Do you love the outdoors and horses? If you're looking for a rustic but comfortable experience, horse camping in Russellville is the way to go. Finding a place to stay in Kentucky while traveling with your horse is easy. These scenic and easy-to-reach Russellville campsites are perfect for equestrian campers.
The park is situated in the middle of 14,000 plus acres of forest. We have a 56 acre lake with pedal boats and row boats. There are miles of hiking trails that meander through the forest. It is a great place to get back to nature. We also have an 18 hole golf course, tennis and basketball court, and a lodge with a full service dinning room. Equine Camping: Pennyrile Forest offers 8 pull-through campsites specifically designed for horse owners. These sites feature electric, water and sewer hook-ups. Each site has its own corresponding hitching posts for up to four horses, picnic table, lantern hanger & fire ring/grill combo. Horse campers have access to all campground amenities, which include bathhouses, laundry area and playgrounds. A new 1.25 mile horse trail near the campground connects horseback riders to the 40+ miles of horse trails on the adjacent Pennyrile State Forest.
At Maple Springs, visitors can enjoy the serenity of the campground and surrounding backcountry trails, or spend their days exploring Mammoth Cave. Campers can explore up to ten miles of the cave through a variety of tours available at the Visitor Center. With more than 400 miles (644 km) of mapped passageways, Mammoth Cave ranks as the world's longest known cave system. Mammoth Cave is named for its grand size and scale. Visit the Rotunda for an idea of just how large this underground world is. The World Heritage Site was explored by Native Americans more than 2,000 years ago, and Europeans discovered its existence at the turn of the 19th century.
Avid horseback riders head to Maple Springs to explore the lush backcountry trails. Hikers will also find these trails enjoyable.
This campground is part of Mammoth Cave National Park, a 52,800-acre park that includes the Green River Valley, rolling Kentucky hillsides, and the expansive Mammoth Cave with grand-scale chambers and long, winding passageways. This remote campsite is quiet, peaceful and ideal for those who want to be immersed in nature. Wildlife includes deer, turkey, and coyotes.
Take a tour of Mammoth Cave and see landmark cave areas like the Cathedral Domes and Mammoth's famous formation, Frozen Niagara. Or hike above the caverns to explore sinkholes like Cedar Sink.
Group Facilities - Overnight -$10.00 cancellation fee AND forfeit the first night's use recreation use fee if cancelled less than 14 days before the arrival date (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). For rules and reservation policies please follow the link below: https://www.recreation.gov/rules-reservation-policies
$50 / night
Mammoth Cave Horse Camp is nestled on the fringe of Mammoth Cave National Park in south central Kentucky. While staying here you will experience approximately 60 miles of back country trails offering incredible views of big timber, caves, rivers, waterfalls, creeks, four seasons of color and an abundance of wildlife. While in camp you will enjoy first class amenities including water, electric, picnic tables, fire rings and a modern restroom and shower facility, as well as large covered 10x12 stalls for the horses. Book your stay with us, because there's no other place like it!
$25 / night
$20 / night
Scout
Until midnight there was a loud microphone with drunk people trying to sing karaoke where it was heard around campground. Slurring speech and cursing. No respect to others trying to sleep.
Was booked for the weekend but leaving after night 1.
Guide
The campsites are surrounded by trees and it’s beautiful. Campsite has good showers too which is a plus. Nearby mammoth caves!
TravelerBest State Park we have stayed at to date..everything was better than expected. Staff very helpful.
GuideVery quiet, clean, and nice campground. Very close to Mammoth Cave. Shower facilities were very very clean. Nice well spaced sites.
ScoutPros: very well maintained facilities, toddlers enjoyed playground, able to walk along lake shore, could hear small waterfall behind our campsite, within 20 minutes of Mammoth Cave NP via Green River Ferry Con: sites nothing special for tent camping (probably great if in RV). Very sunny, out in open so windy. But nice to have electric and water when camping with toddlers so worth it. Would agree with previous review that the 1 tent site among all the electric sites looked beautiful- right on the water. If you don’t need electric, go with that one!
