Best Tent Camping near Central City, KY

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.

We really enjoyed this place! It's located on the green river and has very spacious campsites. Plenty of room for the kids or dogs to run around. Very secluded. There is a concrete picnic table, pole and fire pit at each spot. Across the road to the ferry is a large pavillion with several more picnic tables for bigger gatherings. There are a few porta potties and no water or hookups. Primitive camping only. We tent camped here in July and saw hundreds of lightning bugs (see video)! It was magical, that really made the experience so much better for us!

Highly recommend a cave tour as well at Mammoth Cave National Park. You will not be disappointed!! Can't wait to go back!

This is a beautiful place with decent facilities and very kind campground hosts! The downside is the campsites are close together and the guests are more into partying than enjoying nature. We had one nice night, and the next night a RV pulled in almost on top of us (due to very close campsites) and started up an unusually loud generator, so we ended up leaving our stargazing / campfire and sitting in our car until 10 when they turned it off. Guess what? Quiet hours are 10pm to 6am - which is when it started up again. They got belligerent with the campground hosts about it, so we just packed up and left a day early. We just wanted some peace and quiet, which is why we were camping in the first place. So my recommendation is: if you're into quiet tent campsites, look elsewhere 😊 happy camping.

I suggest you make a reservation as this campground fills up quickly. Axtel is located on the shore of Rough River Lake and has over 150 camp sites. Almost every site has quick access and/or views of the lake. There is a designated swimming and beach area. There are several restrooms located throughout the campsite. They were clean and stocked with toilet paper and hand soap. There is an easily accessed dumpster area and dump station near the main entrance. WiFi is available however, there is a fee. There is a boat ramp, so you can bring your boat and/or other watercraft. Fishing is allowed as well. There are a lot of sites with electric and water, but some without either. There are sites for tent camping and RV's. Sites have fire pits and a post with a hook for hanging trash and/or lanterns. No alcohol is allowed. Dogs on a leash are allowed. While we were here, several of the sites along the lake were flooded (see pics). The beach had recently been closed due to flooding, but was open while we were there. If you dig down just a couple of inches on the beach, you'll find clay. My kids loved this and made a couple of clay pots (see pics). As with most campsites we visit, people here were friendly and courteous. There is not a market on site, however there was a Dollar General about 13 miles away. They had a lot of the groceries we needed. There were also several gas stations along the way there that had ice and firewood. This is a great place for families to enjoy a beach without leaving KY!

What's that name...

Campground Review: Coming from Western Kentucky Parkway W or KY I65 either way you drive in to Moutardier Campground you will end up on Rt 259.

Several interesting places along Rt 259; The Bee Spring motorsports ( MUD DRAGS!) and The Bee Spring Restaurant. Further out is Ralph's Market, fuel and groceries and Alexander's Farm about 6 miles down Rt 259 toward Litchfield, JOHN DEERE TRACTORS, enough said !

Right outside Moutardier Campground on Rt 2067 is Sherry's Red Roof restaurant (open Sunday! And local fare; catfish, ribs, spuds, fried appetizers and ice....it is NOT fast food but the locals were eating there sooo)

Now the Campground. Army Corp of Engineers knows how to landscape and maintain a Dam, Lake and beautifully manicured and laid out campgrounds. Moutardier fits the mold. The sites are strategically stacked in each loop. Close but angled so you see a lot of your neighbors but a lot of scenery too.

The staff was awesome; friendly, informative and helpful. The facilities were well maintained and clean. I asked to change sites due to there being no trees on the site I had reserved. The attendant opened C loop for me, which is not directly on the lake and was in the trees.

Product Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt I get to test gear, I won a Tentsile coupon in May from The Dyrt.

Tentsile's tree tent is an eco-friendly concept which is a totally cool. I upgraded to a Connect Tree Tent, which is a two person massively huge , lotsa head room tent. The set up is actually really easy once you get the hang of it. There are 4 zippered openings on the tree tent, mess pockets for your phone, keys, etc and the option to go topless or throw the rain cover on for rain and weather protection.

The one major con is finding an appropriate area to set up the Tentsile. If you don't know the campground you may end up in a site without any trees or not the right configuration needed. The Tentsile can be set up on the ground but what's the fun in that.

Otherwise I am totally liking this Tree Tent! I tried it with and without an air mattress. The mattress worked better for my decrepit self. Took the dogs a bit to get used to it, was like a slip and slide for them. We figured it out though, I put their mattress pad in and that worked well for them ;)

The Pennyrile state park campground is in need of a makeover. I didn’t see any sites suitable for a tent. I was car camping and slept in my SUV so no tent but I’m glad I didn’t have to rely on the sites being level. There were roots and rocks on all the sites. It is quite and relaxing. Electric and water was adequate. The shower house only had one working shower in the women’s bathroom. The entire thing could use a good cleaning and maintenance.

We stayed at sight #58. We were on the very corner and even though it was close to the road it was beautiful and not super traffic heavy. There was however a streetlight at the corner and it was extremely bright. We were prepared enough though so we put a dark tarp up on the outside of our tent to block it. I do wish we could have seen a better picture of the site before hand it would have made choosing easier. This wasn’t the best spot for a tent, but we made it work :)

Great for tents or trailers and everything in between. 3 playgrounds with safe clean equipment. Plant of lake view sites and positioned to provide a semi private experience.

