Best Tent Camping near London, KY

You will drive and drive and drive...and drive on the gravel road. However the road is good and the signage will get you there! Follow the little tent signs to Little Lick Horse Camp in the woods of Daniel Boone NF. The Nathan McClure trailhead is in the campground so there will be other traffic coming in. There are a few good size sites, with picnic table, fire ring and not much else. This is primitive, to include no toilet so bring your bucket or whatever you use.....remember Leave No Trace ;) Dark and starry skies, quiet and woodsy....try not to think about any scary wood based movies. Horses, llamas, trail bikes and dogs would be perfect for this campground. The sites are big enough for more then one tent or hammock. There are several other nice/challenging trails nearby and the Rattlesnake Motorcycle route in the area.

Alum Ford Big South Fork Recreation Area is in my top 10 favorite areas.

I try to participate in the Yamacraw Trail Run every year because it is just AWESOME, and this area is part of their route due to the excellent scenery of the area.

If you like trees, hills, streams, falls, historical markers, old cabins and history , plus not much use of modern technology when you camp then you will thoroughly enjoy Big South Bend! If you are a bring the kitchen sink kinda camper you might wanna find a nearby KOA or other type campground.

The campground has no signal, no electricity, no showers, no host. Just you, a tent pad, picnic table and fire ring. Oh, and there is one pit toilet. Bring 5$ cash for the honor pay station and your hiking shoes and watercraft. There is a Trailhead at the back of the 6 site campground and a boat ramp down the hill.

The sites are well maintained and old , probably CCC built with wood steps leading up or down to your site. There is no direct access to the boatramp but there is a short trail that connects the sites to the boatramp that runs along the cliff face down to the ramp.

The trailhead is part of the Sheltowee Trace Trail and connects to the Yamacraw Bridge. You could easily stage a multi day backpacking trip from Alum Ford to take in the local sights.

Not far up the road is the Yahoo Picnic Area. I think it used to be a campground just by the way it’s set up. Picnic tables on pads and a nice old pavilion for groups with a grill. Past that Yahoo Falls. This is a technical, moderate trail down to the tallest falls in Kentucky. Also a very old area but maintained with newer restroom facilities. The loop trail was approximately 1.5 miles long with a metal staircase on one side and trail on the far side. This is also part of a thru trail. Get you an old fashion paper map before coming cause your fancy electronic gear may or may not work here.

This is one of many areas through the Kentucky/Tennessee Big South Fork if you are able plan for an extended stay to check the whole place out;)

We needed a spot for Labor Day weekend and discovered Barren Fork Horse Camp in Daniel Boone National Forest near Whitley, KY. There are lots of great hikes and natural bridges in the area to check out. We had no problem finding a site. The biggest negative is the amount of trash that was left in the fire rings and the litter strewn throughout the woods. This is a beautiful campground, but the litter was the worst we’ve ever seen. There is potable water available near the vault toilet buildings, but no electricity or dump station. There are no rules on generator use, so beware that your neighbor may run the generator all day and night. The price of the campground was $8 for one night/$12 for two nights. With just a little TLC, this could be a great place to camp.

Ranger Review: Mountain House Meals at Alum Ford Campground ,Big South Fork, Ky

Campground Review: Near Yahoo Falls Alum Ford this small (6 sites) primitive campground is a good place to set up base camp for activities your planning in the area. 

Not much to the actual campground: 

• Picnic table, bear box, tent pad ,fire ring

• Pit toilets

• Co-located with a boat-ramp (Cumberland River)

• A trail that meanders along the cliff face behind the campsites that takes you down to the boat-ramp

• Trailhead in the very back to Yamacraw Bridge and the Sheltowee Trace

The campground is quiet aside from loading and unloading boats (which went on until after midnight) There were only two occupied sites when we arrived on a Saturday. No reservations and $5 per site. There is credit card information on the pay envelope but I prefer to use cash and not have my info floating around. 

The campground was clean and well maintained but obviously old and in need of some restoration, no surprise with all the cuts in Park positions. I like this type of campground but not so much the noise from the boat-ramp. There is no direct put in from the sites. I doubt I would leave my watercraft tied off overnight either.

 This would be an excellent and cheap spot to do some extensive hiking from or even backpacking/dispersed camping from. Due to there being no through traffic you could leave your vehicle and odds and ends and not have to worry about anything wandering off while your gone. We camped here after hiking some of the Tennessee end of the Sheltowee Trace. Sunday we hiked some more and visited Yahoo Falls. 

Product Review: Mountain House Freeze Dried Meals are surprisingly very good....https://www.mountainhouse.com/m/abus.html

Now I say this from a background of years of MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat....in someone’s opinion) and T-rations. So it should only be improvement, BUT some of the other products I’ve tried were not that great. 

I first tried Mountain House a few years ago on a backpacking trip and thought it was okay, but not great. I tried Mountain House again last year and enjoyed it a lot more. I don’t know if they changed anything or maybe I read and followed the directions ;)

So when given the opportunity as a Dyrt Ranger to review Mountain House I was like absolutely!

I selected breakfast items, Granola and Egg mixtures( not together;) because that’s the time of day I like quick and easy so we can get on the move.

I read the directions and boiled my water, poured a cup in, waited 3 minutes and Had Some Scrumptious Eggs and Bacon! Just that easy, quick AND filled me up. 

I’m trying to think of any cons but right off hand the only problem I ever had was not reconstituting it correctly. Eggs needed some salt and pepper but that would go back to preference. 

Mountain House comes in pro-paks for backpackers and high altitudes, which are packed to save space. They have cans for crowds and kits for preppers or just emergency preparedness.

Definitely good for at the house, in the camper and the car just in case.

Quite secluded, yet a great launching point to hiking and biking trails of all difficulties. This visit was for running the Yamakraw 20K, and resulted in some astonishing views of Big South Fork River! Campsites were very large, with ample room between to allow for privacy, yet everyone is nesseled into an almost level area which makes setting up easy. Plenty of bear resistant containers for trash and food storage. Shower and bath house centrally located, clean and warm. Did not have any interaction with Park personnel, but locals in Sterns were very friendly and helpful. Will visit again!

We were very pleased with this campground. When we first checked in, the smell of the food in the campground store was to die for. We had plans to cook at our campsite, but the specials that night were very tempting. The staff was kind and helpful, and provided us with a map of the property. The bathhouse was a nice touch! There are many campsites of multiple types available, but there are several primitive sites that still feel secluded and surrounded by trees. There are several sites that can be accessed by a sedan, but some of the sites farther back really require something more suited to off-road driving. We were in a Subaru Forester and had no issues, but did actually have to help push a Camry out of a rut. We visited in October 2021 and it seemed like the area we selected was still slightly under construction. The campsite was wonderful, but the picnic table was sitting on a slope and we were having a difficult time preventing our food from falling off. A flatter spot for the picnic table would be our only suggestion to the owner. My friend used a tent and was happy to see a flat spot cut out of the slope our site was situated on. I used a hammock and didn’t have any trouble finding suitable trees. We loved it and will definitely be back!