Best Tent Camping near Louisa, KY

Recent Tent Reviews near Louisa, Kentucky

410 Reviews of 15 Louisa Campgrounds

• 

  Frank H.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 7, 2021

  Sandy Springs Campground

  Nice campground

  This was the last campground before returning home from a month long camping road trip across the country and back. Picturesque camp directly on the Ohio River. Very level. Small campground with about 40 sites. Basically all sites are for RVs and equipped with electrical and water and most with sewer. We were tent camping and set up and a very soft & thick grassy space on one of the empty sites. The owners plan to install dedicated tent sites along the edge of the woods. There is a camp store with most needed items. Ice and firewood sold. Very spacious and individual toilet and shower & sink rooms. Good showers with plenty of hot water. Playground for children. Volleyball for anyone. Dumpster for trash. Great people. Easy to make reservations.

• 

  Melissa W.

  Legend

  

  Sep. 17, 2021

  Grayson Lake State Park Campground

  Good location, ok campground

  Negatives: This campground is pretty hilly. Many of the spots don't have a great space for a tent. The flattest spots are in the middle of the circle with an open field behind them (but then you won't have any privacy or tree coverage). Even the RV camping on the inside of the loop across from us had its front tires suspended about a foot in the air to make it level though. Considering the flat spots are very limited, I don't think its a great tent campground and geared more towards RVs. One side of the campground runs against a golf course. If you're tent camping over a weekend, be prepared to have golfers tee-ing off next to you beginning at 7am. On Monday morning, be prepared for them to start mowing at 7am. The opposite side of the campground sits against a tree-line and therefore has much better spots. Many of the picnic tables are in pretty rough shape. The ones that have been replaced were done with the metal style that is dipped in plastic and are much sturdier. Likewise, some of the firepits are in pretty bad shape. I'd recommend having a grill grate with you just in case if you cook over the fire like we do. The firewood that is sold at the campground is kept in a shed but it was very wet, there also aren't any options around for buying wood outside the park. The office is supposed to be open until 6pm but one night it was closed earlier and the camp host wasn't on premises all weekend so we were stuck resorting to finding and burning downfall to get dinner cooked. 

  The positives: Its a good location and there are plenty of kayaking spots on Grayson Lake. Going to "The Grotto" aka Clifty Falls is a must (4.5 mile round trip). The same boat ramp has a decent place to get in and swim. Lick Falls Loop hike can be done from the campground and was nice (4.5 miles). We also kayaked the Southern portion of Grayson Lake in Laurel Gorge and that was much quieter than the Clifty Falls area. The campground bathrooms were clean. Most of the campsites were a decent size.

• 

  Clark L.

  Scout

  

  Mar. 13, 2023

  Moxley Branch Campground — Beech Fork State Park

  Campground is nice….. pricing is a rip off!

  TENT camping with a simple firepit…… $63 PER NIGHT!!! it used to be $15. Ridiculous for a bare spot to pitch a TENT

• 

  Tammy G.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 8, 2018

  Carter Caves State Resort Park

  good campground

  something for everyone ,rv to tent camping...also cabins and a lodge is available for reservations. great dinning at lodge. wonderful hiking trails...And cave tours.

• 

  Carri D.

  Traveler

  

  Dec. 7, 2021

  Greenbo Lake State Resort Park

  Good time

  It’s been awhile since I’ve camped at Greenbo, but we had fun. Love the nearby pool and swimming. Nice tent sites.

• 

  Sara S.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 31, 2016

  Paintsville Lake State Park Campground

  walk in

  This park is so beautiful in autumn! Even if a person comes for a picnic only a couple of hours they will enjoy the scenery. The hike-in tent sites are nice. I did expect a bit more privacy from a walk-in site but it was not busy when we were there, so it wasn’t a great issue. If it was busy, that may have impacted our experience greatly! There is a nice dock area if you have a boat otherwise there isn’t a whole lot to do (no hiking or anything like that). But an okay place to escape for a bit :) (the photo posted by another reviewer is a great view of the tent sites!)

• C

  Cheerio

  Scout

  

  Oct. 12, 2023

  Twin Knobs Recreation Area

  Beautiful Area

  Stayed on the F Loop next to the lake, fire pit, picnic table, level tent site and bathroom showers a short walk. Camp hosts very friendly and helpful. campsite are close together.

