Looking for tent camping near Barbourville? The Dyrt helps you find campsites near Barbourville with tent camping. Whether you're looking for a quiet, dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
Blue Heron Campground is a rustic and spacious campground, situated on the Kentucky side of The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area--a vast and scenic expanse of land that offers visitors countless recreational activities.
Numerous trails snake through the Recreation Area, offering mountain biking, hiking and horseback riding for visitors. The main river of the Big South Fork is also a short drive away, offering fishing opportunities.
The Big South Fork is located in north central Tennessee and southeastern Kentucky in some of the most rugged terrain of the Cumberland Plateau. The park encompasses approximately 125,000 acres of both rocky gorges and forested plateaus. Numerous pristine streams unite with the free-flowing Big South Fork of the Cumberland River. Over thousands of years, this ceaselessly moving water has carved the sandstone of the plateau into impressive cliffs, arches and chimneys that are found throughout the park.
Just a few miles from the campground is Blue Heron Mine, also known as Mine 18, a historic abandoned mining town that has been rebuilt as an outdoor museum. Visitors can hear audio presentations from actual people who lived in the community in the 1950s. The Big South Fork Scenic Railway Depot is located about 9 miles away in the town of Stearns, which offers train rides and other educational opportunities for campers. More information can be found online at https://bsfsry.com. Additional attractions include the Daniel Boone National Forest and Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, offering additional recreation opportunities.
Located 15 minutes NW of Williamsburg Kentucky, Tranquillity Creek Campground offers 8 acres of beautiful woods with a creek for a peaceful get away to relax and be one with nature. Close to stores and area attractions in SW Kentucky.
$60 - $100 / night
White Oak Boat-In Campground is one of two boat-in campgrounds on [Laurel River Lake] on [London Ranger District]. The area is accessible by boat or by [Cold Rock School Trail] that begins near the [Marsh Branch Boat Ramp]
The campground has 51 lakeshore campsites, most of which are located near the water's edge with boat moorings available. Sites have a tent pad, picnic table, fire ring and lantern pole. Self-serve pay stations, water and vault toilets are centrally located. There are no flush toilets or showers. The sites are wooded and spaced far enough apart to provide a sense of seclusion. The campground usually fills on weekends during the peak camping season.
Trails nearby: [Cold Rock School Trail #430] (3-mile hiking and biking route into the White Oak Boat-In Campground) The campground is located on Laurel River Lake. The lake features 5,600 acres of clear, deep water and nearly 200 miles of tree-lined shore. The quiet coves and cliff-lined shores offer relaxation and quiet reflection, as well as boating, fishing, skiing and scuba diving in one of the deepest and cleanest lakes in Kentucky.
Little Lick Campground Map Little Lick Campground on London Ranger District is a favorite destination for campers who also enjoy horseback riding on Little Lick Trail #502 and Nathan McClure Trail #530. The campground is located on a long ridgetop in the southeast corner of Pulaski County, Kentucky, just north of the Cumberland River. The campground provides four family camping areas and two double campsites. The campsites have tent pads, fire rings, lantern posts and picnic tables. The well with a hand pump is for livestock watering only. Use picket lines and corrals to scure horses. Do not tie horses to trees. Make this page look nicer by submitting photos of your visit to Little Lick Campground. Learn more... View Little Lick Campground Guide and Map (pdf) Trails near by: Little Lick Trail #502 Nathan McClure Trail #530
$2 - $15 / night
Our Rabbit Road Campground hosts ten primitive hike-in campsites along the Airplane Pond Trail. These sites are the perfect place for tent camping and peaceful relaxation. Each site hosts a tent pad, a fire pit, and is partially or fully shaded. These sites do not offer electric or water hook-up points. A bathhouse for campers is located in the parking area, which offers hot showers and restrooms.
Please note that the Rabbit Road Primitive Campground is only open March - October.
Rockcastle Campground is temporarily closed due to the hazardous road conditions and deteriorating campsite conditions. The February 2019 Rockcastle River flooding further increased the damage to the area. In 2018, the ash trees that were infected with the Emerald Ash Borer were eliminated. Because of the extensive amount of work needed, and the lack of funding available, the campground will remain closed until further notice. The boat ramp remains open. Rockcastle Campground is located on the backwaters of Lake Cumberland at the mouth of Rockcastle River on London Ranger District. Large, towering beech and hemlock trees provide plenty of shade and a sense of seclusion. Fishing and hiking are popular activities. The campground is bounded on one side by the lake and on the other side by massive sandstone cliffs. Rockcastle Boat Ramp is nearby. A picnic shelter located at the campground entrance is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Make this page look nicer by submitting photos of your visit to Rockcastle Campground. Learn more... Most of the 27 campsites are designed for tent camping although a few are large enough to accommodate pop-up campers. Each site has tent pad, fire ring, picnic table, and lantern poles. The sites are near the water’s edge. CAUTION: Low lying areas are prone to flooding, so be alert for flooding when driving, camping or crossing streams in this area. Swift currents and undertows can make swimming and wading very hazardous. Some of the most popular hiking trails on the London Ranger District lead from this campground. Dutch Branch Trail #404B leads hikers through a rich cove forest of mostly beech and hemlock. Scuttle Hole Trail #404 climbs through a crack in the cliffs to reach overlooks of the lake. Lakeside South Trail #412 follows the shore of the lake and connects with Twin Branch Trail #406 and Ned Branch Trail #405 to form an 8.5 mile loop around the campground.
