Best Equestrian Camping near Ashland, KY

Shawnee State Park was totally without any phone signal. Right on the border of Kentucky, in Ohio, you are in the small town almost South.

Beautiful countryside, fortunately I was on Rt 125 when I lost all clue where the park entrance was. Then I saw the Shawnee Range and kept on driving. Definitely get a map because the whole park offers a lot of out door opportunities.

Backpack trail, 23 and 40 miles loops with 7 camping areas, register and enjoy. Equestrians get 70 miles and primitive camping.

The camping area is small ( a good thing ) the restrooms are clean and basic. Showerhouse and laundry. The attendant was super helpful and knowledgeable.

Primitive camping and rv space. You can rent a cabin and such. There is a resort.  Everything always looks really nice. So many recreational activities, caves, hiking, horses and a lot more. I would really recommend visiting.

This is a beautiful state park with breathtaking views of creeks along the roadway, wonderful landscape designed by nature, good hiking trails, peaceful campground, and a nice lodge. The campground is a bit tight, especially when lots of cars are in visiting the campers, very peaceful though as the night goes on. The road to the lake could use a little TLC. Trails are marked nicely, as well as how to get to the equestrian site, Day use area, pool, lodge, and restaurant. Restaurant was very good buffet and menu items available. Lodge was clean and well kept. Very relaxing state park.

Such an incredible park the family loved exploring the trails, waterfalls, rock formations, and water. Check the schedule for ranger programs. The kids really wanted to go horseback riding but evidently it’s BYOH...bring your own horse LOL. The campgrounds had lovely views and lots of trees. We’d definitely return.

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.

Park was nice, clean and has friendly staff. We liked that we could walk to the bathrooms and not have to drive there. We stayed at site 100 and really enjoyed the shade trees. Showers are small but they work and there are only 3 stalls of toilets and 3 showers ( I believe) in the women’s side- unsure of men’s. Plenty to do, including a playground, pool, miniature golf, bike riding, horse back riding, hiking, etc. All sites have a picnic table and a grate over the fire pit. Water wells are easily accessible and they have washers and dryers as well. Check-in location was a bit confusing but eventually figured it out.

The night we arrived it was pouring rain. After sleeping in the car to stay dry we explored the park. The park really came alive with the rain, which really made the trip. Water was running over the edges of cliffs and boulders throughout the park into the river that flows through the park. The cave tours were cheap and interesting, although the self guided tour was closed due to flooding. We did the Three Bridge Trail which was moderately challenging but worth the unique geology and natural bridge formations.

The tent campground was quiet but the RV campground was pretty full and lively. At site 110 we struggled to find a flattish spot—the sites closest to the road to the horse campground were much better. The bathrooms were randomly closed one night on a Saturday which was a little annoying. There wasn’t any clear communication of restroom hours.

It was hard to find firewood nearby, we ended up seeing a sign of a guy selling firewood and we called him. It was $23 for 35 logs delivered to the site. This ended up being way more than we needed and we left some behind after giving some out for free to other campers, which was a cool experience.

We left for the day on our second to last day and packed up most of the site in the car as we’d be gone a while. When we came back what we left was gone along with our reservation slip at the site entrance. It seems the rangers took it that we left and now I’m out a water jug.

There was some scavenger hunt race going on too and people would come out of the forest and run through our campsite with no regard to us being right there which was a little odd.

Overall I didn’t know what to expect as an out of stater but had a great time through the weather and all.

I called KOA Ashland on July 3rd and spoke with an employee about cancelling my reservation I had on Aug 7th. She informed me that I would forfeit $10 as a cancellation fee. I informed her that I’m a VIP member and per KOA cancellation policy the cancellation fee is waived. She stated that per the campground owner they are an independently owned and that KOA policy does not apply to them. I told her that as a franchise of KOA they cannot pick and choose which policies to follow. I then said I understand that you are just the messenger. She even shared with me that the system was even showing her to issue a full refund. I asked her to inform the manager that I would be contacting KOA corporate on Tuesday in refence to this matter. On July 3rd I posted a review simply stating I’m not recommending this campground with the comment “ They don’t follow KOA cancellation policy for VIP members!”.

