Best Tent Camping near Lawrenceburg, KY

Tent campsites near Lawrenceburg, Kentucky offer several established options for campers seeking a rustic outdoor experience. Wildcat Creek Farm provides five tent sites situated along the Kentucky River, while Bourbon Trail Campground offers both drive-in and walk-in tent camping access. Tree Line Retreat and Birdsell Castle, located across the state line in Indiana, are additional tent camping destinations within driving distance of Lawrenceburg.

Basic amenities vary significantly among the tent campgrounds in the region. Wildcat Creek Farm features drinking water, toilets, picnic tables, and trash service, making it suitable for campers seeking some conveniences while maintaining a primitive camping experience. Fire rings are available at most sites, with firewood provided at Wildcat Creek Farm. Campers should note that Boltz Lake only offers a boat ramp with toilets and no actual camping facilities despite being listed in directories. Most tent sites in the area allow pets, though specific rules may apply.

The natural setting enhances the tent camping experience throughout the Lawrenceburg region. Wildcat Creek Farm sites offer riverside camping with opportunities to relax by the water. The property includes farm animals that create a unique camping atmosphere. A visitor noted, "We enjoyed our stay, and our kids loved the animals and the creek." Another camper described the location as "a campsite settled upon the bank of the Kentucky River with a friendly farm cat, goats, horses and cow." Tent campers frequently mention the peaceful environment and star viewing opportunities from these sites. The area provides a good balance of seclusion while remaining relatively accessible to Bourbon Trail attractions.

Best Tent Sites Near Lawrenceburg, Kentucky (5)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Lawrenceburg, KY

3 Photos of 5 Lawrenceburg Campgrounds


Tent Camping Reviews near Lawrenceburg, KY

372 Reviews of 5 Lawrenceburg Campgrounds


  • Ella L.
    Mar. 23, 2023

    Horine Reservation Camping at Jefferson County Memorial Forest

    Know the flight path schedule for UPS and you'll have a GREAT TIME!

    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.

  • Heather K.
    Jul. 22, 2019

    Horine Reservation Camping at Jefferson County Memorial Forest

    Close to town with a country feel

    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!

  • Crystal C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 31, 2018

    Camp on the Kentucky

    Seasonal Campground With Great Pricing

    Something that sets this place apart from others in the area is long term tent camping!! Yes you read that right, LONG TERM TENT CAMPING! For most of those who travel you know they often offer long term services for those in RVs which provides a discount for staying more than a night or two, but at this campground you as a tent camper can find a location that suits your Kentucky home needs on the road for a day, a week or even a month!

    But what does that entail exactly?

    This site is really nice, with level sites for RVs or tents, padded grass which is well maintained, nice gravel roads around camp and a river frontage with views which will make you just want to stop and take in the scenery.

    When I visited I noticed a lot of people staying here near the weekend were visiting to launch their boats and troll the river fishing for what looked like some pretty large fish. It was pretty cool to see some of the people setting up their campground fish fry, and they were even friendly enough to invite me to join, though I don't eat fish so it didn't really work out that way.

    The tent sites were shaded and had several different options, you could choose primitive which is only $17 or for a few dollars more you could have electricity. All sites come with a picnic table and fire ring and a pull in to keep you and your things closely together.

    There was a playground and volleyball, but I didn't see anyone using these when I was there. A small camp store has a lot of the essentials in case your forgot something or just needed to pick up a snack. There was also firewood available, a big plus!!

    This place is a bit older looking in appearance but it is charming and the owner is very cool. I didn't meet a single person there that wasn't just enjoying life.

    TIPS:

    • If you are trying to check in the office has kind of strange hours. They are only open until 2 Sunday through Tuesday, not sure why but call in advance if you are running later than this time and want to check in.
    • Check their online event schedule! This campground host tailgating for UK so you can find a good tailgate party if you plan in advance, right at your campground!!
    • This is nearby the Bourbon Trail as well as so many other places where you will find activities. I was here to check out the Castle (I have attached a few photos) Can't miss this stop!!!
  • Rachelle W.
    Aug. 5, 2018

    My Old Kentucky Home State Park Campground

    Primitive tent camping at My Old Kentucky Home

    The primitive tent camping is located in a grove of beautiful, mature trees. Fire rings & picnic tables are dotted throughout the trees. There is a highway right beside the campsite so you will best cars, but it is not a high traffic area.

  • D
    May. 25, 2019

    My Old Kentucky Home State Park Campground

    Works in a pinch

    Has tent and RV camping. I tent camped this trip and stopped by for one night as I was passing through. Cost was about $16ish. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Tent sites are at the front of the property with the RVs to the back. Tent campsites are not defined - just an open area for all to share with picnic tables and grills scattered around. Kids playground next to it. Couldn't find the potable water for the tent area. The RVs had electric & water hookups. Showers and bathrooms available. Right next to a side road with a bit of traffic the night I stayed.

