Best Cabin Camping near Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area

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.

The sites are inconsistent between their sizes on the Clifty campground.  We had two small tents and one car.  If we had any more gear or people it would have been uncomfortable.  

I had to be careful when parking as I had to avoid the water supply, 2 trees, a safety pole for the water supply (painted brown), electricity box, and then the drop off on the other side of the road.  It did take a few turns to get in and out of the campsite.  We did have cell phone service (Verizon) at the campground.  My friend that was T-Mobile did not have cell service. There are areas in the park where I did not have a signal such as when we went hiking or exploring.  I would pre-download maps for the area on All Trails as that was extremely helpful. 

Some of the campsites at Clifty were much larger and were 2 of my site.  Each site had a water hook up, standard lantern/trash pole, fire ring, electric box, and was a short walk from the Clifty campground bathroom. If you can hand pick your site or scout it out before hand it is well worth doing that if you have a larger sized family or tent. 

I actually preferred Clifty over the main campground (Ridgeline). Ridgeline was down a long winding road.  It had way more folks.  Ridgeline is better suited for the RV and large tent crowds. Look closely as each site is rated for a different RV length and they had one pull in site. At Ridgeline they even have one campsite (tent) that was rated for 16 campers.  Generally, each site was rated for 8 campers.  Ridgeline also had some horse campers as I was able to see their horse trailers when going through the campsite. I saw 3 riders on horseback when I was driving to the camp store.  The stables are in two spots on the road down to Ridgeline. 

Taken from Cumberland Falls State Park webpage "Cumberland Falls State Resort Park is the perfect destination to introduce the family to the thrill of horseback riding. The park offers guided trail rides that are easy enough for the first timer and still adventurous for the more experienced. Riders, age 6 and up will enjoy a 45-minute ride through an eastern Kentucky forest, beautiful in any season. The stables open weekends in May and are daily after Memorial Weekend until Labor Day. Also open on weekends during Sept. and Oct. Rides start on the hour from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Cost is$20.00 per person. Personal horses are not permitted on the trails at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, but there are several opportunities to do so in the surrounding area. There are many miles of trails and several horse camps in the nearby Daniel Boone National Forest and The Big South Fork National River and Recreation area."

Clifty was smaller and quieter.  It felt like it had more trees and only tents on this row of campsites.  The campsites are close to each other as we talked with our camp site neighbors on the both sides.  When I first booked my site I knew of the difference in locations between Ridgeline and Clifty but I couldn't figure out what the difference in settings/vibe would be like and I am so happy that I had picked Clifty. 

The perk about the Clifty campsites is that they are close to the pool.  You can easily walk to the pool with your family when it opens.  The pool is free for campers.  I didn't get to check out their bathrooms but my fellow camper did and she said it was good.  I also discovered a trail and more down behind the Clifty campground.  I only found it as I noticed yellow blazes by the bathroom and followed it back to the trailhead.  Close to the bathroom is the dumpster with a home made jamming device to keep the bears out of the dumpster.  The Clifty bathroom was not ADA accessible as no wheelchair bathroom stall.  Shower wasn't accessible either if you have any mobility challenges. 

Moonbow at Cumberland Falls - We arrived early and had a picnic dinner.  The moon bow is best when the moon is high over the falls.  We were hoping to see it around sun set at 9:30 - 10:00 but we actually had to stay later.  Make sure you take advantage of the picnic tables that are near by and the bathrooms.  The best site to see the Moonbow is at the Upper Falls which is close to the gift shop/snack bar.  You can see the falls from further down at the other observation decks. We hung out there for some time to avoid the crowds at the Upper Falls.  

The parking lot will fill up as it gets closer to the time of the Moonbow. I avoided that by doing the picnic dinner and coming before sun set. The Cumberland Falls remain open till midnight as they know folks will want to see the Moonbow this is only seen at certain times of the year due to the moon.  It was nice to notice the ranger at the entrance of the park as we were leaving.  He was keeping tabs on the crowds at a distance as he wasn't needed at that time. 

Hiking - Ask for a map at the lodge as I didn't see them at the campgrounds or even signs explaining what trail 12 vs 2 was in the area.  Also, be aware that the Sheltowee trail is in the area this is a 333 mile long trail and you will see the white blaze or turtle blazes. 

Even some of the signs such as where the waterfall was for the near by Dog Slaughter Falls Trail said the falls were 1 mile away but it was actually several more miles.  I used the All Trails App and kept track of the miles on my Fitbit.  We found the Extended trail on All Trails and that matched up to the GPS tracking we did while on the trail.  We found 3 different signs for this hike in 3 different locations and each time the mileage was off.

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.

My wife and I happened upon this state park when looking for a last minute substitute for another campsite. We were late arrivals, had no problem finding an open site on a Saturday night in the summer. Plenty of open spots with privacy. This campground offers sites with open space for stargazing and/or sites closer to the timber with canopy cover. The campground was less than 20% occupied, so plenty of great spots available. Great for hammock camping, electric hookups or tent. Bathhouses were clean. Bathhouse also included laundry. Campground offers a large amount of cabins, some can accommodate larger groups. You can access the lake from This campground including kayak, canoe, and boat rentals. You can also find a swimming beach area next to the rental boats. There are a plethora of trails to hike including a suspension bridge over the river, and a number of geological landmark sites to hike to. We enjoyed our stay.

Pickett State Park is a great spot to camp if you like peace and quiet, but don’t want to have to backpack in to a spot. Despite the small campground, it was pretty much empty on the first weekend in August when we stayed. It is near the Big South Fork, and Scott State Forest, so there’s lots of great hiking, horseback riding, river recreation, etc. nearby. From other reviews on The Dyrt, I learned the park is excellent for stargazing, and it is true, you will have amazing views at night, we slept in a tent without a rain fly, just so we could see the stars!

The campground has several sites with electric and some without. We stayed in B1, which did not have electric. All the sites have picnic tables and fire rings, and the ones on the outside of the loops back up to the woods and trails. All the sites are spacious.

The restrooms were clean, but they must be pretty old. There were some areas in need of tile repair, but it was just a cosmetic issue, so it didn’t bother me. The showers were nice, and everything was clean.

The campground also has cabins, and those seemed to have more guests than the campground. They have a set of cabins that were connected, like apartments, and they have some larger, freestanding cabins too. They had a group site as well, but I did not go to it.

The park has a lake with swimming area, and canoe/kayak/paddle board rentals, a swinging bridge, playground, tennis courts, a gigantic picnic area, and several great trails.

This was a very pleasant find, and we will definitely return!