Best Dispersed Camping near Paintsville, KY

The National Forest has hiking, multi-use trails, and boating (there is a ramp nearby). This is dispersed camping, meaning there are no amenities besides a pit toilet and a few fire rings. Make sure to bring your own water treatment.

Yay: Close to the river, on the less busy side of the forest. Drive along the road and decide which campsite to stay at. All free.

Nay: Sadly, there was a lot of trash at all the sites. Not all sites have fire rings. There are only 7 sites so and no reservations so you may end up out of luck (but there are many other campgrounds in the area). Can be very muddy!

Surprise: call or visit the ranger office before entering the forest to get the latest recommendations for good trails and where to see wildlife!

We simply love camping in the National Forest Service campgrounds, most often because they are isolated, beautiful, inexpensive and usually, very quiet. We rolled up on a Tuesday night in mid-July and found the campground about ¾ full but still plenty of space for our little trailer. With about a dozen or so sites, some along the lakeshore, others closeby, lots of options exist to be alone or with a group. 

There is no potable water or electrical hookups, but with our solar panel we are always ready for primitive sites.  There were portable pit-toilets (bring your own TP, if you want to have some). There are no trash cans or dumpsters in the area, so plan accordingly. The main activity of folks in the campground seemed to be fishing, so I assume the fishing is good, or at least the trying is. But launching a kayak for an easy paddle about the lake couldn’t be easier from your site. 

We arrived right after a busy holiday weekend, and found our site (and those next to it) full of extra fire rings and heaps of trash. It’s discouraging to love these camping areas and find them in such a rough state after others use them. It’s a good reminder to come prepared to pick up after yourself and others who aren’t as thoughtful. We spent a good hour cleaning up the area, and filled one section of our truck bed with it when we left. Carry it in, folks, and then carry it out.

We came in on a Friday late afternoon and there were only a few camping sites available. We found a spot right on the lake.

Our first morning a heron was fishing in the lake less than 100 feet from us. We saw him catch a fish. There were woodpeckers, hawks and several other birds I did not recognize.

The view of the lake from our camp site was amazing. Very picture worthy!

The campsites are pretty close together providing less than optimal privacy. Some of the campers stayed up late but they kept the noise level down.

While there we saw one group hang a deer carcass in a tree. Good times!