  • Ella L.
    Mar. 23, 2023

    Taylorsville Lake State Park Campground

    Stellar Staff, great amenities, good for kids and big groups!

    The shower/bath house is on a European level of well-equipped. Reasonably clean(a little bit of boot muck on the floors but you should be wearing shower shoes anyway in a public facility) Self flushing toilets, air dryers for your hands.

    Well thought out for handicap accessibility as far as the toilet and shower stalls. Hand sinks could be a bit lower for folks using a chair but they do have a low hand dryer and no threshold in the doorway to get over.

    There are windows that look into the bathroom and although they are up high, pervs and curious kids will find a way. Campground should def. frost them but if you have the stall door shut to the space you're using you can hide your shame. A+ on the restroom space. Seriously impressed.

    Very well heated on a cold morning and although I didn't use the shower there were plenty of places in the shower stall to keep your things up off of anything wet. Single use stall and there were several. Door shuts and there is also a shower curtain to keep moisture off of your things.

    Outlets by the sinks for hair dryer if you bring one.

    Campground has hit or miss tent spots depending on how much space you need. We had a 3 person tent, 2 hammocks and a dog and we reserved spot 8 on the primitive loop and had more than enough room. There was a fire ring(one at every site) and two picnic tables. This spot, as most of them appeared to have enough room for at least 2 very large tents and a dining fly if that's your thing.

    With the brush cover during May site P10, although small, seemed to be the most private. We were at P8 and couldn't see anything at P10 though the brush.

    If you are looking for privacy, although you are still going to see headlights of cars on the loop road and hear pretty much everyone else on the Primitive loop P10 probably has the most privacy as far as brush shielding you. I would say that everything on the outer part of the Primitive loop towards the back is going to be the furthest away from other people but you are still going to hear everyone else. P6, P7, P8, P10 look the best to me as far as just being chill sites with a bit more space away from others.

     All of the sites on the interior of the loop back into each other and those seemed to be more of the "party sites" the night that we stayed. A lot of competing blue tooth speaker music at very loud volumes well after the quite time of 11pm. Loud music started again at 7:58AM. It was Bollywood music, which was different and honestly kind of fun... we were already awake though.

    Our site itself was fairly even although there were a lot of tree roots. No problem finding a grassy place to set up our tent however. We picked up all the trash, aside from a weird sock, left by previous campers so that aspect was a little sad... campers leaving cigarette butts and plastic water bottle caps laying around. Tree cover would be more than adequate at this site during a hot summer day. Water spigot is next to the dumpster by the shower house btw.

    Bundles of wood were fairly small compared to some other campsites and unfortunately wrapped in plastic but the wood was good quality, dry, and didn't burn overly smoky. There is a nylon strap handle that will be stapled through the plastic wrap into one piece of the wood so if you want to burn that piece you'll need to pry the staples out/cut the strap off.

    The woman working the registration check point, we didn't catch her name, was amazing, pleasant, helpful and gave great directions. She drove by a few times in a golf cart checking on things and didn't hassle anyone. If you ask at the check point for a map you will get a packet of papers with rules and a few different slightly blurry print outs, it's a lot of info and we found it helpful exploring a few of the points of interest in the park that you can drive to. Overall it was a fun experience and although it was louder than I expected when people did quiet down it was VERY quiet and we heard owls all night and what sounded like coyote howling in the distance.

    Super good place for families!

  • Crystal C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 9, 2018

    Fort Boonesborough State Park Campground

    Pricey but interesting

    I was very interested in this area for the living history museum but as a tent camper I had more than a little sticker shock at the $36 price point not to mention the booking fee on Reserve America. That made this one of the most expensive campgrounds I have stayed at including numerous stops in California. 😒

    The sites were well shaded and included the typical set up of fire rings and picnic tables but I did feel a little closer to my neighbor than I would have liked. I can only imagine the feeling to and RV camper would be even more suffocating.

    The campground was noisy and busy as it was a weekend, and while some of that can be expected for the higher price point I would have liked things to have been a bit more accommodating to those times, maybe they should offer a few less sites so there can be a bit more space so if it is busy you don’t feel like you are suffocated by noise.

    With that being said, not all was bad here. The things to do outside of th campground itself were worth some of the inadequacies the camp provided in way of space. The living history museum was one of the best I have seen in the Kentucky or Tennessee area and other amenities such as water access and proximity to hiking was great.

    If I did return it would be during the week and potentially not during summer to avoid the crowd.