TravelerWe rolled in on the day of our stay with no reservations. Sites with no reservation cards are open for one night. There were 2 open when we arrived around 8 pm. After hours, it's an honor system using the envelopes at the entrance. The sites are level with water and electricity. There are lake sites available. Our site was in the open area. This was an overnight stay for us on our way home. The dump station is at the entrance. Bath house was very clean and well maintained.
Guide
Peace and quiet, awesome set up for our 40ft fifth wheel “the big kahuna”. 4 nights, electric and water hookup. Dump site is on the mammoth cave side, only downside is the 45 minute drive around to the dump site, other than that 10/10 for campground and amenities.
GuideOur site was huge, with enough space for our RV, truck, dog fence and fire area. The gravel pad was recently maintained.
The bathrooms were cleaned regularly. The showers were hot and free! Washer/dryers on-site for $1.5 a load.
The hike to the waterfall was muddy and there were downed trees from a recent storm - but the park was working on it.
We loved that hiking in Mammoth Cave National park was only 15 min away!
GuideMy husband and I, along with our dog Frank, found site P27 using Google Maps Satellite view and saw that it was juuuuust far enough away from the RVs to feel like we were camping in the woods.
The site itself doesn't allow you to have a vehicle at site and the short wooded trail to the site does get incredibly muddy when it rains heavily. However, your vehicle is close enough but you can't see it easily due to the wooded area between the site and the rest of the campground/parking lots. I felt that aspect made this site all the better. HOWEVER, you will be carrying your firewood into the site if you buy it at the campsite store so keep that in mind depending on your physical abilities. P27 wouldn't be very convenient for strollers and definitely not wheelchair friendly unfortunately.
The site itself is mostly rock and gravel as you look towards the lake with the rear portion of the site turning to the wooded area. There is decent enough shade for your tent and a friends tent if you're using 1 to 4 person set ups... but the tents will be CLOSE.
There isn't a great hammock set up option at this site. We had two with us and could only hang one, the trees were fairly young and on the edge of a small drop off to the rocky beach. That was a decent spot to hang a hammock but a double with adults would be detrimental to the trees perhaps.
There is a picnic bench that is staked to the rock with a chain so you have limited options of moving that closer to the fire pit or further away. Table was in great shape.
The bath house was super nice but a bit of a walk from this site. Toddlers wouldn't be stoked on it more than likely.
We visited Halloween weekend and there was a huge thunderstorm for the majority of the two nights we spent here. The site got incredibly muddy by the fire pit, like... boots sticking in the mud wet Ky clay.
All that aside, we will be camping here. The RV section was packed and they had trick or treating for the kids but we couldn't hear any of it from this site. Waking up in the morning to the fog on the lake was super beautiful. Watching people fish from their boats Sunday morning and walking the shoreline looking for cool rocks... it's a great campsite. It's an awesome tent site and everyone that worked at the campground was great. A young man came to check on us because of the thunderstorm as well.
*tent stakes work just fine at this site. It's not just a rock outcropping.
ScoutLarge area and peaceful get away. The pull in line up could be a bit better for some of the spaces (site 3 you better reverse traffic). Sewage would be a nice upgrade especially with no showers there but the Camp bathrooms ease some of that burden. Beautiful scenery and some great things to check out at the cave. My verizon signal worked great here, used a Hotspot to stream movies when inside for a rain storm
Guide
This is such a beautiful park. The rooms are dated but very clean. The views here are breathtaking. Hiking trails, paddle boating, canoeing and kayaking and geocaching.