The sites are hard to back in with a camper, we had to buy longer extension cables and a longer water hose, sites are very close together, the activities were good had to pay for them not very much. The miniature golf course was good but a little expensive. The beach was amazing but it’s first come first serve regardless if u camped there. It opens up at 10am. The lodge restaurant was amazing buffet and the banana pudding was amazing as well. They do serve a sandwich called Hot Brown I guess it known in Kentucky was good.

Pennyrile Forest State Park off Ky69 outside Dawson Springs, Ky. A newer trail Pennyrile Nature Trail is 13.5 mile long hiking trail, from Dawson Springs to the park. There is also a site for the Pennyrile Trail which is a 75 mile driving loop connecting several Kentucky parks.

The park is multi-leveled with the views and some cool rock formations. The beach has some confusing parking signs, but we figured it off. It was busy and had some loud visitors with loud vehicles and loud vehicles. Not surprising considering the neighborhood it is located in.

The campground has some interesting sites all along the roadway. The campground and horse campground are connected. Several of the sites can be challenging due to not being level or being shallow, but they are workable.

I'm not sure if biking would be great due to the hills but it would be challenging. Hiking and backpacking definitely and of course swimming and horseback riding( on your own horse)

Great place to visit. Is beautiful with a lot of walking trails 10 things to do. In summer for swimming and rental boats paddle boats and some battery powered boats.I was there for a fall photography contest it was a little too soon and theirwas very little color. You can camp in tents or campers you can ride horses or enjoy the lake and many miles of walking trails. They also have hotel rooms and cabins if you care to spend multiple nights the beautiful Park and I highly recommend it to anybody that enjoys outdoor Beauty.This year 2019 makes the fifth year tha I've gone to Pennyroyal for the fall photography contest I've also been there a few springs for the spring photography contest. These photos are not the best cuz I took them from the restaurant through a window screen so you can kind of see it in the in the images I'll try to upload better ones later.

North Fork Recreation Area at Rough River Lake is a little discombobulated. The lay out of the area is missing any Feng Shui. 

There is a nice picnic area with a large pavilion , parking area and fishing pier next to but not connected to the boatramp. The boatramp has parking along one side, two ramps to use and it in turn is next to but not connected to the campground. 

Pro: there is a nice size beach on the other side of the road with a large shaded picnic area that looks like it used to be a campground, a good size parking lot and a large pavilion. 

Con: regardless your plans for the day/weekend it’s almost impossible to easily/safely move from one activity to the next without the use of a vehicle. 

This campground was crowded , noisy and there was no privacy. 

Con: sorta felt like setting your tent up on Main Street in a mid-size town. 

Pro: you might make new friends (hopefully quiet, courteous friends)

Con: very strange lay out which uses every inch of space. 

Con: there was a lot of noisy water traffic.

Pro: you could tie your water craft near your campsite in several areas. 

Con: some of the sites had little room to park your car.

We ended up way down at the end in site 66 

Pro:cut down on vehicle traffic 

Con: we were right next to the boatramp area, very noisy.

Pro: there was a restroom nearby

Con: it was shared with the boatramp

When driving to North Fork you pass through a small town with a gas station, Dollar General and food available. I gave a three star due to the noise, crowd and lack of privacy. You may enjoy this kind of camping.

What can i say about Houchins Ferry Campground Mammoth Cave NP……

Well 1: pretty drive in, newer highway, wide with no thrilling drop offs or hairpins. Kentucky farmland, mobile homes and a lot of pickups.

2: it’s in Brownsville, Ky back in behind the local High School. There is a gas station and your typical small town stores in the area including Wally World

3: no signal. Your phone will tease you with one bar and occasionally something might get through but it would be easier on your battery to just wait until you get into town.

4: the ferry is no longer in use, right now there is about 10ft of muck between the cement and the river, the kind that sticks to your shoes and just gathers more. With just enough incline to make it a real challenge to get back up to dry land.

5: porta pots, no showerhouse or sinks. One plus there are 4 pots and they are the larger style ;)

6: nice size sites that have some space in between . Unfortunately the ones on the river side have no easy access to the river right now.

7: small unkept picnic area and pavilion for day use. The pavilion is in pretty good shape but the picnic area needs some TLC.

Overall if you are looking for a secluded campsite this one would fit the bill. I do know from past experience this campground fills up with locals who stay the max days allowed and set up homesites. It sorta has the homeless community feel when that happens. Not my favorite of the area and it has the abounded feel to it as far as maintenance goes.

I recently reviewed a map of the area and realized I mistakenly thought there were no trails in the Houchens Ferry area. Unfortunately they are on the far side of the river. There are two trailsheads, First Creek Trail and McCoy Hollow Trail near Temple Hill. There are three dispersed campsite on First Creek Trail (west side of the Houchins Ferry Rd) A good map of the area is available at the visitor center. The drive around is at least 30 minutes , past Nolin Lake access road and down a gravel road. worth the drive, excellent back country hiking shared with equestrians.

Nice little campground. We stayed here one night passing through. We liked the Twigs. Bathroom and showers were clean. Grounds were very well maintained.

Nice place. Got up at the crack of dawn and took a walk, saw lots of critters.

Great place to set up camp and enjoy! On site washer and dryers, very nice shower houses, the camp attended is super nice, all the staff will go above and beyond to make your stay a great one. Every night there are deers out grazing and it's near fishing spots, and Wayne's right up the street is a super nice little country store. I will be going back to camp there again and again.The restrooms and grounds were very clean at the campsite. The camp host and store clerk were friendly and helpful. This is a very small park with a quiet campground. There is no gate to the campground, so there is some traffic that comes through from time to time which I didn't care for. The trails were nice. The beach and beach house were just okay, not bad, but not great either.