Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Buckhorn Lake

This has ranked #1 for campgrounds for our family this season.

Nestled in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, this campground has all the things your family could want to do in nature.

Check in was super easy and the staff was great.

The site was very easy to get to.

We were on site 13 and it was nearly perfectly level from left to right. It had both 30 and 50 amp hookups and water (about 35psi on pressure). Each site has a charcoal grill, a fire pit with a grate for cooking and a large picnic table.

Our site backed up to the creek and a nice little levee for fishing. You could also go up back the park and fish right at the spillway from Buckhorn Lake Dam. Really fun experience.

Hands down the best playground for kids we have seen in a campground.

They had a large bathhouse with super clean bathrooms. Unsure about showers as I use the one in my TT.

There were horseshoe pits in two locations in the campsite. Several locations to dispose of trash. They also provided trash bags upon arrival.

Laundry facilities onsite and firewood you could purchase.

The dump station was clean and easily accessible with a hose for flushing.

Erica and her husband are the hosts and were so friendly and helpful. We were there over Mother’s Day weekend and they provided coffee juice and doughnuts for Mother’s Day.

A ton of kiddos for kids to play with and a great area for their bikes, etc.

We 100% will be back to this campground this season.

Beautiful, quiet, friendly. Large grassy area, well maintained. Near a rivers edge, playground, walking track, dog park, soccer fields...all right on or beside grounds. Easy access, allows weekly, or monthly stays.

This area is the best place to see Elk in the east! This is a small campground near Buckhorn Lake. It is close to the water for boating and swimming, there is a playground, but for much else you will need to travel outside the area.  There is a resort park called Buckhorn Lake nearby, which is a state facility with cabin camping (and a lodge), that is much more built up. Your GPS may be confused.

Yay: We liked the simplicity of the site, it is well taken care of.

Nay: No complaints but you need to bring your own boat.

Surprise: The ELK (not at the campground though).

This area is the best place to see Elk in the east! This is a small campground near Buckhorn Lake. It is close to the water for boating and swimming, there is a playground, but for much else you will need to travel outside the area.  There is a resort park called Buckhorn Lake nearby, which is a state facility with cabin camping (and a lodge), that is much more built up. Your GPS may be confused.

Yay: We liked the simplicity of the site, it is well taken care of.

Nay: No complaints but you need to bring your own boat.

Surprise: The ELK (not at the campground though).

We stayed in the cabins and they are well-maintained and stocked. Pretty rustic, but the fireplaces are worth it and make it extra cozy. They are also pet-friendly! Our dog loves the outdoors, so it’s always a bonus when we can take her with us. We have been back multiple times. Great hiking, we recommend the trail that leads to where 3 states meet. It’s a fairly easy hike and ends with a great view. We have been multiple times, and each season has it's different appeal of beauty!

This is a great place. I would rank the Red River Gorge area as the most beautiful place in the Kentucky. Any time I get the chance to head out this way, I do. And I make sure that those chances are not few and far between. This is my favorite place to bring my dogs to get some exercise and time away from work. Be prepared for crowds if you come on the weekend. Stop by in the Fall if you want the added bonus of seeing the leaves turn!

We had a Great time here. We've some spent time now in Kentucky and Red River Gorge area is one of favorites in this state. The campground is good pretty simple. Apparently there are showers which are a huge plus or us but we didnt use them we are staying with friends in a couple days. This camp was super close to some great hiking and a guy working in the park recommended some hikes. The trail heads were close to the campground which was perfect and dog friendly. Probably because the state park is sooooo big. We loved it.

Overall; nice place, bathrooms get gross quickly when campground is at full capacity. Not handicap friendly. Good cell service, 4G. Small beach area, clear water for swimming, but have quite a few steps to walk down to the lake. Playground equipment was taken down, only had a couple of swings. All sites have electric and water, picnic table, two poles to hang garbage or lantern, also fire rings with grates for cooking on Pets allowed on leash. Firewood and ice available.

Attendant on site, not a ranger, maybe a "workamper?" Bathrooms cleaned only once in the midmorning. The commodes have a button to flush which is difficult to push. I think young children couldn't push it, so the toilets got nasty and full. Toilet paper ran out by early evening. There was no commode in the handicap stall in the women's room. Hot showers with regular handle for continual flow (as opposed to some places that only run a couple of minutes before you have to push the button again.

