Best Tent Camping near Garrett, KY

Tent sites have so many trees surrounding them. If you're looking for more privacy anything off of the loop will do just fine. We stayed at FS1 and could only catch glimpses of other campers, although you do hear and see folks on trails frequently. The ground is SUPER SOFT due to all the pine needles that have fallen over the years. We moved our tent around a bit to get it anchored firmly for expected wind at night... some spots were to soft, but it made for good sleeping!

Firewood was ordered in advance when I booked the site, delivered to our spot while we were setting up.

We took our dog and he had a great time(on leash of course!).

Restrooms are porta-style but hand sanitizer was everywhere and everything was VERY CLEAN.

Since the camp sites are behind a locked gate there is no through traffic aside from other campers. Very nice!

Going back this upcoming weekend as well! Camped this past weekend at Group Site 3. You could fit 6 tents here and still have space. Couldn't hear any other campers aside from some jerks at Group Site 1 that decided to start howling and barking around 11pm as well as playing a radio very loudly past 9:30pm. Couldn't hear the radio unless I walked up to the porta-potties though.

Even with all of the planes overhead from folks leaving town after Derby the tree cover dampened the noise wonderfully. Love love love camping at JCMF.

South Slope Loop At Hoosier National Forest is located second campground in on your way to Celina lake. This is the RV friendly campground with electrical hookups for your toys. You give up some privacy and quiet to have your electric as the sites are closer together and of course your neighbor may not be as courteous with the noise said electronics create.

There is excellent tree cover and you do have some tree block between sites. A nice large newer showerhouse, water points, picnic tables and fire rings to finish off the homeyness.

All of the hosts that i interacted with were very friendly and went out of their way to assist when they could. The local Ranger Station is located in Tell City and closed on the weekend.

We spent our time hiking on the Interpretive Trail (1mi)near Celina Lake and Two Rivers Trail (15 mi) which encompasses both Celina and Indian Lake . You can disperse camp for $5 a night as long as you are 300 ft from the trail. And take your bug spray or you may be nothing but a dried out husk by the end of your visit, ticks are horrible right now!

We spent time at the lake also. Very peaceful, electric motors only so no waves or tubers flying by. There is a small handicap accessible fishing pier adjacent the parking area. A nice area to visit.

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!

Mammoth Cave Campground is in the country but centrally located between several nice size cities and right off I65.

No signal once you get in the park except if your lucky at the lodge. We tuned in to WIFI whenever we passed through the Visitors Center/lodge restaurant in the morning.

The campground is primitive, no electric with parking pads, picnic tables and fire rings. There is a restroom in the campground and a shower house, laundry room, post office and store adjacent. The dump station is next to that facility right outside the front “gate”.

There is enough space between camp sites to have some privacy and the trees provide natural noise block and shade. There be critters in the woods so protect your food! You may see deer and turkey, you won’t see the little shit raccoon that runs off with dog toys and any food left out ;)

There are several trail access points directly from the campground. Including two easy trails to the visitors center.

Aside from the obvious, cave tours, there are several other options on how to spend your day and nights.

If your coming for the cave specifically make sure you reserve your preferred cave tour way ahead of time!

If you are coming for the trails, enjoy! There are multiple options. I run the trail near the visitor center year round. It is technical and hilly, not stroller friendly.

The trails on the far side of the Green River ferry have dispersed camping sites and plenty of natural features to discover.

The float down the Green River is enjoyable. If you bring your own water craft several of the companies will drive you to the put in from the ferry parking area for a nominal fee.

Also across the Green River is the Maple Springs group and horse campground, I’m not a horse person but I see plenty of them in the area and they seem to be enjoying the trails and campground.

There is also zip lines in the area, a winery and golfing.

Fast food and Wally World in Brownsville, other touristy attractions one exit up at Cave City. (Ky Down Under and Dinosaur World, plus a Yogi Bear Campground)

We spent the weekend hiking in the rain and avoided Green River, it’s a muddy mess right now.

Loved staying at the mammoth cave state park last weekend. April 26th-28th 2019.

No reservations are needed until May 1st. It was Walk up First come first serve from March through May. The last weekend of April was perfect and was not over crowded but had a good amount of visitors. We had perfect weather as well. The camp grounds are clean and nice looking , bathrooms also very clean and have normal toilets, laundry room had new washers and dryers and very roomy & clean with attached bathrooms & showers for men & women. The camp store was nicely set up and had plenty of foods and stuff Incase you forgot anything. However they do not sell real fire wood. They do sell compressed fire bricks. That Looks-like compressed sawdust bricks. So if you want real fire wood you have to go off trail and find it. Recommend and saw to cut it up but there was plenty of dead branches to be found through out the park and you are allowed to pick it up and burn it. The cave tours are fun and educational however if you lack fitness some of them will test your limits. So know your limits before booking. Highly recommend buying your tickets before you arrive as they fill up super fast and they offer more tours during the peak season than they do in spring.

The lodge is nice has 2 restaurants one is sit down one is fast food snacks like setting. There are 5 gift shops in all between the camp store has 1 the lodge has 2 and the visitors center has 2. It’s worth the trip if your in to caving and hiking. Unfortunately there is lack of access to the river unless you go backwoods hiking/camping But all in all it’s a fun time!

To find the campground, follow your GPS to Horine Reservation at 12304 Holsclaw Hill Rd. If you follow GPS to Jefferson Memorial Forest, you will end up at the zipline & welcome center. Once on Holsclaw Hill Rd, follow the road & signs to the campground until you reach a gate. A 4 digit code is given to you when you make a reservation. The gate gives a nice sense of privacy & security for the campsite. The camp sites are easy to find and well marked with big signs. I was at Group Site 1This site is huge! Just a guess, but I would say around 1.5 acres. About 2/3 of this site is open, grassy field. The other 1/3 is shaded. The shaded area has 3 large picnic tables, water, fire ring & a private latrine. I purchased firewood in advance & it was delivered to our site before we even arrived. The dumpster is conveniently located near this site. The private latrine is a small, open-air structure near the shaded area of the site. There are 2 composting toilets & the toilet paper was fully stocked. The building is partially open the elements, so it was a little dirty (to be expected) but we used our hose and sprayed the floor clean. The toilets are "squatting" toilets. Which mean they are close to the floor (see pic). There are plenty of wooded areas to explore & hiking trails nearby & several great areas for hammocks. The site looks well maintained & had recently been mowed prior to our arrival. There are enough trees & space to give plenty of privacy between sites. This site is perfect for a large group or family wanting to tent camp together. The picnic tables are the large, sturdy kind. The fire ring was huge with an attached grill. There was another fire ring and 2 more picnic tables in the open grassy area, closer to the road.  Designated parking is near the road, which is a bit of distance for carrying a lot of gear. However, since the ground was completely dry, we dropped our gear at the shady area and then parked our car at the road. Overall, this is a great space with unexpected beauty!

13 total sites, 2 of which are tent/primitive only and set 50ft or so back into the trees. No electric or water. A single vault toilet of average cleanliness, but was stocked with 6 partial rolls of tp. Tent pads are all flat and level, but parking pads are definitely not. It's all gravel roads including the "Saddle Lake Road" entrance all the way from Old State Road 37. There is a parking lot and boat ramp further down the hill at the lake, but state law does not permit swimming from the shore without a designated beach. $5/night fee paid by honor system drop box near camp entrance.