Horse camping is the perfect way to enjoy Shelbyville. If you're an equestrian lover who prefers nature-based adventure, yet still wants comfort, this is the perfect opportunity for you. Finding a place to camp in Kentucky with your horse is easier than ever. Find Kentucky equestrian campgrounds with ease on The Dyrt.
Camp out in Taylorsville Lakes RV campground, which has a central service building with laundry. Ten sites of the campground are set aside for horse camping. These sites have water and electricity and share the RV camp's laundry room.
$21 - $32 / night
Come out, relax and enjoy the complete resort atmosphere of the Kentucky Horse Park Campground!
A full service facility, our campground has many extras for your comfort including a grocery store/gift shop and two bathhouses with modern conveniences. During your stay, be sure to take advantage of our tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts, cool off in our junior Olympic-size swimming pool and participate in our planned activities.
For those seeking to stretch their legs a little more, venture out on the Legacy Trail, a 12-mile-long (8.5 miles is currently finished) paved walking and biking trail leading from the Kentucky Horse Park Campground to downtown Lexington.
Campers may also visit the world famous Kentucky Horse Park at a discounted rate and receive free parking with the purchase of their admission tickets when purchased at the Campground Store.
$24 - $45 / night
$12 - $22 / night
$36 - $45 / night
Scout
Just stopped for one night late in the afternoon and was easy to get off the interstate. Very nice grounds, clean restrooms, and quiet
Scout
The water was down a bit so the falls were not very large but the trails were really great! It was hot (July) and the wooded hiking trails helped keep us comfortable. On leash Dog friendly was a plus for us too. The only thing I wish there was were more areas to bike but the walking trails were super beautiful so it wasn’t a big disappointment at all. There is no dispersed camping and we didn’t stay overnight but we did go check out the campground area. It’s pretty large and there were loads of spots that would hold our 30ft bus and 17ft cargo trailer. Since we were just there for the day, however, we just parked at the pool as suggested by the gentleman at the gate. It is a huge flat area that gave us lots of solar power while we were out exploring.
Guide
Excellent campground. Clean and quiet. Can get busy but sites are not tight but spread out and plenty of space. Fine gravel sites with well kept grounds, shower house, and attentive host. We want to return and visit more Bourbon Trail Distilleries.
ScoutThe campground is easy to navigate. The ranger met us on the way in and was super-friendly. Our site was small bit not cramped, and there was a picnic table and fire pit. Plenty of space between each site. Neighbors were quiet and friendly. Will camp here again!
RangerBeautiful campground surrounded by horse country. Slightly rolling hills in campground but mostly level sites. We chose site 13 because it looked level in pics and had some open green space behind for our dog (neighboring site did as well). Able to set up with no boards or leveling blocks.
Lots of trees in campground (leaves hadn’t started back yet) and medium size lots with water and electric only. Two dump stations available. 2 laundromats, a pool (closed when we were here), and large camp store.
TravelerCame for just one night. It was decorated beautifully for Christmas. Site wasn’t the easiest to back in. Obviously no sewer hookup which isn’t a huge problem. Hooked up to water and nothing came out. We got here at 9pm and left at 7:15am. Just an inconvenience but other than that it’s a beautiful park
TravelerVery clean. Really pretty. Felt a little out of place only bc I had an older camper.
GuideClifty falls state park in Indiana, a beautiful park, somewhat challenging beautiful hiking trails, could be great, if a little more attention was paid to it on the campsite end. But first I’d like to address the fact that I had to pay the $9 fee to drive I to the park, although having already booked and paid for a campsite. I guess we call that the “Indiana angle”, as I’ve seen it in other Indiana parks but no where else. Having entered, it looked to be a beautiful clean place, but you get the impression all the dirt was swept under the carpet rather than actually picked up. The bathrooms were dated, a little dirty and the showers weee an embarrassment. The push button for water style gave us literally 10 seconds of water, if you’re lucky, before you had to push again. I believe in water conservation too but come on, we pain for this. Bathrooms were clean, but not spotless, maybe it’s in the weekly clean schedule instead of the daily, as we went in October. I question the validity of these reviews sometimes also, as cell signal was rated good for both ATT and Verizon, of which we had both, and both were spotty at best. But the actual park, spectacular hiking, challenging treks, and multiple choices made it worthy of 5 stars. The actual waterfalls were but a trickle in October but the sheer rock walls, steep cliffs and fall colors made for many camera friendly views.
GuideLove this campground. It is definitely one of our top spots. Reasonable price, lots of trees for shade, amenities are great - pool, playground, you can rent a golf cart if you want, you can visit the horse park and explore on the golf cart
GuideWhat a gorgeous campground! The grounds are full of grass and well manicured. Campsites are gravel and level. We were on a very quiet loop with just 4 electric/water RV sites. We were just doing a travel overnight but definitely will go back to stay a few days! Bathrooms were very clean and the staff was super friendly!