Most sites are shaded and grassy areas. Sites 7, 8, 26, 28, 31 are washed out, not good for putting up a tent. Lake surrounds campground but not visible through the trees. A few very steep trails from some sites down to the lake.

Beach is about 100 yds long. Water was clean and clear. It might be a slight challenge walking back up the steps to the parking lot if you're not in good shape. If you plan on hanging out at the beach area for awhile, I suggest bringing a beach tent, it gets hot. There is a drive way down to the beach for handicap access, but the gate was locked. There is a marina on the other side of the road. I believe you can rent a pontoon there.

While we were there, somebody with a super loud speed boat was racing around, so be aware that if you're wanting peace and quiet, there is boating noise. There was also a group of campers that had speakers set up and played their music Sat night that was annoying. Not super loud, but we just didn't care for their style of music. We tolerated it, but don't know why they weren't asked to turn it down. To me, music shouldn't be heard much past your own site.

It's about 5+/- miles in either direction for a store. There is an ice cream place about 2 miles away that also sells basic prep fried food and breakfast.

Our electric didn't work (site 33) but we were with another couple and plugged into theirs next to us. We usually primitive camp, but because of the Aug heat, it's nice to have a fan at night.

We might camp there again. The main thing is that the bath house needs to be updated and attended to more than once a day. It's better than nothing, but I'd rather go in an outhouse than see an overflowing toilet.

We camped here over the weekend with our dogs. We had campsite 38, one out of 3 that are away from the rest of the sites. The campground is not very big, but very well maintained. The sites are very close together. A big plus was definitely the little creek, perfect for the dogs to play in. The bathhouse was very clean. One of the 2 showers had no bench, which makes it difficult to keep all your stuff dry while you shower. There are 2 trails that you can hike from the campground. Both were dog friendly, the rest of the park is not. Nearby is Miguel's Pizza, which is a pretty place to stop and ear breakfast, lunch, or dinner with outdoor seating
The whole area is absolutely gorgeous. We hiked to Gray's Arch, which is about 15 min from the campground. The skylift to the Natural Bridge is very close by.

Koomer ridge is a great campground if you don't want to hike to camp, it's kid and dog friendly!

Perfect for a quick one night stay while traveling! Reasonable, nice site backed up to a babbling stream. Short walk to bathroom with shower! Short walk w/ my dog on the trails before heading back on the road!

This is in the heart of the Red River Gorge and super close to Muir Valley. Great climbing campground that is fairly affordable ($8 per person per night). The only thing is they don't allow dogs, except at the annual Rocktoberfest festival.

For a little privacy stay in the back of the campground. Most spots are level, paved (or packed gravel). Shower room was nice and pretty clean.

Whittleton Arch (another natural bridge) is across the street from campground - was a great hike and it allows dogs (Natural Bridge Park does not).

A great first experience camping with our pup. He’s a little too cautious with strangers and dogs so having the other campsite at a distance is a huge preference for us. The campsites were nice and well maintained. There was sufficient bathrooms and every time we went in them they were clean. The camp is close to the trail so if you plan to hike all the way up to the arch this is a pretty decent place to start.

Great introduction to camping for my husband. The weather was very pleasant. Dog friendly campsite and both camp hosts were friendly and knowledgeable. The bathhouse was near our site and in decent shape for a camping bathroom. Showers, electricity and potable water is available at the bathhouse. The water is heavily chlorinated. We brought our own drinking water, but used the campgrounds for cleaning ourselves and dishes. We also had a water pump near our site. Best times to visit are early summer before the heat kicks in and fall. Beautiful park. The photos don't do it justice.

Natural Bridge State Park is within Daniel Boone National Forest and Middle Fork is the campground in the State Park. Unless you are a distance hiker you will have to drive to most of the attractions from the campground because they aren’t close. So that’s a pro and a con. The campground is not in the traffic flow but it’s not conveniently located either. My favorite sites are in the back row, shaded and more private. Otherwise it’s a mid size campground that can get a little busy when it’s full. Well maintained. Check out Hoedown Island on Saturday’s , Miguel’s for food and no dogs allowed on the Natural Bridge trails.