  • Tonya D.
    Aug. 12, 2019

    Taylorsville Lake State Park Campground

    Quiet, bathrooms lacking.

    We had a pretty decent time at Taylorsville Lake. The spots were spacious, and very nice picnic tables. We did a trail which was nice and went down to a boat ramp to see the lake. You can also rent boats there as well. The bathrooms in my opinion needed a major cleaning. They were nice just not very clean. We most likely won’t visit here again but was nice to hit a Kentucky campground. I have found that camping in Kentucky is much cheaper than in Indiana. Definitely worth a checkout.

  • K
    Nov. 1, 2021

    Fort Boonesborough State Park Campground

    Perfect stay

    After a rough spring and summer this campground has reopened just in time for autumn leaf peeping. The park itself, tent area, and rec hall are still closed to allow the grounds to recover from the flooding last spring and to complete renovations. The bathhouse, laundry and utilities are all brand new and they keep them very clean.

    I wish the same could be said for how people left their sites from over the weekend. Although not the worst I've seen, litter in firepits and just left atsome sites was ridiculous. A lot of torn up turf at various sites due to lack of respect and the soggy conditions remaining since the flood and all the rain prior to arrival and after arrival. I guess it was too much for some people to park on lots where the reservations were cancelled or at the bathhouse and walk to their sites. 🙄

    That said, it was quiet and we enjoyed our large, private site and the campground immensely. We're scheduled to return next April (different site due to length of stay) and I am thrilled to see what further improvements have been made. Support the state parks, all of them, and leave no trace!


Guide to Lawrenceburg

Tent camping options near Lawrenceburg, Kentucky range from riverside farm settings to Kentucky River access points. The region sits within the Inner Bluegrass region at approximately 800 feet elevation, with a humid subtropical climate featuring four distinct seasons. Summer temperatures typically reach the mid-80s, while spring and fall offer milder conditions with occasional rainfall that campers should prepare for.

What to do

Interact with farm animals: At Wildcat Creek Farm, campers can enjoy the company of friendly animals. "The resident goats, mules, donkeys and horses are very friendly - just like the hosts!" notes Elizabeth R. This provides a unique camping experience beyond standard outdoor activities.

Riverside relaxation: Several campsites offer direct river access for peaceful downtime. "On a clear night it was super relaxing listening to nature and looking up in the night sky and seeing orions belt and the moon directly above the river," shares Benjamin A. about his experience at Wildcat Creek Farm.

Stargazing opportunities: The rural setting creates excellent night sky viewing conditions away from city light pollution. Kurt B. describes the experience: "The night sky of stars and quiet stillness brought a calm and peace from our busy week."

What campers like

Helpful hosts: Campers frequently mention the welcoming nature of campground operators. At Bourbon Trail Campground, the staff provides assistance with site selection and local information about attractions along the bourbon trail.

Kid-friendly environment: Families appreciate the natural play spaces and animal interactions. "We enjoyed our stay, and our kids loved the animals and the creek! Great hospitality," reports Katelyn W. after camping at Wildcat Creek Farm.

Quiet camping atmosphere: The relative seclusion of tent sites in the Lawrenceburg area appeals to those seeking peace. "Such a quiet place," notes Elizabeth R. about her stay at a local campground, highlighting the tranquil environment that makes this region ideal for tent camping.

What you should know

Limited facilities at some locations: Not all listed camping areas provide full services. Boltz Lake Ramp demonstrates this issue, with reviewer Lynn G. clarifying: "This is just a boat ramp. There is camping nearby at the RV Camper Village and more places a little further away."

Seasonal availability: The best tent camping near Lawrenceburg generally runs from April through October, with some sites closing during winter months. Specific campgrounds may have limited availability during peak summer weekends.

Firewood provisions: Some campgrounds provide firewood while others require you bring your own or purchase locally. At Wildcat Creek Farm, a camper mentioned: "Our host had guided us into our weekend home and delivered a wagon load of firewood for a night of warmth and comfort."

Tips for camping with families

Animal encounters: Children often enjoy the farm animals at select campgrounds. "Our kids loved the animals and the creek!" reports one family at Tree Line Retreat, making it worth considering animal-friendly sites when camping with children.

Water safety precautions: Sites along the Kentucky River require close supervision of children. The riverbanks can be steep at certain access points, and the current varies seasonally.

Pack extra clothing: Spring and fall camping near Lawrenceburg can experience significant temperature fluctuations between day and night. Mornings often have heavy dew, so extra socks and shoes for children are recommended.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Lawrenceburg, KY?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Lawrenceburg, KY is Wildcat Creek Farm with a 5-star rating from 4 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Lawrenceburg, KY?

TheDyrt.com has all 5 tent camping locations near Lawrenceburg, KY, with real photos and reviews from campers.