ScoutThis campground was a great place to stay. We stayed the weekend while we were in Lexington for the RailBird festival.
GuideThe sites suck not level the shower is new but sucks push. It to die 25 seconds of water that’s like being pissed on the electric situation is poor 30 amp old not maintained the park was put in about 1919 the trails use to be awesome. Now the use to be well groomed trails that were bordered by hand built stone walls have been replaced by half assed wooden decks with steps that were built by Hellen Keller “ridiculous “ They have a 9.00 entry fee on top of the camping fee they cut the grass every day we were there Turing the park into a scalped dust bowel. Again “ridiculous “ they had a few sites that we’re supposed to be persons with disabilities friendly. Their is No sell service. Every one was wondering around looking for service. “ I though that was funny” No WiFi That didn’t bother us. But several folks around us were miffed camp store. Was a joke and was only open maybe Friday Saturday and Sunday. Possibly Maybe. “What ever that means “ the dump station. Is a cluster F#%*¥ was a tight fit for the 3 campers in front of us. Who had 28 ft to 35 ft campers. Just a dirt pull off close to trees with a tight turn to exit. Only one side could be used at a time. Or you would block the campground Exit. So not very well planned out
ScoutCampground full. But still quiet group of people. Sites are not as spacious as most state parks but access to the horse park is fantastic.
ScoutGreat Park! We stayed 2 nights on our first camp of the season. Quiet camp ground with a newer bathhouse that contains single show
TravelerCampground was essentially a parking lot located near an active coal power plant, which offered continuous hum. Otherwise clean.
Guide
My husband and I camped here in the May to escape Derby in Louisville. It's close enough to the city that it makes for an easy get-away. Even if you're not camping the hiking is pretty incredible and none of the trails are really to strenuous for an experienced hiker compared to other trails in the region.
This isn't the most quite campground you're going to find. There is an RV area and a loop for tent camping, the sites are fairly close together with some only having as little as a few saplings or briars between sites. The loop itself is a bulky gravel road that is VERY NOISY when campers drive on it, or in our case... a child drives their Barbie Power Wheels up and down the road until 10pm in the dark.
That being said.... it's close to the city. It's inexpensive and the firewood bundles are sizable. Our site didn't have a picnic bench, just a fire ring but the ground was mostly grassy and very level. It was a comfortable site and the majority of them looked pretty similar so it's hard to say there's a "best site" for privacy on the loop. Our site was on the road leading up to the loop and those sites seem best since a few don't have campers across from them and they are spaced out slightly more than the sites on the actual loop... although you're further from water.
*This campground does allow you to make reservations
GuideThe shower/bath house is on a European level of well-equipped. Reasonably clean(a little bit of boot muck on the floors but you should be wearing shower shoes anyway in a public facility) Self flushing toilets, air dryers for your hands.
Well thought out for handicap accessibility as far as the toilet and shower stalls. Hand sinks could be a bit lower for folks using a chair but they do have a low hand dryer and no threshold in the doorway to get over.
There are windows that look into the bathroom and although they are up high, pervs and curious kids will find a way. Campground should def. frost them but if you have the stall door shut to the space you're using you can hide your shame. A+ on the restroom space. Seriously impressed.
Very well heated on a cold morning and although I didn't use the shower there were plenty of places in the shower stall to keep your things up off of anything wet. Single use stall and there were several. Door shuts and there is also a shower curtain to keep moisture off of your things.
Outlets by the sinks for hair dryer if you bring one.
Campground has hit or miss tent spots depending on how much space you need. We had a 3 person tent, 2 hammocks and a dog and we reserved spot 8 on the primitive loop and had more than enough room. There was a fire ring(one at every site) and two picnic tables. This spot, as most of them appeared to have enough room for at least 2 very large tents and a dining fly if that's your thing.
With the brush cover during May site P10, although small, seemed to be the most private. We were at P8 and couldn't see anything at P10 though the brush.
If you are looking for privacy, although you are still going to see headlights of cars on the loop road and hear pretty much everyone else on the Primitive loop P10 probably has the most privacy as far as brush shielding you. I would say that everything on the outer part of the Primitive loop towards the back is going to be the furthest away from other people but you are still going to hear everyone else. P6, P7, P8, P10 look the best to me as far as just being chill sites with a bit more space away from others.
All of the sites on the interior of the loop back into each other and those seemed to be more of the "party sites" the night that we stayed. A lot of competing blue tooth speaker music at very loud volumes well after the quite time of 11pm. Loud music started again at 7:58AM. It was Bollywood music, which was different and honestly kind of fun... we were already awake though.
