Best Glamping near Hardin, KY

Canal campground is right on the canal that connects Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake at the north end of Land Between the Lakes. Sitting on the north side of the Canal, just outside of Grand Rivers, KY, where the famous Patti's Settlement boasts a two inch thick pork chop and home cooked everything. Canal campground books fast, and offers a substantial number of activities for all ages. Very well upkept and constantly making improvements, this is a favorites campground for folks from miles around.

Right on Lake Barkley where it joins Kentucky Lake. Over 200,000 acres of lake. We had sites 76 and 77. The roads to the sites have a lot of curves be careful not to clip your trailer on a tree. Our sites were easy to back in, plenty of room for the two tables that were there. The sites are gravel, but you do have water and electric hookups. Very quiet and peaceful place. Bath houses were clean and stocked, campground was clean. There is a beach area and also a playground for the kids. While your here be sure to go to the elk and bison prairie.

Had a great 3 day 2 night stay here. All you need to camp here is a camping permit from Land Between the Lakes which is 30 dollars online. If you have a Kentucky resident sportsmans licence this permit is included in that! Each site has a 2 foot across firepit with a grill plate that is hinged so you can flip it on or off the fire. Some of the sites are about 10 to 15 yards from the water while others are a good ways from it. There is no electricity at any of the sites however there is a central dumpster for trash and a composting toilet as well as a boat ramp. The sites are gravel pads with a fire pit and a concrete picnic table. Easily fit my 3 person tent with a 9 x 12ft tarp as a foot print and two vehicles with still room to walk around easily in the site.

Very beautiful campground and park. Very spacious sites, and there was hardly anyone there , so it seemed like we had the campground to ourselves. So peaceful. The shower house was very nice and clean and had flush toilets. However the other restrooms were not so nice (pit toilets with spiders and mosquitoes everywhere). The campground host was really nice. Also note that there is no place to buy ice or firewood nearby. We crossed the ferry and went to Marion Kentucky and found some there. The park and ferry is really cool. There is a lodge that has a nice restaurant and a bar. If you want to buy alcohol the nearest place is Elizabethtown where they have a liquor store. Overall this is a wonderful campground and we will return someday!

Redd Hollow Campground is one of many dispersed campgrounds in Land Between The Lakes(LBL), Ky. 

30$ annually and you can set up camp almost anywhere in LBL. There are basic campgrounds and you can backpack in to primitive sites.

Redd Hollow has site posts, cement picnic tables fire rings and a pit toilet. There are several sites water level where you can put in to the lake and there are some very picturesque sites that overlook the lake. First come first get. It was a relatively peaceful area sans the generators;)

Things to do: 

There is a North/South trail that runs the length of LBL. There are several access points where you can hike sections of the trail. 

We visited the Elk and Bison Prairie near Golden Pond Visitors Center. A drive through observation area. The visitor center also offers planetarium shows and nature programs. 

Nearby: Off Rt 68/80 , 15 miles away is Cadiz, Ky. An opportunity to be a tourist in small town Kentucky. Farmers Market and antiques, plus a yearly ham festival. Try out “Ferrell’s Snappy Services”, a hamburger restaurant that’s been around since 1929.

Being close to water is always nice, and our family always looks for this when we are traveling away from home to camp. Kentucky Lake is nearby, and we spent most of our day here. We towed our small boat from home because we wanted to be able to enjoy being on the water (and my dad wanted to fish). There is running water and showers available on site, although I just jumped in the lake and shampooed my hair in their :) Very large campground, which was nice. Lots of room between campsites. Always a plus for us. The campground itself was really nice, we were actually very impressed. The campsites were well marked and had a picnic table, fire ring and a hanging rack which was super nice! We hung our wet suits from being in the lake all day. Great hiking nearby too. We would hike in the morning, and play in the water the rest of the day. The attendants/rangers were awesome, and directed us in the right place for hiking. You can see from my pictures attached that we hiked almost everyday. We would definitely stay here again next time we are in the area.

We stayed at site D3 over Memorial Day weekend. I was pretty nervous when we first saw the site, it was literally on a hillside. We have two small kids and were with family (in adjacent D4) so we really hoped for a site with flat space for the kids to play in, but there was absolutely no grassy area. That didn't stop us from having a good time!

The D loop was nice and quiet with very little traffic. We were very close to the lake to drop our kayaks in the water or fish without going far, always a plus!

Bathrooms were very clean for camp restrooms. The showers were in their own rooms, so that was really nice. Great water pressure and it wasn't a push button shower like some campgrounds have!

Since we have kids, we had to check out the play ground. It was pretty disappointing with only a couple swings, a hot metal slide and a climbing bar. The beach was far from impressive with basically gravel as half of the beach. I wasn't expecting Florida beaches in Kentucky, but in Indiana we have nice sandy beaches at lakes so I was disappointed.