On July 7th the owner called very angry because I called KOA and posted the reviews. I tried to explain to the owner but there was not talking to him. This owner has no customer service skills at all! If he would have called and said that we must have a misunderstanding, how can we make this right? But he immediately went into everything was my fault without trying to understand what his employee stated. He went on to say that my reservation was not even cancelled. I can only speculate that when I spoke with his employee that she was hesitant to cancel until after she had an opportunity to speak with the owner. Regardless, I had asked for the reservation to be cancelled. Arguing on the call was not getting us anywhere. I asked the owner would he cancel my reservation and process a full refund. The owner’s response was “I might not” and hung up.

A short time later in the day I received an email cancellation with no refund at all. The cancelation fee was listed at $46.08. Therefore, from my prospective the owner stole my money as a penalty for the review. This is clearly not the documented cancelation policy. I will continue to work with KOA to resolve this very unwelcoming and dishonest situation. Campers beware!!

• Beautiful area of Kentucky Nice trails and great kayaking

Nice caves & trails, but the campground is not best. Kentucky's sharing power poles make finding a level site with reachable power even tougher. Weekends are crazy crowded. Staff is friendly. Would never attempt to stay here without a reservaton.

This is a relatively simple little site with fishing, swimming, and a boardwalk. We were there in early November for the leaves and it wasn’t too crowded then. There aren’t many campsites so summer could be an issue without reservations. The camp sites were nicely spread out within the forest.

great place to camp and kayak. must camp 150ft from the trail. no cell service.beautiful park

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.

Great location to earn some backpacking miles. Feels quite remote, but along the trails there are shelters, bathrooms, trash reciprocals, and other useful hookups. When camping and hiking here, you feel space and distance from other campers, with the perks of established facilities.

Stayed here for 2 nights. Scarlet Oak campground. Drove and checked out the other two campgrounds which were also nice. Some sites are really small and some are right along the road. Not crowded at all during our visit. Some sites are sloped from slight to more severe. We did have to take our camper off our truck (truck camper) in order to get level. Our site had a large “yard” and trees. All great for our two big dogs. Site had w/e.

Most of the sites shaded and separated by trees. Love the privacy this provides. Our favorite “close to home campground”!

Very clean and private campsites

Great campground with super easy access to the trail and lake. The sites are spread apart enough so you aren’t right beside someone - and shaded. Well prepared sites with a clearing, fire ring, and a picnic table. Nice host and rangers too! Bathrooms were meh: the walls need cleaned or painted, no where to put your things, and there was no hand soap - no biggie though.

I LOVE camping here, unlike a lot of camp grounds they're actually within the woods so you feel like you're actually part of the forest and the nature. It's a simple place, they have showers and restrooms. The hiking trails are scenic and pretty and the lake while not overly big, is clean and great for swimming(there's a beach) , kayaking, and fishing. They have plenty of crappie, bass, and catfish stocked in the lake and there are bait shops close by.

Over all it is a very relaxing place to camp and cheaper than most other places even for a camper hook up.

Nice, quiet campground. Not a ton of privacy, but much better than an RV park. More shade and privacy here than the nearby Oak Hill campground on the other side of the lake. Tons of hiking trails around the lake. We will definitely be back!

This campground above Lake Vesuvius was nice. Not a lot of privacy, but sites are comfortably spaced out. Great hiking and Lake Vesuvius is small but beautiful. Also, there’s a hidden gem of a cave/overhang along one of the hiking trails.

Pretty good Koa. Sites are level gravel, ground are clean. WiFi is pretty good. Bathhouses are new, clean and adequate. Easy access from I64 but no noticeable road noise.

Stayed here again, apparently this KOA has new owners. Not sure about it now, didn't seem as nice as before, atmosphere felt 'stuffy'. Sites were still OK. Gravel and level where we stayed. Grand daughter loved that we were beside the pool and playground. Mini golf was run down, but had a fresh coat of paint.