Best Tent Camping near Mount Vernon, KY

I suggest you make a reservation as this campground fills up quickly. Axtel is located on the shore of Rough River Lake and has over 150 camp sites. Almost every site has quick access and/or views of the lake. There is a designated swimming and beach area. There are several restrooms located throughout the campsite. They were clean and stocked with toilet paper and hand soap. There is an easily accessed dumpster area and dump station near the main entrance. WiFi is available however, there is a fee. There is a boat ramp, so you can bring your boat and/or other watercraft. Fishing is allowed as well. There are a lot of sites with electric and water, but some without either. There are sites for tent camping and RV's. Sites have fire pits and a post with a hook for hanging trash and/or lanterns. No alcohol is allowed. Dogs on a leash are allowed. While we were here, several of the sites along the lake were flooded (see pics). The beach had recently been closed due to flooding, but was open while we were there. If you dig down just a couple of inches on the beach, you'll find clay. My kids loved this and made a couple of clay pots (see pics). As with most campsites we visit, people here were friendly and courteous. There is not a market on site, however there was a Dollar General about 13 miles away. They had a lot of the groceries we needed. There were also several gas stations along the way there that had ice and firewood. This is a great place for families to enjoy a beach without leaving KY!

We chose this campground due to its proximity to Holiday World and its family friendly atmosphere.

The Bad: We took our 5 and 3 year old daughters for their first camp out with the plan to do Holiday World the next day. This place has golf carts zipping all over all hours of the day and night. Apparently it is the thing to do to decorate golf carts with bright lights, blairing music, and megaphones. They even has a golf cart parade that went from 8:30-10:40pm and included thrown candy that ran about 30 feet from our tent! There was no privacy between sites, constant noise, and trash all over the ground! As an advocate for leave no trace camping, I was completely disgusted with the amount of trash on the ground at our camp site.

The Good (there was some): The shuttle to Holiday World was great, the staff were friendly, they have a great mini golf course that the girls loved, a top notch playground, and scheduled kuds activities (many are free). they also have a pool and water slides, but i cant comment on those as we did not try them.

At the end of the day, we had a great trip. but if i were to stay here again it would have to be a more secluded camp site without the constant buzz of golf carts. And I sure hope the amount of trash we saw was a fluke.

Campground Review: I have stayed at and reviewed this campground before, however this time I am reviewing our experience at site I158 over Labor Day Weekend while using the Red Ledge Thunderlight jacket. Site I158 has no electric or water. It is a fairly small tent site that is very close to other sites. There is only enough room for 1 tent and 1 vehicle. The fire ring is nice and has a grill attached. There is a large picnic table and a prep table with a tall hook, which we hung our trash on. The site is gravel but I was able to put in my tent stakes with minimal effort. The site is completely wooded, so if you don't like tent camping near trees, this site is not for you. The upside is there are plenty of sticks for kindling. I did however get hit with a few falling acorns, and that did not feel good at all. The quiet time at this campground is respected and followed. The beach is great for hanging out and swimming in the lake. The beach had previously been damaged by flooding but was beautiful for Labor Day Weekend. 

Product Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt www.thedyrt.com, I get products to test from time to time and today I am reviewing the Men& Women's Thunderlight Jacket from Red Ledge https://www.redledge.com/products/mens-and-womens-thunderlight-jacket?variant=7068462153788. I made a video folding the jacket into the carrying bag after I returned home from camping. 

1. What I liked about this product: The jacket fits great. Using the size guidelines on Red Ledge's website, I ordered the appropriate sized jacket and it fits perfectly. I like the sealed edges that kept any water from getting to my clothes underneath. This jacket is lightweight. It is a great jacket to use anywhere, but this would be great for back country camping. Because it's lightweight and breathable, I also used it for sun protection while sitting on Rough River Lake beach. The hood hangs over a little bit keeping the sun and rain out of your eyes. The cuffs and the bottom of the jacket are adjustable, which I love. Red Ledge offers this jacket in 13 different colors, but I chose Mercury(gray). The price of the jacket is a little higher than I expected, however, I believe this jacket will hold up over time and be completely worth it. As a tent camper, I have learned to spend a little more money on better quality products than to buy cheap stuff and have to keep replacing them. 

2. What I didn't like about this product: I didn't quite understand how the hood adjust worked and it took me a little bit of figuring it out. However, once I understood what I was doing, it worked great. 

Overall, I would recommend this jacket. My son has the youth version of The Thunderlight and he loves it. I think Red Ledge has made a good quality product that anyone can use and appreciate.

German Ridge Campground in Hoosier National Forest is where you will find the horse “tribe”.

I wrongfully assumed the horses would be at Saddle Lake across IN37, but then I rolled into German Ridge. 

The Campsites are set up nicely for the horse people with tie out areas and plenty of parking for horse trailers. The very first site is large enough for a group complete with fire ring for after a long day in the trails. A centrallyish located showerhouse, water points, picnic tables and fire rings finish off the area. There is some distance between the sites and a few nicely secluded sites for more privacy. A nice quiet shaded camping area.

There are two trailheads in the campground and a day use area further down the road which has plenty of parking for horse trailers. The trails are shared with hikers and bike riders. Total miles of multi-use trails was 24.

There is another trailhead further north on IN37 Mogan Trailhead that has room for horse trailer parking also. 

German Ridge Day use area has a nice swimming area, no dogs( or horses) allowed. Which to me is sorta wrong. There are plenty of beaches for the humans why not make this one an animal friendly area?! This is a small lake that looks like beavers may have occupied it at one time, we didn’t see any while we were there just lots of chewed trees. 

We hiked the 1.5 mile trail which ties in with one of the other longer trails in the area so watch your signage ;) very cool rock formations and a few low cliff areas. 

The beach has a smaller parking area, pavilion, historical markers and restroom facility. It was full when we visited but still not really crowded. 

The planners for Hoosier NF took some time and thought laying out these different areas. Each has something unique about it and is fashioned for a specific “group”. Worth the visit if you like the woods, dark nights and quiet.

Laurel Recreation Area on Rough River Lake has three separate campgrounds that run along side the road with the boatramp between the second and third areas.

In the very first campground the sites along the road to me are not good if you have kids or dogs due to road traffic.

The “wood” side sites are better in that you can set up a more private area for camp life. 

The second campground area is smaller with less sites. There is a day use area in between the first and second campgrounds with a short nature trail.

The third campground down is the largest and is adjacent to the day use beach area

There were no direct put ins at the first two campgrounds. All three campgrounds had the usual; shower house, picnic tables and fire rings.

The boat ramp is not very long and has limited parking, you will get the opportunity to practice your backing skills with the trailer if you use this one. 

This is a nice camping area but crowded and to use any of the recreation areas you will need to load up your vehicle to get there. The third campground does have some sites with put in possible but you will need to reserve ahead.