The lake was gorgeous and perfect for kayaking though, with lots of nice coves to explore and wildlife to see. I saw a doe with a spotted fawn nursing on my first trip onto the water

All in all, if you want flat spaces, don't go to loop D, loop C was much flatter. We probably won't return, but it was a nice stay, but probably better for those without small kids to entertain.

Paducah is a cute little city in Kentucky that my family and I love to visit whenever we get the chance. The town is really cool, and has that "old" town vibe. The buildings are beautiful. There are actually a few campgrounds in this town, one of them "I-24." This campground has a country feel, and it more so for people who are traveling and making a pit stop to rest. There are a lot of RV's. There are quite a few beautiful rivers close by, and there are also 2 lakes nearby. We spent a whole day at the lake when we stayed. It was busy, but nice to be on the water. We saw people enjoying fishing, water tubing, water skiing and jet skiing. We also saw people on kayaks, which looked like a blast! There is a golf course nearby too, although we didn't enjoy this close amenity. One thing we did enjoy was hiking some of the trails nearby. We went late spring and the wildflowers were out in full effect. The colors of the flowers were gorgeous, and I couldn't help but take hundreds of pictures of these beautiful flowers. One of the hikes brought us to a point where we could see one of the lakes. It was magical. Also-side note, there is the "National Quilt Store" in the town, and of course we had to stop because my mom requested this. It was incredible how much fabric there was. If you are in to this, I would highly recommend stopping! The campground itself was "okay." It was a little run down, but since we were in our RV we didn't really notice it much. It was also pretty busy when we went, so I'm glad we made reservations ahead of time.

Cave in Rock State Park, Il is sorta out in the middle of nowhere. That being said it is an adventure worth the trip. Weekday visits will supply you with more things to do but weekend adventures are just as fun. 

If your coming from the Kentucky side first there is Amish country to visit. Check in Marion for what’s available and where (fill your gas tank up!)

Next there is the ferry ride across. If you’ve done it a lot no big deal, but my kids used to love it every time.

Write your directions down for this whole area, the cell phone coverage is spotty and it will keep frustration down.

Signage will greet you as soon as you exit the ferry and Cave in Rock city has several small businesses you might want to visit. Plus a bunch of painted bikes...

To the right down the road a bit and your in the park.

The RV area is spread throughout a hilly, tree’d area, after being in Army Corp of Engineers last week which uses every foot of area available this campground seems huge and vacant. There were many sites occupied they are spread out across a huge area which is awesome. There is a playground near the showerhouse and a pond back in behind the playground.

The primitive area is up another hill back in the woods, my favorite. Two handicap accessible spots next to the pit toilet let’s everyone have some fun. 

If you want a shower you have to return to the RV area. These basic sites have a grill, fire pit and picnic table. Some are pretty level some not so much ;) Best of all there are several options if you have a Tentstile. 

We took a 2 mile loop hike across to the lodge, along the cliff face and down to the cave. A lot of history here and some nice views. 

This was our second outing with our new to us EVAC Trailer (www.evactrailer.com) I added some metal poles and a tarp and bam! we have an impromptu sitting area. The tool box made a nice meal prep and cooking area. Still looking at other ideas, but it’s a sturdy little trailer that is serving its purpose well!

*Heading back to campsite C had me a little confused because you drive through an area that looks more like permanent homes but once we found it, it was great!

Pirates Cove is a very nice RV park! The grounds had so many things for the family to do including a Basketball court, a very clean pool, a full mini golf area, store, and a boat launching area! you get the mini golf equipment from the store!

There is NO tent campgrounds but ONLY RVs but each site has a picnic table, water hookup, a fire pit and electrical outlets! Honestly everything you’d need for a good experience! We stayed in our car but had an overall great experience!

Leaving the paved road with our 27' Airstream, I felt like this road may be a long one way trip! But then it opened to a very nice campground. Very simple, one clean bathroom, one dumpster, no showers, no water, no electric. But we didn't need it or want it. Just an overnight stay in a beautiful location. We chose site 31, at the top of the hill and with a view of the lake and sunset. I would not recommend others to put their 27' Airstream here, as it was quite tight for space. But it has an absolutely astounding view. We listened to the waves splash against the rocks below. It was peaceful and calm. Only one other camper here in March.

On your honor payment $10 per night for up to 8 people per campsite. Site number 1 had lots of trees right at the site perfect for hammocks. There were lots of sites with trees for hammocks but we had 7 people and that one was perfect. A little close to the gravel road had a couple of cars drive by over night making a small racket but bearable. No running water and I did not see any bathrooms, but that was fine exactly what I expected. Kind of funny a camper way down from us was playing some loud Rap so another camper closer to us decided to counter with some even louder Bluegrass music. It was quite irritating at the time because we came to escape the loud noises but funny to think of now. I wish people would just remember some people come out to these places for the peace and quiet. Camp ground has a great access to the lake very shallow at this point but wide open access to the main lake.