Best Tent Camping near Brandenburg, KY

Has tent and RV camping. I tent camped this trip and stopped by for one night as I was passing through. Cost was about $16ish. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Tent sites are at the front of the property with the RVs to the back. Tent campsites are not defined - just an open area for all to share with picnic tables and grills scattered around. Kids playground next to it. Couldn't find the potable water for the tent area. The RVs had electric & water hookups. Showers and bathrooms available. Right next to a side road with a bit of traffic the night I stayed.

Pros: very well maintained facilities, toddlers enjoyed playground, able to walk along lake shore, could hear small waterfall behind our campsite, within 20 minutes of Mammoth Cave NP via Green River Ferry Con: sites nothing special for tent camping (probably great if in RV). Very sunny, out in open so windy. But nice to have electric and water when camping with toddlers so worth it. Would agree with previous review that the 1 tent site among all the electric sites looked beautiful- right on the water. If you don’t need electric, go with that one!

I was tent camping with my family Thursday-Saturday while visiting Mammoth Cave.

The good: the tent campground has spacious, level sites. The sites are located in a grove of pine trees, which makes for well shaded sites with a pleasant surface of soft pine straw to pitch your tents. A few sites had trees suitable for hanging hammocks if you enjoy that. There are toilets and sinks in the park office near the primitive campsites. There is a swimming beach and boat ramp on Nolin Lake nearby. Convenient to Mammoth Cave NP and fishing and hiking opportunities abound.

The bad: the shower house is in the RV campground and too far away to be a convenient walk. You have to drive there which is a pain with kids. There were few shower stalls and they were not kept clean. The park staff were very friendly but just overworked. Thursday night we were kept awake by loud campers and campground staff weren’t around to enforce quiet hours. Quiet hours do not start until 11 PM which is not ideal for campers with young children. The park started filling up on Friday and Saturday and was obviously very crowded on the weekend. Seems like a "party spot" for locals. 

We might return here but perhaps would choose to camp during the week or during a less busy time of year.

The bathrooms were beautiful and air conditioned! They were very clean and smelled like a swimming pool. They were nice and cool after a hot sweaty day and tent camping.

Tent sites: steep hill with rodents living there. Gravel driveway leading to tent sites: a trench sure to rip the exhaust off your car. The RVers and workers: they make it obvious you are beneath them. Pets allowed: you WILL be up all night with the barking chihuaua on the next site. Airplanes flying over head as you are getting ready to sleep. Traverse the lawn to the faraway bathroom to ruin your shoes at 2am. Laundry on-site but the workers will scowl while you use it. Catch all this ire for the grand old price of $50+ per night.

Nolin lake was very beautiful and peaceful. The campground had two tent camping locations and a rv area. The scenery was amazing. Highly recommend campsite 23 by the beach, it has the best view....

This campground has RV sites and tent sites, pond to fish in and plenty of playgrounds for the children. Clean showers and bathrooms and friendly staff.

The primitive tent camping is located in a grove of beautiful, mature trees. Fire rings & picnic tables are dotted throughout the trees. There is a highway right beside the campsite so you will best cars, but it is not a high traffic area.

I don't see how there could be tent camping here, there's no grass. But I wouldn't be able to verify anyway because there was no attendant in the office at 10 am on a Monday morning. No one answers the phone. Doesn't seem like much of a business.

Campground Review: I have stayed at and reviewed this campground before, however this time I am reviewing our experience at site I158 over Labor Day Weekend while using the Red Ledge Thunderlight jacket. Site I158 has no electric or water. It is a fairly small tent site that is very close to other sites. There is only enough room for 1 tent and 1 vehicle. The fire ring is nice and has a grill attached. There is a large picnic table and a prep table with a tall hook, which we hung our trash on. The site is gravel but I was able to put in my tent stakes with minimal effort. The site is completely wooded, so if you don't like tent camping near trees, this site is not for you. The upside is there are plenty of sticks for kindling. I did however get hit with a few falling acorns, and that did not feel good at all. The quiet time at this campground is respected and followed. The beach is great for hanging out and swimming in the lake. The beach had previously been damaged by flooding but was beautiful for Labor Day Weekend. 

Product Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt www.thedyrt.com, I get products to test from time to time and today I am reviewing the Men& Women's Thunderlight Jacket from Red Ledge https://www.redledge.com/products/mens-and-womens-thunderlight-jacket?variant=7068462153788. I made a video folding the jacket into the carrying bag after I returned home from camping. 

1. What I liked about this product: The jacket fits great. Using the size guidelines on Red Ledge's website, I ordered the appropriate sized jacket and it fits perfectly. I like the sealed edges that kept any water from getting to my clothes underneath. This jacket is lightweight. It is a great jacket to use anywhere, but this would be great for back country camping. Because it's lightweight and breathable, I also used it for sun protection while sitting on Rough River Lake beach. The hood hangs over a little bit keeping the sun and rain out of your eyes. The cuffs and the bottom of the jacket are adjustable, which I love. Red Ledge offers this jacket in 13 different colors, but I chose Mercury(gray). The price of the jacket is a little higher than I expected, however, I believe this jacket will hold up over time and be completely worth it. As a tent camper, I have learned to spend a little more money on better quality products than to buy cheap stuff and have to keep replacing them. 

2. What I didn't like about this product: I didn't quite understand how the hood adjust worked and it took me a little bit of figuring it out. However, once I understood what I was doing, it worked great. 

Overall, I would recommend this jacket. My son has the youth version of The Thunderlight and he loves it. I think Red Ledge has made a good quality product that anyone can use and appreciate.

Indian-Celina is a beautiful campground. The sites are set up well for tent camping with flat gravel tent pads set deep in tall trees with ample privacy. The restrooms were spotless and modern and the shower stalls were spacious and private with locking doors. There is no swimming here, but you can swim a few miles away at Tipsaw Lake. Just watch out for the abundant poison ivy!

Very nice campground the tent sites even have electric and water but my advice is try not to setup tent near the little pond they have, it stinks. Showers are great, if your tall like me, your gonna have to bend a knee to get underneath the shower head. LOL bathroom water pressure could be better. Very affordable!

Nice campground, needs some structural updates. Mostly shaded spots. Not all pads are level or very wide. Some of the tent sites are a challenge to get to and use. Minus a star due to no hot water, I would have been happy with warm but no luck.

Several trails in walking, horse or bike riding distance. Some direct access from the campground.

You can set up here and have plenty to do without ever leaving the park.

Corydon is within half an hour, Louisville about an hour.

We camped in tent site 15, which is the far back corner of a large rectangular tenting area. Each site had a table and fire ring, and shared water and trash were located in several central locations. Some sites are between two parking areas (sites 7-9, I think), and some sites are along the lake shore. While most people rate the lake shore sites highly, I think you'd get a lot of headlights flashing at you as they're right along the parking lane. We really liked the back corner for privacy, and relative proximity to the bathrooms (located in what looks like an office). Showers, firewood, ice, playground, and laundry are in the trailer campsite nearby. 

One caveat is that, if fully booked with weekenders, I can imagine this place getting a bit noisy at night. It's also pretty hot, though very well shaded, in July.