  

Restrooms are porta-style but hand sanitizer was everywhere and everything was VERY CLEAN.  

  

Since the camp sites are behind a locked gate there is no through traffic aside from other campers. Very nice!  

  

Going back this upcoming weekend as well! Camped this past weekend at Group Site 3. You could fit 6 tents here and still have space. Couldn't hear any other campers aside from some jerks at Group Site 1 that decided to start howling and barking around 11pm as well as playing a radio very loudly past 9:30pm. Couldn't hear the radio unless I walked up to the porta-potties though.  

  

Even with all of the planes overhead from folks leaving town after Derby the tree cover dampened the noise wonderfully. Love love love camping at JCMF.