• 

  Molly K.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 13, 2023

  Backwoods Camping & RV Park

  Wonderful night

  The staff was awesome. They were kind and helpful. We tent camped and there were only a couple rvs in the park so it was quiet besides the motorcycles and rvs up and down the main road. They have showers and bathrooms. Fire pits and picnic tables.

• S

  Shaun B.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 31, 2019

  Twin Knobs Recreation Area

  Beautiful!

  Grew up going here and still to this day it is my absolute favorite place to camp. You can tent camp which is what we did growing up or you places for campers. Most of all of the sites are shaded. Close walk to the lake with quite a few walking trails. Nice bathhouse’s.

• 

  Ko L.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 28, 2020

  Zilpo Campground

  A feel of wild camping

  The site I m at H37 is perfect site for tent camp which is a step below road level give you a necessary privacy you look and shade while you are camping . Only downside picnic table broken . The shower room is ok to do its job but which might need some maintenance. As two of 3 showers were broken .

• s

  sarah

  Scout

  

  Jul. 30, 2022

  Huntington / Fox Fire KOA

  A cozy, busy campground

  This campground has excellent customer service. The crew are stoked to be there and it showed. Tent camping had its downfall. I had a tent pad, which was a great choice because the ground was soggy from rainfall earlier in the day. The proximity to the road and the loud night critters kept me up for a few hours after dark. Other than this, it was a great quick one night stay!

• 

  Lisa S.

  Ranger

  

  Apr. 7, 2019

  Lake Vesuvius Recreation Area

  Perfect Family Destination

  This Recreation Area offers hiking trails, picnic opportunities, along with shelter house rentals for those family get togethers. The damn provides an excellent place for photos, while the lake is excellent for fishing and birdwatching. Year-round Campground with Electric, tent sites are also available. Perfect quiet area for a family day trip or spending a few days.

• 

  Wayne H.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 1, 2019

  Twin Knobs Recreation Area

  Twin Knobs

  This drive in camp site is a pay only and it’s best to call a couple weeks before your trip to reserve you spot! You can tent camp, pop up, or set up your pull behind. Twin Knobs is very clean and spacious campsites and most are on the water! This campground has basketball courts, a beach area, restrooms and more. Pet friendly but must stay on a leash.

• H

  Haley

  Scout

  

  Sep. 24, 2020

  Carter Caves State Resort Park

  Great park

  The park was beautiful and on a Tuesday/ Wednesday the tent sites were practically empty. Some sites are much more level than others, mine(114) wasn’t very level but was ok. The trails are beautiful definitely recommend the 4Cs trail if you have time they also had a cute little gift shop at the entrance. I definitely would bring your own firewood theirs that you can purchase wouldn’t light for anything..

• 

  Emily M.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 7, 2022

  Carter Caves State Resort Park

  Just okay

  The coolest things about this campground are the access to caves and hikes. Tent sites are closer together than photos made it seem. It wasn’t BAD but it also wasn’t my favorite campground I’ve ever been to. Bathrooms were fine. Firewood was expensive but there isn’t another place to buy that’s close, so prepare for that. $25 for 3 bundles. Best sites are 102 or 100. Campground is patrolled often by security/staff (?)

• N

  Name

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 18, 2021

  Pappy's Creekside Camp

  Family oriented riders paradise

  We have stayed at Pappys multiple times this year and each time is better than the last. We tent camp and always have plenty of room. Campground is located right next to the East Lynn outlaw trails. The owner and staff very friendly and even set us up with a local group to show us around. They also offer parking and you don’t have to worry about any one messing with your stuff because there is alway some one there! Just an absolutely awesome place for kids and adults.