TravelerWe had a great time! It’s not drive in and there isn’t always a clear path to your campsite; the restrooms are a bit but of a walk. It’s all worth it for a less than 15 minute walk to the beach tho. The campground is very well maintained and the restrooms are very clean. There are trash cans as well as water spigots throughout the camp sites. Would definitely camp again - it’s worth the work. Also of note, there is the possibility of a burn ban due to all the pines.
GuideNicely wooded. Had a water and electric site but the second night the electric stopped working at the pole so we had to run out generator for a couple minutes. Ferry was open and had a great time touring Mammoth Cave.
LegendPros: Beautiful campground!
Cons: dump station is backed up when leaving with long wait times, no wifi, no or limited cell signal, gravel lots
GuideFor a state park it is on the smaller side but the sites are large and spacious. Bathrooms and showers were very clean and inviting. Camp staff was very nice and took the time to direct us to some local points of interest.
TravelerThis place is so beautiful. Very well kept by friendly park rangers. The bathhouse was nice and clean and just a small walk from the site we stayed at. We had the entire campground to ourselves (probably because it’s so close to Christmas) so it was so quiet and peaceful. Our site was on the cliffs edge overlooking the water, with a small path leading down to the water. We got a one day fishing license so we could try to catch dinner and ended up catching a 19in catfish. The water was low enough for us to enjoy a small waterfall and a runoff stream up river. Overall, this is definitely a place we’d like to visit again. Maybe when the water is up higher next time!
TravelerWe camped at site P27, which is in the RV section of the campground, but off to the side and pretty private. Great little spot and had our own piece of shoreline. No electricity or water here but equipped with a picnic table, fire ring, and lantern post. Had to back truck up as best we could and walk a little trail to the site and unload. Had to park by basketball court when done unloading, so keep in mind your vehicle won't be within site. There is a group site off in the distance and they were pretty loud but still a good distance off so it was tolerable. Daughter caught her first fish here. Loved waking up to the fog over the lake. Bath house wasn't as clean as I recall from previous trips but it wasn't anything to get worked up about. Lots of places are short staffed these days so I can't fault them too badly. Nolin is on of our favorite campgrounds!
LegendWe rolled in with our caravan of 8 campers after dark! The campground check in was super fast, and every site is very well taken care of! Nicely packed tiny, pea sized gravel, FLAT, and easy to back into with plenty of room for camper & outdoor living space. Ice & firewood were a bit pricey, but firewood purchased outside parkway cheaper & too green to burn... There were several activities for family, trails are well kept, beach, fishing, boating.
TravelerNice
GuideI like the pretty lots, that were mostly flat for camping. Siri so beautiful I will come back again and again!
ScoutThe Pennyrile state park campground is in need of a makeover. I didn’t see any sites suitable for a tent. I was car camping and slept in my SUV so no tent but I’m glad I didn’t have to rely on the sites being level. There were roots and rocks on all the sites. It is quite and relaxing. Electric and water was adequate. The shower house only had one working shower in the women’s bathroom. The entire thing could use a good cleaning and maintenance.
TravelerThis place was laid out and built by someone who hates RVs. Seriously steep compound slopes, tight 90 degree turns, and hookups 100’ away on the wrong side of the site all make this place horrible for anything but a pop up. I saw at least four people worth reservations leave because they couldn’t get into their site. The bath house has one working shower and it wasn’t very clean. The dump station was 15’ from a site so I totally ruined someone’s peaceful breakfast. The hiking trail was a dead end on an unidentifiable paved road. The beach and boat access are gated until 10am. No early morning paddling for me.
Now the good stuff:
ScoutI was tent camping with my family Thursday-Saturday while visiting Mammoth Cave.
The good: the tent campground has spacious, level sites. The sites are located in a grove of pine trees, which makes for well shaded sites with a pleasant surface of soft pine straw to pitch your tents. A few sites had trees suitable for hanging hammocks if you enjoy that. There are toilets and sinks in the park office near the primitive campsites. There is a swimming beach and boat ramp on Nolin Lake nearby. Convenient to Mammoth Cave NP and fishing and hiking opportunities abound.