Our site itself was fairly even although there were a lot of tree roots. No problem finding a grassy place to set up our tent however. We picked up all the trash, aside from a weird sock, left by previous campers so that aspect was a little sad... campers leaving cigarette butts and plastic water bottle caps laying around. Tree cover would be more than adequate at this site during a hot summer day. Water spigot is next to the dumpster by the shower house btw.
Bundles of wood were fairly small compared to some other campsites and unfortunately wrapped in plastic but the wood was good quality, dry, and didn't burn overly smoky. There is a nylon strap handle that will be stapled through the plastic wrap into one piece of the wood so if you want to burn that piece you'll need to pry the staples out/cut the strap off.
The woman working the registration check point, we didn't catch her name, was amazing, pleasant, helpful and gave great directions. She drove by a few times in a golf cart checking on things and didn't hassle anyone. If you ask at the check point for a map you will get a packet of papers with rules and a few different slightly blurry print outs, it's a lot of info and we found it helpful exploring a few of the points of interest in the park that you can drive to. Overall it was a fun experience and although it was louder than I expected when people did quiet down it was VERY quiet and we heard owls all night and what sounded like coyote howling in the distance.
Super good place for families!
LegendWe really enjoyed this park. Plenty of room for camper and car, big grass area and nice bathhouse.
We stayed for 5 days and will definitely be coming back.
The guard house is only manned for a short period of time. We wanted to get ice and wood when we arrived, but it was closed.
Plenty of places to visit while here. We did parts of the bourbon trail and just enjoyed our time at the campsite.
TravelerStayed here in October. Last trip for the year. We stayed on site 46. Lots of room for the kids to run around without being too bothersome to neighbors. The hiking was great! The tree colors and cliffs were amazing in the bright sun and clear blue skies. The tunnel was fun to walk through. The kids loved the exploration aspect of Brough's tunnel. Close to historic city Madison, which is smaller town full of local shopping and eateries.
LegendSpent 2 nights in spot 12. Is 45 spots. Smaller area but cheaper than others. Quiet in Oct. leaves were turning. Lake about 1 mile away from it. Only drawback was there trash run/pick up dumpster was 3 am on Friday morning ( only time they said anyone would do it). Other than that overall good with senior discount.
TravelerNice and level paved or primitive with electric for trailers and RVs to camp. We came late at night and were able to easily find a spot and pay in the morning, and the folks in the office were very accommodating. Shore power read as good from our tester. Note there’s no sewer hookup; dump only. Couldn’t ask for more! Plus they have horseback riding same day and pony rides for the kids if you’re interested.
GuideMany state park campgrounds are similar to this one. Tight quarters, lots of sun, and a lottery of who will be your neighbor. Admittedly, we were here on a holiday weekend. It was packed! They keep small sections of thick brush between sites for privacy and that is appreciated. But there are few sites with shade trees.
On the plus side- the trails are beautiful and we’re not crowded. The nearby town of Madison is absolutely lovely. The park also had newer facilities.
The cons- Tight spaces. Limited shade. Limited staff to clean the new facilities. There were times where they ran out of toilet paper. Plus push button showers with no temp control.
GuideCar camped in the primitive electric area. Parking is on grass - some spots are shaded. Primitive and primitive electric sites are FCFS. Lots of availability on Sunday night. Regular sites look nice - paved with picnic table, big trees. Clean bath house. Lots of amenities. Family friendly.
TravelerGreat campground with a nice layout. Hardly any shade due to tree removal. Bathrooms aren’t heated in the cooler months. Zero cellular or wifi service so that could be good or bad. Bathrooms and camp stores are well stocked/maintained and convenient. Trails are great and have terrain grading that is pretty accurate. Travis are not marked very well so plan for longer hikes than anticipated. The Inn does have WiFi if you have to have it but seems to be more for guests than general park population. Overall great camping but without cell service or wifi makes it tough for some.
ScoutThis place is absolutely gorgeous! I hiked all day for 2 days and the people were so nice and I loved my spot! Not too far from a gas station if you need anything too
GuideNice campground. Enjoyed the horse park and discounts from campground.
ScoutGrounds are well keep and clean. Pool is a little dated but still clean and nice kids enjoyed it. Bath house is fine. Sights in loop B are not level we had to put the left side off the concrete and the right side on a level block to get level. Aside from that not to bad. Remember not FHU no sewer at any spot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Shelbyville, KY?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Shelbyville, KY is Taylorsville Lake State Park Campground with a 4.3-star rating from 29 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Shelbyville, KY?
TheDyrt.com has all 5 equestrian camping locations near Shelbyville, KY, with real photos and reviews from campers.