Guide
The sites are nice and wooded. There is plenty of space between sites to give each camp a little privacy. We were a drive up, no reservation camper. They only took cash or check on-site. Camp host was very nice and helpful.
Guide
We stayed here as the kick off to the KAT. The sites are grassy right next to the river. Bathroom is clean, and there is also a small camp store.
Guide
There are three dispersed camp sites along this road. We stayed at the first and largest of the three. This first site has room for two groups. It also has a small swimming hole with a rope swing.
Guide
One picnic table and fire pit. Dispersed camping. We took our portable firepit and sat by the creek for a beautiful evening.
Guide
Beautiful lake and clean bathhouse. Sites are close together, not really tent friendly
Scout
I rode all the way over here from Greeneville to check out the area in order to bring a group of friends camping next weekend.
BUT the entire campground is closed. When I pulled up to the iron gate and saw the sign, it read "CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC DUE TO VANDALISM AND UNAUTHORIZED ACTIVITY"
ScoutI drove over an hour to get here to find that it is “closed to public for vandalism”. I was very upset by this but obviously nothing I could do. Just wish I knew how to check before driving all the way. But the drive! Woah! So beautiful, I wish there was a way I could find out when it opens back up because I was very much looking forward to camping here.
Guide
The map for this campground isn’t quite accurate. Also, the price is $24 p/ night not $14. Not quite what we were looking for.
Traveler
Campsites are spacious with gravel campsites and paved rv parking at campsites. Water and electric at each site. Clean bathrooms with showers.
Legend
Spent 2 nights in July at Kentucky Splash Park Campground. Only reason it didn’t get a 5 star is first needs more shade (there are new trees growing ) and the cut through road is busy in the evening from local traffic. Nice size sites with cement or gravel parking. Cement pads with picnic tables and strangely deep fire pits.
The showerhouse is in well maintained shape. Plenty of room and hooks to hang your stuff from. Hot water and large shower heads.
Small playground and pavilion to use.
Easy walk across the parking lot to the water park. Price not included in site cost. If you get a wrist ban you can get back in for the day.
Ranger
We arrived on a Tuesday and left on Friday. This campground has 10 sites on a hill. It is quiet and away from towns. Some sites are close but not bad. The shower/bath house is fairly new and clean. Being on the hill, to get to the lake is a steep walk. They have a set of steps going down the back side of the hill if you want to leave your boat in the water down there. It’s in a hollow off the main lake. The only drawback would be that the dump site was too tight and unlevel for me to feel comfortable trying to dump.
Ranger
Found the perfect spot for our trailer and our friends car camping. Clean vault toilets. Each site has fire ring and picnic table. Pack in pack out even though some didn’t get the memo yet park service was there in the morning to clean. Limited to no cell service.
GuideCool pet friendly place with hookups, and friendly people. Sites are close to the river.
Legend
Easy to find, well marked. It’s has many (12) trails and many falls. Would definitely recommend shopping before camping, it’s several miles, and mountains, to get to stores. There are several lodging options…cottages, The Lodge, (which is beautiful) tent and RV camping. There are 2 small campgrounds ~ 1) Ridgeline which accommodates RVs up to 26”, water and 10/30/50 amp hook ups. Sites have a fire ring and picnic table. WiFi is available, and there is a dump station. A small playground, office/campstore, and a bathhouse and laundry next to it. 3 sites are walk-in. Big rigs would have to stay elsewhere. 2) Clifty Campground is tent camping only 7 sites offer electric and water. WiFi is also offered. There is a bathhouse and a playground, and these CG’s are pet friendly. (Falls Creek is a few miles up the road…they have pull through and back ins. For bigger Rvs. They also have tents, wagons, cabin rentals, and primitive sites) We had no T-Mobile service, or satellite service in our vehicle. The trails and Cumberland falls were awesome. The horse rides looked amazing, and the Pool was big, with a diving board, and a small fee for campers to use it.
Legend
Approximately 4 miles off of exit 144, from I~75. Easy to locate, and a well maintained RV campground! Website has all the info on the different types of sites, cabins and ATV’s. Resources for permits, pricing, and other requirements are also listed. The trails are accessible from the CG. FHUs on Back in and Pull-throughs,bathhouses, on site fishing pond, playground, and Ohhh yes….the ATV wash station! General store is on the right from the entrance, which is awesome! They sell firewood and ice, as well as extreme OHV sporting equipment/gear, snacks, souvenirs….to list a few. Rental cabins are available nearby, for larger families or groups. I believe they thought of almost everything! I would love to come camp here in the fall, as I can imagine that the views are spectacular! They provide WiFi, but my T-Mobile reception was good, at 3 bars.