The bad: the shower house is in the RV campground and too far away to be a convenient walk. You have to drive there which is a pain with kids. There were few shower stalls and they were not kept clean. The park staff were very friendly but just overworked. Thursday night we were kept awake by loud campers and campground staff weren’t around to enforce quiet hours. Quiet hours do not start until 11 PM which is not ideal for campers with young children. The park started filling up on Friday and Saturday and was obviously very crowded on the weekend. Seems like a "party spot" for locals.
We might return here but perhaps would choose to camp during the week or during a less busy time of year.
GuideLove staying here! Small campground and hard to get weekend reservations, but it’s a great place for kids to play and adults to relax. Sites are large and level. Easy lake access and a beach for use as well. Only downside is it is open for public use as well. It was very full on Saturday with a lot of people that weren’t campers. Also had some activities for the kids on the weekend we were there too. There aren’t many stores close by so make sure you have all your supplies!
ScoutThis place I can't even begin . I have lived in KY ALOT OF MY LIFE .I HAD NO IDEA THIS EXISTED. AND I STILL HAVE A HARD TIME I FEEL LIKE I HAVE OPENED THE DOORS OF A STORY BOOK AND THERE IT IS THIS PLACE IVE BEEN LOOKING FOR BUT ALWAYS THOUGHT I HAD TO GO FAR AWAY TO SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS OR .JUST KEEP DREAMING ABOUT IT . BUT ITS VERY WELL KEPT NOT TO CROWDED . NOW IF UR A SWIMMER GET UP AND GET UR SPOT EARLY CUZ IF NOT WELL THAT SHUD BE SELF EXPLANITORY LOL. BUT ITS A GREAT PLACE TO JUST GO RELAX MEET NEW PEOPLE OR NOT SOME LIKE THERE PRIVACY . SOME PLACES U GO DOGS ACTING CRAZY,KIDS EVERYWERE..LOUD MUSIC .OR PEOPLE ITS REALLY A GREAT PLACE .STAFF IS GREAT .CLEAN BATHROOMS .NICE CAMP SITES . NICE HIKING ,SITE SEEING ALL TOGETHER .U WONT WANT TO LEAVE ..I REALLY FELT LIKE I HAD A vacation. HERE IVE BEEN ALOT DIFFERENT PLACED S AND ALOT.I IVE NEEDED A VACATION AFTER CUZ IT JUST STRESSED OUT SITUATION. BUT THIS PLACE IS ON MY FORSURE RETURN FOR MANY YEARS ..THANK U ..FOR GIVEN ME AND MY FAMILY GREAT MEMORIES FOR LIFE..
TravelerThe camp host are incredibly helpful. We had a few issues with our camper and they did everything to help us trouble shoot it. The area is beautiful, my kids had a blast playing with other kids and running around. Super clean, well laid out, great showers. Lots of families and dogs.
TravelerOne of my absolute favorite spots to camp!! We had a blast this past September. A lovely time to camp and still warm enough to swim at their sandy beach. We enjoyed fishing and caught a variety of fish like catfish, bluegill and bass. The bath houses are well maintained and quite clean. Super nice playground which the kids fully enjoyed! Extremely helpful park staff and plenty of firewood and extras available to purchase. Before we arrived it flooded and our site was under water but they were kind enough to move our site back and accommodate our reservation. The sky was so clear and bright. Almost zero light pollution allowed us to see many constellations, the milk way, falling stars and the brightest, most breath taking view of the night sky. This lakeside getaway is one that will keep us coming back!! If you've never been to Kentucky...this will keep you coming back to the Bluegrass to camp for years to come!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Russellville, KY?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Russellville, KY is Nolin Lake State Park Campground with a 4.6-star rating from 40 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Russellville, KY?
TheDyrt.com has all 6 equestrian camping locations near Russellville, KY, with real photos and reviews from campers.
