Best Glamping near Olive Hill, KY

I lived in the Dewey Lake-JWSP area with family members, until 2002. Currently, I live about 10-15 minutes away from JWSP and visit the park at least once a month, depending on the weather. If you want to mix up your trip besides going camping or doing any recreational activities: Jenny Wiley Theater, mid June-early August, Outdoor Theater, (kinda like Summer Stock); Theme or special dinners at the Lodge, (mostly on weekends), year round; the community/ state park swimming pool is currently being "refurbished" and will be reopening, (hopefully) in Summer 2019. And, speaking of recreation, you can "hit the links" at the Stone Crest Golf Course, nearby.

But, as for other recreational activities: there's bike riding, hiking, boating: recreational, travel, kayaking and fishing types. If you want to do any horseback riding, you have to bring your own horse and gear, but contact the JWSP office first on where you can ride your horse. Better yet, you can take about a 30 minute drive from the Lodge to the German Bridge Campground area up Cow Creek, which is also in the Dewey Lake area, Contact the Dewey Lake US Army Corps of Engineers for more details, (in other words, Google it). Plus, there are picnic shelters in different areas of JWSP, some of them right next to Dewey Lake.

Now, as for camping, you have 3 type choices... #1. reserving a cabin near the Lodge, (and Dewey's, the local "watering hole"), kinda like "glamping", but it's rougher. (BTW, this area and the Lodge are the best places for getting a cell phone signal). #2. RV (Recreational Vehicle) Camping. There is a RV camping site not far from where I used to live, but from my personal experience, call the JWSP office at least 2 weeks in advance before the date you plan to use the site to see if there is going to be anything available on the dates you want, before making your reservation. First come, first served! #3. A. There are tent campsites next to Dewey Lake in various areas around the lake accessible by boat only, which are overseen by the Corps of Engineers, contact them or the JWSP office. Best place in my opinion: Campsite near the Dewey Dam/ Spillway Area. B. Other Outdoor Camping: Contact the Corps of Engineers or the Park Ranger's at JWSP. If you want to see some wildlife also, contact the local KY State Fish & Wildlife office that handles JWSP and Dewey Lake.

But there's some stuff I've learned over the years living and camping in this area, that I think you must know, some of this you might have run into on other camping trips at other parks...

1. DO NOT DRINK THE WATER FROM THIS LAKE... AND DON'T SWIM IN IT EITHER!
2. FISH AT YOUR OWN RISK,,, CATCH & RELEASE! (Personally, I'd go to a pay lake).
3. FCC LICENCE 2-WAY EMERGENCY RADIO (I prefer the Motorola ones, (white & red, also has a NOAA Weather Radio and FM Radio), you can get a brand new one for between $40-$60. The FCC Licence is currently $70, the feds do a background check on you, if you get the licence, it lasts 10 years).
4. BEAR MACE - A BIG CAN OF IT! Not only do you have the Black Bears to deal with, you have the Coyotes too!
5. IF YOU ARE AT A LAKESIDE CAMPING SITE, HAVE A LIFE JACKET ON AT ALL TIMES! You might fall into the water by accident or you may have to jump into the lake at night in case of emergency!

And last, but not least...

6. DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE A MOTORBOAT! NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ON THE BOAT! EVERY PERSON ON BOARD MUST BE WEARING A LIFE JACKET! The Fish & Wildlife officers do surprise checks on the recreational boats to see if the rules are being followed... if they aren't following the rules... you may have to pay a fine and/or do some time!

We originally were going to stay at Twin Knobs Campbrougnd, but after some research, we decided to switch the reservation to Zilpo. Having recently moved to Kentucky from California was so happy to get to camp in another season besides summer. All the spots in the H Loop seemed like they would be great for a visit, but after walking around the whole section, we found H 26. It was a double spot with easy access to the lake and set up a beach fire for the night. The only issue was the bathroom nearest to us was shut down, but it really wasn't that much farther. Amazing seeing the Milky Way one evening.

Been camping here for more than 40 years, as a kid we loved it, as an adult camping with kids, love it even more. A few of the sites we have stayed in recently are D011, G007, and I008. All were great, plenty of privacy, sites are far enough away that you don't feel right on top of each other but close enough to the amenities (trash, bathroom, etc.) that you don't feel lost in the wilderness!

This portion of Daniel Boone National Forest is peak beauty in the summer, the beautiful mature trees and well maintained sites make camping so much more enjoyable. The camp hosts are always helpful when needed but not overbearing. Amenities are near enough if you forget something, you'd never know staying here that there is a Walmart about 20 minutes away if you forget something important.