Legend
Primitive isn’t our mode of camping, but we rode our bikes up the road to check out this beautiful campground. Easy to find, marked with a sign. The road to the campground forks to the left, past the State Park entrance sign. There are plenty of picnic tables and trash cans, before the trails. There is also a mutt mitt station. And an info board, with trail & State Park map.The state park offers 5 trails, pavilions, as well as playgrounds and a lake. Since it’s extremely hot, and there were several areas along the trail with ponds, the biting flies and mosquitoes were active! The camping path and sites were well marked, and sites started at #10, next to the parking lot, and family bathhouse. There are fire pits at each site. The sites are semi private, and 1-9-10 are the most popular sites used, according to the Ranger. No one was camping when we were there on a Sunday afternoon. I posted a video of us biking out of the trail campsites, getting #8, on the right, 9 on left, #10 last, then back at the beginning, to the bathhouse and parking lot.
LegendBack-in site, FHUs, concrete pad, some shade. Fire pit and picnic table at each site, ours is located behind our site. There are 2 playgrounds, Disc golf course, volleyball area, a beautiful lake(with rental paddle boats for $14 hr) We Bought fire wood and Disc Golf sets, at the campground store. Clean with coded entry Bathhouse, by one of the playgrounds. There is an 18 hole Disc Golf we will be playing. We Love the views, and are looking forward to trying out the 5 trails this weekend! The lake is beautiful with geese and ducks hanging out! We used our Starlink over 100Mps, and our T-Mobile had fair reception. There are also 2 playgrounds at the SP!
Scout
Eagle Rock Resort & Campground is amazing. If you are looking for a place to ride trails and relax, this is the place. You could seriously come here multiple times a year and still not see all of the different trails. The site manager, Jeff, and his staff was extremely nice and helpful. Always there to please and help make your experience one to remember. I am not the camping type so the condos they have for rent was perfect for my group. Spacious and clean with everything you need. We even had very comfortable king size bunk beds, never seen anything like it before. Cannot say enough great things about this experience. Definitely worth a stay!!!
Traveler
We will absolutely be back! I’ll be honest, as a visibly queer person with rainbow hair I was a bit nervous about the Bible verses and Christian flag due to past experiences, but Patrick and Angelica were welcoming and friendly the entire time!
The RV spot with shade was great! It’s right next to the bathroom but everyone is spread out enough it wasn’t an issue at all.
Strong WiFi, pet friendly, and a beautiful, peaceful spot with very friendly owners!
ScoutGreat location. Not crowded. But could use a cleaning. PortaJons are nasty.
GuideLots of lil cozy pull offs on an easy gravel road. Lots of longer term people staying it seemed like (or just really full send camping friends lol). Many fire rings and spots by the lake. Unfortunately the other reviews are right - A decent amount of trash. There are trash cans and porta potties. I’ve seen worse porta potties at festivals but there were a few stinky ones.
Traveler
We stayed at site #2 which was nice but had soft ground from prior rain (when other sites had already dried up well). There were a lot of headlights on us from traffic entering the campground, even up til MIDNIGHT on Saturday. I would stay here again but would choose a site more towards the backside of the loop for less traffic going by your site
RangerSites are level and pretty spacious, if not some a little tight together. My only complaint was that the restroom wasn’t marked on the map that I could see so I ended up being very far away from it. So more of an issue with recreation.gov than the campground itself. The restroom was nice and clean.
Scout
Bathrooms were clean. Campsite was clean. Campground very well maintained. So peaceful!! I have cell service with Verizon. I was able to make & receive calls. Internet signal was not the best, but I wasn't there for that anyway!
LegendSome tight turns coming in on a steep grade. Mostly smaller spots. Some private and some not. Given rating only camp sites. Bad weather kept from the rest of park.
TravelerGreat place to camp along side the creek or rv lots with mountain views. Walking distance to Clinch River. Kayak, Hiking, Biking, spacious lots
Ranger
The office never seemed to be open. We needed propane upon leaving but couldn’t find anyone. Sites are small, not level and in need of some upkeep. The hookups were poorly placed and the electric hookup was loose. When we plugged in it recessed back into the unit and difficult to plug into. They were to pick up trash at 11 but by putting it b/4 11 I always seemed to miss it.
Camping near Barbourville, Kentucky, offers a mix of beautiful scenery and outdoor activities. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or an adventure-filled getaway, there are several campgrounds to choose from.
Camping near Barbourville, Kentucky, has something for everyone, from families to RV enthusiasts. Just remember to plan ahead and enjoy the great outdoors!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Barbourville, KY?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Barbourville, KY is Blue Heron - Big South Fork National River Rec Area with a 4.9-star rating from 23 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Barbourville, KY?
TheDyrt.com has all 25 tent camping locations near Barbourville, KY, with real photos and reviews from campers.
