## Overview

 At Maple Springs, visitors can enjoy the serenity of the campground and surrounding backcountry trails, or spend their days exploring Mammoth Cave. Campers can explore up to ten miles of the cave through a variety of tours available at the Visitor Center. With more than 400 miles (644 km) of mapped passageways, Mammoth Cave ranks as the world\'s longest known cave system. Mammoth Cave is named for its grand size and scale. Visit the Rotunda for an idea of just how large this underground world is. The World Heritage Site was explored by Native Americans more than 2,000 years ago, and Europeans discovered its existence at the turn of the 19th century. 
## Recreation

 Avid horseback riders head to Maple Springs to explore the lush backcountry trails. Hikers will also find these trails enjoyable. 
## Facilities

 Access to the primitive campground is best by ferry. The ferry is six miles from the Mammoth Cave Visitor Center and fits three cars. Ferry rides are free and take only a few minutes. It is closer to take the ferry to the campground. If the ferry is down, you will drive around which takes about 45 minutes. Call (270) 758-2166 for information, ferry schedules and standards for trailers.Horse ties are behind the campsites. A small amphitheater is on site and a large fire pit is available for groups on a first come, first served basis.\_\_ 
## Natural Features

 This campground is part of Mammoth Cave National Park, a 52,800-acre park that includes the Green River Valley, rolling Kentucky hillsides, and the expansive Mammoth Cave with grand-scale chambers and long, winding passageways. This remote campsite is quiet, peaceful and ideal for those who want to be immersed in nature. Wildlife includes deer, turkey, and coyotes. 
## Nearby Attractions

 Take a tour of Mammoth Cave and see landmark cave areas like the Cathedral Domes and Mammoth\'s famous formation, Frozen Niagara. Or hike above the caverns to explore sinkholes like Cedar Sink. 
## Charges &amp; Cancellations

 Group Facilities - Overnight -$10.00 cancellation fee AND forfeit the first night\'s use recreation use fee if cancelled less than 14 days before the arrival date (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation).\_\_\_\_\_\_ For rules and reservation policies please follow the link below:\_\_ https://www.recreation.gov/rules-reservation-policies

Maple Springs Campground — Mammoth Cave National Park

Ranger Review: **Renogy Water Filtration** at **Maple Springs Campground** _Mammoth Cave NP_.

Campground Review: **Maple Springs Campground** is a horse and group campground in Mammoth Cave NP. From the main park you take the Green River Ferry across you guessed it Green River to the far side.

Pro: this area is definitely less traveled than the main park.

Con: you are sharing the trails with horse and bike ( not really a con but..)

Pro: there are some good technical single track trails that take you into the “woods” AND there are free dispersed camping sites! Just check in with the main camp office first. Many, many interesting things to see.

Con: got nothing

Pro: the campground is well spaced out, horse trailer and horse friendly, pretty good shade. I am not a horse person so I can’t speak from that expertise. Plenty of room for groups, there was a Boy Scout invasion when we visited.

Con: pit toilets…..

Pro: direct trail access

Con: pit toilets, though they are clean and well maintained

Product Review: I packed the **Renogy Water Filtration**

****[https://www.renogy.com/](https://www.renogy.com/)

in my hydration bag no problem. . I would suggest pre-assembly due to a few small parts. There are three “main parts” after initial assembly. Intake hose with initial filter and float, the Renogy hand pump and the out put hose. (These are not the official terms, they are my laymen terms) I left the “flusher” at the campsite while hiking. You use it when you are complete with filtration to back flush the “core”.

The only problem I had with the Renogy was handling all the components and three dogs and my cell phone for video capture;) Otherwise it was total ease of use!

1: Place initial filter with float in your source water.

2: place out put tube in your capture vessel

3: pump handle until capture vessel is full and make sure your initial filter is not sitting in the bottom silt.

I sampled my filtered water (yesterday) and have had no ill effects.

A few things to note, I used a run off stream and filtered water from above the trail crossing (I didn’t want any extra trail apple or other flavoring). I have used other filters and water sources before and even with filtration sometimes the water doesn’t taste “pristine” but it’s still palatable. The stream I used was fresh rainwater from the night before and day of. Avoid stagnant water and water with obvious metal contamination. I’m no expert, so there are more tips, read up before extensive use.

Spacey

I visited the Maple Springs Campground in Mammoth Cave National Park for a total of 3 days/2 nights. I chose this site because it was pet friendly. Each site was spacious with room for up to three tents without feeling crowded. The sites were also spaced far enough apart that you never have to interact with your neighbors. Each site has two grated fire pits as well as picnic tables.

The campground offered several facilities such as a communal fire pit and a few privies and water supply stations. Everything was clean and in order while I was there.

Horses are allowed in the campground and you will see a lot of people taking their horses for a few runs around the road through the campsite as a warm up in the early mornings. My dogs did not like the horses at first but they got used to it as the trip went on. Keep this in mind if you plan to bring any four legged friends!

The only downside to the entire trip is that the park is infested with seed ticks and deer ticks. I was pulling ticks off of every inch of me even though I was coated in several layers of hardcore bug spray and my gear had been treated with permethrin. Seriously, the ticks were gnarly. 

Overall, this was a great place to stay. I would happily go back if I felt that I had more control over the bug situation. I hope I can learn a little more about tick control and make my way back there soon!

Maple Springs in Early Spring

Nice large camping areas, secluded and quiet, easy access to the trails. Well maintained full hookup for RVs and plenty of room for your horse too. There are also several primitive spots you can backpack into, check in with the staff before beginning your adventure. 

Across the ferry

great way to enjoy a weekend off then going camping and hiking in the great outdoors

beautful

Make sure you have your map and know which trail(s) you want to link up to. Winging it may make for a long afternoon :) excellent campground area for the horse enthusiast and sometimes very full! A cool thing I noticed was a handicap loading area for horseback. 

Study....

stayes here one night and mammoth cave campground. This place was quieter. But we are all here for the caves sooo.

Mammoth caves enough said 

Like most, we were here to visit Mammoth Cave National Park. We stayed on the Maple Springs side of the Green River to be closer to the mountain bike trails and are glad we did. The trails were great for both of us and we could ride straight from the campground. If you are in a RV note that you can't go across the ferry with your rig!!! You have to go around the park to access this campground. We are so glad we realized that ahead of time and didn't have to back track. The campground was quiet and we had it completely to ourselves one night. The campground had pit toilets but no shower. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we almost stayed an additional night! If you plan to visit the cave, be sure to book your tour ahead of time. The tours were all sold out when we got there!

Quiet campground across the river from the caves

Peace and quiet, awesome set up for our 40ft fifth wheel “the big kahuna”. 4 nights, electric and water hookup. Dump site is on the mammoth cave side, only downside is the 45 minute drive around to the dump site, other than that 10/10 for campground and amenities.