Best Cabin Camping near Hartford, KY

Very nice state park campground with electric, (50 on some, 30 on some), and water hookups. Two clean shower houses. Two dump stations. Lake for swimming, fishing, canoe, paddle boat and Jon boat rentals. Hiking trails and fire tower. Typical camp store on site. Gas station with propane about a mile from the camp ground. Has primitive sites and cabin rentals also. The park has a large outdoor covered amphitheater with several concerts throughout the season. Most sites are pretty level. There are a few that are not. The majority of the sites have at least partial shade. Weekends are usually booked up in advance. Through the week is no problem getting your choice of sites. Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial is adjacent to the State park. It has a living farm. Both are free. Admission to the state park is $7.00 per vehicle or a Indiana State Park annual pass for $50.00 gets you into any Indiana state park anytime for the year. You can book through reserveamerica.com or calling the park directly.

We stayed in sites 102 and 104 with 3 other families, and used a total of five 3-4 person tents. We had plenty of [level] room to spread out. Our sites backed up to hundreds of acres of uninhabited forest, while also being within short walking distance of the camp store and visitor center.

Sites were non-electric, and there were no receptacles to be found anywhere close, even at the conveniently located (and very clean) bathrooms. Bring Your Own Electricity, but please note the generator quiet hours. (Solar generators and power stations for the win.) Fire rings are very heavy cast iron with with very sturdy, adjustable-height cooking grates. They really put out some heat once you get the fire going, and are very easy to cook on.

They don't want you bringing in outside wood for obvious reasons, and they only sell compressed saw dust wood bricks at the camp store. They work well once you get the hang of them, don't smoke much at all, and keep you warm. However, at ~$7.50 for a case of 6 blocks, they can get expensive quickly if, like my family, you're the kind of campers that like a good fire.

Overall, park was clean, quiet, and each site has just enough space for you to ignore the people around you if that's what you're into. We love all of the cheesy tourist traps in Cave City, and love the centralized location between Nashville and Louisville--allows me to easily camp with close friends I have in both cities. Already planning on coming back regularly.

Clean restrooms, coin-OP showers, very well-maintained fire pits, and within biking or walking distance of the visitor's center (where the tours run from).

Definitely book cave tours in advance. When I visited they only had one walk-in tour available due to Covid restrictions.

It was still worthwhile!

Also was able to hike most of the trails in the main part of the park in a four-hour morning.

More trails are accessible via Green River Ferry on the other side of the river.

Also, check out the kayak/canoeing rentals in the area.

I have my own kayak and found a service that would drop me off and pick me back up 8 miles down the river for $30!

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.

Moutardier Campground is a fisherman’s paradise. It is located on Nolin River Lake. Our site was lakeside which was beautiful (Site D6). This campsite offered electric/water hookup, fire pit, picnic table, filet table, bathrooms, and showers. There were boat ramps, a marina nearby to rent boats, and also offered a playground. Pets were welcomed (we have a dog and a hiking cat). We also had cell service (Verizon). 

The view of the lake from the teardrop camper was awesome. We kayaked around the lake which was very enjoyable - saw ducks, and birds such as a grey heron. Also lots of fish jumping. There are power boats allowed in the lake. Many people were fishing from their boats, kayaks, or from the shore. 

There is also a two mile hike that is in the campground called Shady Creek Trail. It looked like it had not been hiked in a while but it went through woods, small stream and had a cool rock formation at one part that you would swear is a haven for snakes. Pets enjoyed it but beware if you do not like spiders. This trail was covered in spiders and webs. No exaggeration that we cleared about a hundred spiders out of our path. 

The campground was very well manicured and clean. Many of the sites were right on the lake. They were close together but did not seem it as they were on different levels and angles. Everyone was quiet and courteous. Bathrooms were very clean and well lit. The showers were “dated” - water stains but clean. Great water pressure and hot water. 

There was no store on the campground but 5 minutes away was a great little restaurant called Sherry’s that we had both lunch and breakfast at. Food was delicious (fried dill pickle chips!) and one could buy bags of ice. 

Overall this was a very relaxing campground. We met some wonderful people who have been coming to the campground for years. It is about 30 minutes from Mammoth Caves which was a great place to explore. Overall we gave the campground a 4 - lakeside and if you love to fish - it’s paradise.

It is under new ownership at this time. It is not worth the price you pay for a KOA. It is extremely run down. None of the amenities are kept up such as the kids playground, mini golf course and campsite extras. Some of the campsites have wheels for fire pits while others have nice stone pits. Some of the campsites have picnic tables while others have nice patio tables and chairs. You are greeted at the nature trail by dumped trash and a dumped Seadoo. It is very noisy due to it’s proximity to the interstate. The sewer hookups are damaged in several sites. I would recommend you check out Beach Bend until they can get this campground up to KOA standards. I’m not sure what drugs the 4 star reviewers were taken but it is definitely not 4 stars.