Best RV Parks & Resorts near Hartford, KY

WOW we loved this park and caves and hikes, the kids could not stop talking and talking about the caves. This campground is close to the visitor center and you’ll need site reservations in summer. Showers are wonderfully hot but there’s no RV hookups. Our sites were pretty close to another but I think some of them had some more privacy. We met someone camping here with their horse which sounded like so much fun (but don’t worry the horse sites are farther away so no barn smells).

This is a resort not a get away from it all camping. It is well maintained, friendly staff, lots to do for kids. Sites are close, as in any resort style campground. Full hook ups, good cell service, WiFi is an additional cost.

Nice large camping areas, secluded and quiet, easy access to the trails. Well maintained full hookup for RVs and plenty of room for your horse too. There are also several primitive spots you can backpack into, check in with the staff before beginning your adventure.

Lincoln State Park is right down the road from Santa Claus , Indiana and Holiday World. Needless to say it was a little busy, but not as bad as the Rudolph RV Park in town.

The RV/camping area was well laid out and the sites were nestled in quite close to one another. That being said it was a smaller campground and surrounded by trees and lake on two sides,roadway on the other.

Probably the main thing I didn't like about it. The day use area was a fence row away. Which while convienant to walk to, sorta cut down on the whole camping in the woods privacy thing.

Direct access to the trail system/lake boardwalk and the cabin area was co-located on the same trail. The trail was sort of well marked, though there were a few trails leading off with no markers.

The beach, boat rental and general use area was well maintained and had some cool old buildings in use. There is an amphitheater that has a good venue of events.

The general use pit toilet was fragrant, old and in need of a good cleaning. There were newer facilities but seeing as it was right in the middle of the area you would think a little sprucing up would be in order.

Very nice lake! CLEAR water, a lot of water activities going on.

Directly across from the park is another park area with historical stuff if you like that kind of stuff.

This place was laid out and built by someone who hates RVs. Seriously steep compound slopes, tight 90 degree turns, and hookups 100’ away on the wrong side of the site all make this place horrible for anything but a pop up. I saw at least four people worth reservations leave because they couldn’t get into their site. The bath house has one working shower and it wasn’t very clean. The dump station was 15’ from a site so I totally ruined someone’s peaceful breakfast. The hiking trail was a dead end on an unidentifiable paved road. The beach and boat access are gated until 10am. No early morning paddling for me.

Now the good stuff:

1. Not ALL the flies bite.
2. The shade was pretty good.
3. The park was quiet.
4. The horse camping sites looked pretty good, pretty level, and they had full hookups.

This is a small campground (13 sites). Lots of trail located within a short drive. Sites are nice, but small if you rv camp. We have a 29 ft. camper and could only use 3 or 4 of the sites. 

Really enjoyed our 3 night stay in Mammoth Cave campground. Level sites, tables, fire rings, running water bathrooms, spigots. Great location walkable to the camp store, lodge, visitor center, and cave tours.

Can't speak for RV camping, but this is a great campground for tent campers. Sites aren't to close together, they've got all the basic amenities, and the park has tons to keep you busy. It does look like the prices have been going up....we camped here years ago & the cave tours ranged from $8-$15, which seems to be about half of what they run these days. A little sad to see that, but the caves are of course completely worth it.

Beech Bend Campground was a great place for a weekend stop. We had full hookups for $45 per night. The campground had many open spots. The campground was paved and almost every spot had a small grass patch next to it. There were several larger grass spots on the edges of the campground. 

There was a gate attendant 24/7 which was nice. Beech Bend Campground was not too far from Downtown Bowling Green which was convenient to enjoy the city's amenities. 

There was car/drag racing at a separate part of the campground that lasted until 2- 3 a.m. it wasn't too loud where we were(Row 13), but definitely noticeable. $45 is a little expensive for what you get.

Scales Lake is a wonderful campground. It has primitive, cabIns, and RV camping. The camp has so much to do for kids and adults. Hiking, mountain bike trails along wIth pump track for kIds, a small petting zoo, and a beautiful lake front for swimming with water slide and diving boards. There is a boat ramp for fishing boats and kayaks. My husband and I live about ten miles away and we love staying at the campground. we always feel we are off on an adventure when we stay. The people are friendly and bathrooms are clean.

We really enjoyed the four days we spent at the Mammoth Caves Campground, right in the national park. I have to correct some information on this listing, though. There are no electric hookups. There is water available at spots throughout the campground, but not at the sites. There is one difficult to use dump station. Also, internet connections are terrible. You need to rely on the WiFi at the visitor center and lodge.

Setting that aside, it’s a beautiful, wooded campground with large and generally level sites. You’re right in the middle of the park, with all it has to offer. Its about a ten-twelve minute walk to the Visitor Center, which is where all the cave tours and many of the hiking trails start. The Visitor Center also has a great exhibit explaining the geology and history of the park and area. It is connected by a pedestrian bridge to the park lodge, which has several restaurants. Both buildings are wonderfully air conditioned, which helped a lot in the August heat.

Also helping with the heat are the caves themselves, which are spectacular and not to be missed. Other activities right in the park are lots of hiking opportunities and canoe and kayak rental.

There are modern and very clean bathrooms throughout the campground. It’s a mystery why they didn’t include showers when they built those bathrooms. Instead there are paid showers in the building housing the camp store. You insert six quarters and get a decent amount of time. For me, this was the only real downside of the campground, one I could put up with given all the other advantages.

Site 35B was a great site and was next to a small field, giving us extra space and privacy.

I was tent camping with my family Thursday-Saturday while visiting Mammoth Cave.

The good: the tent campground has spacious, level sites. The sites are located in a grove of pine trees, which makes for well shaded sites with a pleasant surface of soft pine straw to pitch your tents. A few sites had trees suitable for hanging hammocks if you enjoy that. There are toilets and sinks in the park office near the primitive campsites. There is a swimming beach and boat ramp on Nolin Lake nearby. Convenient to Mammoth Cave NP and fishing and hiking opportunities abound.

The bad: the shower house is in the RV campground and too far away to be a convenient walk. You have to drive there which is a pain with kids. There were few shower stalls and they were not kept clean. The park staff were very friendly but just overworked. Thursday night we were kept awake by loud campers and campground staff weren’t around to enforce quiet hours. Quiet hours do not start until 11 PM which is not ideal for campers with young children. The park started filling up on Friday and Saturday and was obviously very crowded on the weekend. Seems like a "party spot" for locals. 

We might return here but perhaps would choose to camp during the week or during a less busy time of year.

It probably would be good for someone trailering a horse. However I would not recommend it for a camping. I called and asked if two vehicles were acceptable as it is at most campsites. The owner said yes. However when the second person arrived, he had to buy a second site. The owner was extremely rude and said only one vehicle was allowed even though others had trucks and trailers or RVs. We had two regular sized vehicles with no trailer. Both of our vehicles combined were shorter than a RV or truck and trailer. It may have been a miscommunication because the owner went on and on about how great his place was for $25. He was absolutely rude. Although the place has WiFi, the wifi was unavailable at my site. The electrical sites did not have standard 110/120v outlets. The picnic table was shared between sites. A couple of fire pits were shared among everyone. There were two bathroom's that were nice with showers. It was very clean and well maintained. Although I liked the grounds, it was not worth the $25 for my purposes.

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.