• 

  Chris M.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 17, 2020

  Yatesville Lake State Park Campground

  Great camping on the lake

  Camping: As far as camping goes there’s a little variety. On top of the hill there is camper sites with full hook ups which is actually quite spacious and spaced out from other sites compared to other campgrounds, but some sites are better than others of course. There is also primitive tent camping on top of the hill, but appeared slightly cramped. In my opinion the best sites are the boat in tent camping sites down the hill by the lake. The sites also run along a gravel rode that can be used to hike in. All sites throughout have fine gravel pad, picnic table, a fire ring and access to numerous bathrooms of which have a compost toilet and running water for the sink. Camp staff will deliver ice or firewood to any site if requested. Extras: The main attraction is the lake of course which is quite clean for swimming, boating or fishing, but can be a little busy at times. There are a few hiking trails near by, but I wouldn’t come here for that. There is a golf course and I did notice, but didn’t get to check out, there is a place called The Cove at Yatesville lake that has a beach for swimming with climbable inflatables in the water, kayak rentals and among other things. Conclusion: A great local place to have fun on a lake, but not somewhere I’d travel an extended distance to see.

• J

  Justin S.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 30, 2016

  Carter Caves State Resort Park

  Geology and forests

  Definitely get a tour of the caves while you’re here. Camping is among the trees without much geology to see nearby. Pros: nice tent-only loop, very forested, fairly private tent sites, wildlife, many activities (hiking, cave tours, fishing, kayak rentals, swim, put-put, ranger talks), especially friendly & informed guides/caretakers, horse camp is far enough away to not smell like a farm. Cons: pool was a little too chaotic for us (but that’s typical), campground is bustling during the day but quieted down well at sunset.

• J

  Jeff H.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 4, 2023

  Carter Caves State Resort Park

  Fun fall getaway

  We went with three small kids. Great facilities, hiking, caving etc. We plan to return because two nights was not nearly enough to do all the things we wanted to. The tent sites are close together so we may not have enjoyed it as much if it were busier but we were lucky enough to get a site with no immediate neighbors. Pictures online made it appear that tree cover was not as good as it actually was.

• 

  Zach H.

  Ranger

  

  Jun. 27, 2019

  Huntington / Fox Fire KOA

  Classically Fun KOA

  We loved our stay here! The owners are so friendly and welcoming. They had so much for kids to do: a swimming pond with inflatables, gem mining, banana bikes, and more. They showed a movie at 9pm on a big inflatable movie screen outside. Lots of other families there to hang out with.

  The only downside was that the tent sites are close to the interstate, so there was A LOT of road noise all night. Otherwise, it was a great camping experience!

• G

  Gary M.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 30, 2019

  Wolford's Landing Campground

  Great Campsite with one exception

  Great campsite on the Ohio River. Tent sites are grassy with lots of shade. water and electricity at site for $20.00. We upgraded to a vacant RV site with River Frontage for $35.00, since We were able to sleep In our SUV. Showers and toilets are clean. Staff is so accommodating! The exception? Trains blowing their whistle every 20-30 minutes all night long. The crossing is right by the campground. If you can sleep through it, great. I couldn’t.

• 

  Kelley K.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 20, 2020

  Paintsville Lake State Park Campground

  Beautiful place, easy kayak launch, clean restrooms and showers

  We tent camped at one of the hike-in (it's a well maintained gravel path) sites at PLSP, #33. This is the first site on your way in. I was by myself with my son and dog so I felt more comfortable being here near the bathhouse. There are raccoons who like to eat so be sure to put your food up at night. The lake is really calm. There are boats coming in and out but not "traffic" per se, no issues at all kayaking and we went out several times. Fishing was good with rooster tails and panther martin spinners (silver), 1/8 and 1/16 oz. The water was down so there were a lot of places to paddle onto the shore and wade fish. There is some access right at the campground for littles to get in the water. I really recommend water shoes as there are some hooks/lures in the water. We never left the campground during the weekend, so I can't comment on the proximity to restaurants but it was only 5-8 min or so back to town. I had terrible phone service with Sprint here. We did have one new camper come in at 3am on Saturday morning to set up their tent and being so close to the entrance of the hike-in spots, I woke up. That was tough. When we go back, I'll pick a site further back up the hiking path and bring a wagon to tote our stuff. The staff at the gate are amazing and so friendly. The restrooms are clean. Three showers. NO ONE other than the tent campers seemed to use the bath house so I never waited for a shower or anything and there were several families tent camping and the rv sites were completely full. It's a really nice and safe place. I really recommend it and look forward to going back. One thing, the actual tent pad was 11x13 and seemed a bit small but worked fine for us.

• T

  Taylor W.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 16, 2020

  Grayson Lake State Park Campground

  Well groomed and clean!