Get a site close to the water to bring your canoe/kayak or do some fishing from the shore. This is BY FAR our favorite place in Kentucky to camp. Happy Camping!

A very nice state park with an abundance of natural resources surrounding the campground. There are many hiking options, some that explore the various caves around the grounds. The caves themselves are quite the treat.

The staff are all very friendly and there are camping sites for tents or rigs. However, like many state parks that have not been updated, navigating into some of the spots with a large rig can be challenging. On the one hand, this is nice as there are mature trees throughout. On the other hand, they could increase the size / length of the existing campsites. There is a nice playground and a camp store for any items you have forgotten.

The lodge is available down the road (within the state park) for dinner if you are looking to mix up the trip. Not fine dining, but decent food. There is also a pool available at a discounted rate for campers - which our kids enjoyed. Note: there are no full hookup sites, which is not uncommon for KY State Parks.

The camp site we reserved wasn’t where it wasn’t indicated on the map. It had no fire ring or picnic table and the person in the site next to our site had his tent in our site because his site had a bunch of trees in his and where his tent should have gone the people in the next site had put their tent there... Campsites had no borders so there was no telling where one was compared to the next. The center section the sites were basically all on top of each other. There were ton of kids playing throughout (no problem with the kids) but because there was definition between sites they would come running through our site. We have a dog so we worried about the kids getting tripped by the dogs rope and just coming over to visit the our dog.

Also since the sites were so close to each other, it was great to be able to hear the neighbors get falling down drunk, make x-rated prank phone calls and try to fight each other. Very entertaining

So after seeing mammoth caves my fiancé and i have been searching for places with caves and camping. We are eventually heading to mexico to do more spelunking. Anyways this campground is great The sites are huge and spread out real well. we were able to spend a night and get a tour the next day which was well worth it. The camping is wooded which would be great for any of you hammock people out there. We set ours up and sleep outside instead of in the van. Are friendly neighbors kept us company....deer haha

The tour guide michael was freaking great. We usually wouldn't spend money on a guided tour but this was the best decision, There are a couple caves to choose from so you'll be able to see a few if you like. The camp ground/resort if perfect for someone just passing through or has the amenities to keep an entire family cozy for a week. What ever your looking for you will find it here, There were a lot less people here than mammoth caves.

Cheers!

We travel in a triple axl so apply that to the review. Roads getting in are super winding but go slow and enjoy the stunning views! The site we got upon arrival had electric and water, but upon pull in we noticed all the hookups are shared between 2 sites and not very close. 37 ft away to be exact. The site itself (#8) was very shady and pretty decent sized so we were kinda bummed to have to move. We moved to a full hook up site and hookups werr closer, but it sat right on leading into the Campground. We have a toddler and 2 dogs but figured people coming in wouldn't be hauling butt. We were wrong. It is noisy (arrivals at all times coming in) and nerve-racking as people drive entirely too fast. I took some of the pics standing in the road. You can See our back deck down almost touches it. The water on this site was shared too and while it's closer to the hookups, we had nearly zero water pressure. We ended up filling our tank and running off that, and refilled when needed. The pressure was so low from sharing our sink would barely stream when turned on. In the end we wish we wouldn't have moved in the first place.

the area itself is beautiful and the property is well kept and clean. We only needed 2 nights passing through.

We arrived on Sunday, when most people leave. The campground was a little confusing at first because the sign says next left, when the next left is the out driveway. The camp office/store was very clean and had practical items like batteries, firestarter, snacks and ice cream for the kiddos. There is also firewood for purchase. We stayed on campsite 057, which is in full sun as it has no shade but does have full hookups. The site was very well kept and clean but could use some privacy from the roadway. Be sure to look at google maps satellite before arriving as most of the sites that are labeled electric share one electric box for 2 campsites and can be pretty far from your pad. Also make sure to check in the details, which sites have sewer as they don't label it full hookups up front. The line of sites along the road into the campground all have sewer holes. The park is amazing and I have no idea how it took me 39yrs to find it so close to home. The caves are absolutely amazing and the park has some of the best natural bridges I have ever seen. Make sure to get a permit for Horn Hollow on a day of no rain or else you will not be able to enter it.

We went in March and the campground was pretty empty and a lot amenities were still closed but the sites were cleaned up good from the ice storms.  The sites are a little closer than we prefer but if its not busy then you have plenty of room.  Lots to do in the park with plenty of hiking and exploring available.