Best Glamping near Fisherville, KY

This state park could use a little TLC. The acreage is good, nice views of the lake, and it does offer good campsites, however some are smaller than possibly described so use your best judgment. There is a lodge, trails, and fishing. Tennis courts are down by the Butler-Turpin State Historic House. Mini-golf and a gift shop are also available. It looks at one time there was a golf course but it is absolutely overgrown. There was some road construction during our visit so check the Kentucky State Park site before visiting.

Having lived 62 years in Kentucky, less than twenty minutes from the Jeff. Forest, leaving to explore USA, then returning to my home state allows me a unique point of view. The seclusion here and the closeness to nature is a grand slam! Due to fall, the sites seem much closer than they are due to the thinning foliage. Friendly neighbors, standard picnic table/fire pit/port-a-potties/potable water. Roomy campsite and room for my son to visit in his car with my van parked inside the campsite. Lots of trees for hammocking. Lots of downed wood for easy collecting, lots of trails ranging from 1.5 to 13.0 miles through gorgeous mixed forest of old and new growth deciduous and coniferous hardwoods.

We decided to go down for a weekend to see how we'd like it. It's situated high up on the Kentucky river bank which is nice but there's little access to the riverbank except from the floating dock and boat ramp. When we arrived there was left overs from the previous flood which made it very muddy. It's definitely dog friendly but with no trails to really walk them on. We found a game trail that took us down to the riverbank at the end of the campground and found a goat hanging in a tree from the previous flooding. Perfect campground for partiers who don't respect quiet hours and those who stay at their camper the whole time.

This is a small well maintained campground right on the Kentucky river. It is down in a hollow which makes it secluded and quiet. There is a dock and a boat ramp. The customer service is exceptional. Under new management since November, they are making some very nice upgrades. 30/50 amp full hook ups with a number of pull throughs. The sites next to the river are level and easy to back into. There is a pavilion and a pool. It is about 30 minutes from Lexington and about 8 miles to the closest town. The one lane road coming in might give you the willies but it is worth it. They have 5 WiFi connections making this some of the best campground WiFi I have ever had. This is a lovely spot with nice amenities.

The folks in the office are Awaome. They take you to your sight assist you with backing in the rest rooms are very clean the pool is very clean they have a boat ramp into the Kentucky river a covered dock to fish off. Of the sites are average size all had fire rings an full hook ups they have occasional activities such as. Local food at a pavilion outside vendors. The camp store /office. Has a limited supply of the basic needs. Toilet paper tank deodorizer etc. the camp host DD was great Shops an groceries are with in a 30 min drive in both directions of the camp grounds 20 min ride to local sites. Shaker village. Lots of sites. Great for those who bring motorcycles an want to tour around WiFi is fair cell reception sux but hey your camping all the outside sites are wooded an have shade inner loop no shade. But are all pull through easily accommodate large rigs

Honestly, I would give this campground 5 stars but we had a big safety issue at our site. At site 11 and a few others, they had no backstops at the back of the blacktop pad. If the site was level, it wouldn’t have been as bad. Upon setting up our 16’ camper, it began to slip backwards down toward the woods. Our wheel blocks were probably placed, but the grade was just too much. We ended up pulling the camper higher up on the blacktop almost in the road and had no issue. No other RV sites were available to move to. Other than that, the campground was very nice. Trails were very well kept, playground equipment looked new and safe, workers were friendly, and bathrooms were clean. The golf course wasn’t operational (exept mini golf was neat and working) and there were a lot of tree stumps left from all the cut Ash Trees that were affected by the emerald ash borer beetle. The State Park did have informational signs explaining the effect on trees in the area. They have many cabins of various sizes and in great shape. Workers were seen cleaning everyday. The Butler Mansion was well taken care of though we didn’t make it there when it was open. Our campsite was nice. We lucked out that our neighbors were tent campers because our two sites were so close together. Heads up to check the map and Google Earth when booking. Some sites have a lot of room and others are super close to neighboring sites. The Kentucky Speedway is about 15 minutes away. Louisville an hour. And if you want to checkout a cute little town, stop in La Grange, KY (30min drive) See the “Trains on Main”, drink at La Grange Coffee Roasters, antiques, local artist shops, and eat BBQ at Big R’s & Shannon’s Bar-B-Q.

We stayed one night here, and it was great! We had been traveling all day and decided to find a place to camp. We ended up with a beautiful, quiet place, right on the lake, and we set up camp as the sun was setting. It was beautiful! There was an awesome play area for the kids and the shower facilities were clean. We would stay here again!

Big fan of of Lake Shelby - they have a few RV spots, some nice camping by the lake, overflow camping by the river past the dam, and primitive camping in the back along the lake trail - those are my favorite spots! If you like to fish this is a spot you'll want to visit. They have a playground for the kids, paddleboats and such for rent at a reasonable price, firewood for sale, and the showerhouse is clean. Very kind folks run it too, close to the city. but far enough away to exhale.

hiking trail is 1ft from your camping site

First, the good: Lake Shelby was easy to find. The signs were easy to see and tent sites are well marked. The office, RV area and restrooms were easy to find and also well marked. The tent sites were shaded by nice trees and were located right next to the lake. The group tent sites looked nice and had shade and open areas. You can rent a paddle boat or canoe. However, there has to be an adult in the canoe for rental. There are several docks and a boat ramp. You have to pay to launch and there is an honor box for that. The campsite itself, was mostly flat and partially shaded. The fire pit was nice as well. Now, the bad: The lake was brown and had an oily film across the top. It smelled of dead fish and something else that I couldn't identify. I saw people fishing, but I never saw anyone actually catch anything. The tent sites were down a dead end road, however the amount of cars that went past our site made me feel like there was a parade that lasted almost the entire time we were there. The paddle boat lost steering when we were halfway around the lake. The only thing we could do was go in a circle. It took 20 minutes for them to send someone to assist us. There was a trash can next to our site, however, it was nearly full when we arrived and no one ever emptied it. The restrooms are located at the RV parking area, so we had to drive to use them. In my opinion, the restrooms should have been built in between the RV sites and tent sites to make them easier to access by walking. Overall, I didn't hate my time at Lake Shelby, but there was nothing great enough to make me return or recommend it to friends.

Loved this campground growing up! We tent camped and our relatives RV camped. However they have cut down most of the trees, the facilities aren’t maintained very well and the campground/park looks more run down than ever. It’s sad but I hope they update and maintain it more in the future.

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.