  This is one of the cleanest campgrounds I’ve ever been to! The bathrooms were immaculate and the grass green and trimmed! Our camping spot didn’t have shade which was challenging since we tent camp, but we learned which spot to try and get next time. We only stayed one night and spent the day at Carter Caves so we didn’t explore how to get to the lake but we could hear boats so it had to be close. There was also a playground and basketball court which I thought was great. The town of Grayson is pretty limited in dining out options so it’s best to plan on making most of your meals at the park.

• 

  Andrew S.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 11, 2017

  FMC Sportsman's Club

  Ranger Review: CRKT HOMEFRONT™ at FMC Sportsmans Club

  July 4th 2017 FMC Sportsmans Club camping trip

  Campground Review FMC Sportsman's club is a private membership club. It's a very family friendly campground that boasts a decent size pool and playground. You have opportunities to hike and four wheeler ride in the woods. We Stayed on a temporary tent site right beside the bigger lake on the property. There are three lakes total. You can fish 2 out of the 3, the other is a brood pond set up to allow the fish to grow bigger. This is a place that my family goes to often because it is close to home, convenient and helps us get outdoors when we don't have time for a big trip somewhere. There is a shower house on site, and during the daytime hours when the pool is open you can use the pool house showers for bathing. The tent sites offer electric hookups, while all the other sites offer full hookups for popups or 5th wheel campers. There is plenty of wildlife around the property. You will hear and see many bullfrogs as you camp beside the lake. You will see deer roaming the hillsides and find turtles roaming the area. All in all this place is a nice setup for families with kids that want have somewhere to go every weekend in between bigger camp trips.

  Gear Review As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - today I am testing a Home front field strip knife from CRKT. Check out the website here - https://www.crkt.com/ (View video)

• K

  Karen P.

  Ranger

  

  Oct. 23, 2018

  Yatesville Lake State Park Campground

  Quiet and beautiful

  The campground has some really nice sites. Most are pretty level, but bring some blocks just in case. Some of the campsites are shaded and some are directly in the sun (18, 19, 21, 22, & 23). There was one (20) that you parked on beside the road and had to go down stairs to get to your picnic table and fire pit. We stayed on 15 at the end of a loop, kind of secluded. I definitely liked the loop that had sites 1 thru 15. Ours was further from the shower house (which was clean and typical of a state park), but there was a flushing bathroom at the end of the loop for our use. Nice hiking trails and beautiful scenery. There was a boat in campground closer to the lake. The trails led down to the lake at spots. The boat ramp was just a short drive over the hill and easy access. Fishing was great. We caught catfish, bass, bluegill, and crappie. Hosts were wonderful. We camped in a tent, but will return in our camper next summer.

• 

  Daniel S.

  Legend

  

  Oct. 12, 2017

  Zilpo Campground

  OVER RATED

  "Zilpo, a large, fun-filled campground on Cave Run Lake, is a prime destination for families. The scenic campground offers a cabin rental, tent camping, RV sites with electric hookups and a selection of lakefront sites.  

  Views of the lake are enjoyed by those who relax on the sandy beach. Tater Knob, a fire tower open to the public, is nearby, offering outstanding views of the area."

  We were planning on staying multiple night because of the reviews online but it ended up being a whole lot of families with kids running around like wild beasts for hours on end. it truly annoyed us the entire time we were there and left early in the morning. I'm sure we could have spoke to some one and moved sites. It is advertised as above as fun for the whole family so we felt like dicks haha. whatever. moving along now.

• 

  Bounding Around

  Legend

  

  Nov. 1, 2019

  Twin Knobs Recreation Area

  Awesome campground on the lake!

  This time of year (October) this campground is walk up only. We got there as quick as we could and are glad we did as we were able to grab an awesome site. There are tent sites and RV sites here and the campground is gorgeous. It’s right on a lake(so expect boat traffic) and there are several loops all along the lake. Those loops are connected by a trail that I enjoyed walking on. Internet service is spotty there– our Verizon hotspot worked ok, but the Sprint was super slow. There are mountain biking trails that you can access right from the campground so that was nice. You can also go on a short hike up one of the knobs. However, there really isn’t a good view at the top. I loved this campground and would go back in a heartbeat! In fact, I didn’t want to leave!