Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Shelbyville, KY

The sites here are not level. We used our normal 2x green blocks for the Jack, but needed all 10 of our leveling blocks, plus 8 paving stones to get the appropriate height.

Despite advertising, there is no dog park. There are a ton of dogs, so this would’ve been nice.

The river and waterfall makes it feel like a tranquil place. The walking trail by the river is nice, we walked it almost every day.

Live music and food trucks every Saturday are a nice touch!

We had a pretty decent time at Taylorsville Lake. The spots were spacious, and very nice picnic tables. We did a trail which was nice and went down to a boat ramp to see the lake. You can also rent boats there as well. The bathrooms in my opinion needed a major cleaning. They were nice just not very clean. We most likely won’t visit here again but was nice to hit a Kentucky campground. I have found that camping in Kentucky is much cheaper than in Indiana. Definitely worth a checkout.

How this place doesn't have their permit revoked is beyond me. It's ran like a truck stop. It's NOT family friendly. They are NOT pet friendly.

Small park restrooms and showers. Very clean. Nice pool. Camp store offers basics. Fairly close to shopping groceries etc. staff was friendly 30/50 amp service didn’t count the number of river view sites. But quite a few. Some sites have 20 X 12 elevated decks. Full hook ups. Pet friendly. Was very quiet the week we stayed. Didn’t feel like bringing the camper home so payed for another week and drive back the following week. Cell service. Isn’t the best WiFi was available if I remember. Correctly rates were reasonable

Tent sites: steep hill with rodents living there. Gravel driveway leading to tent sites: a trench sure to rip the exhaust off your car. The RVers and workers: they make it obvious you are beneath them. Pets allowed: you WILL be up all night with the barking chihuaua on the next site. Airplanes flying over head as you are getting ready to sleep. Traverse the lawn to the faraway bathroom to ruin your shoes at 2am. Laundry on-site but the workers will scowl while you use it. Catch all this ire for the grand old price of $50+ per night.

A campsite settled upon the bank of the Kentucky River with a friendly farm cat, goats, horses and cow we delighted in a campfire as the sun set and the stars came out. Our host had guided us into our weekend home and delivered a wagon load of firewood for a night of warmth and comfort. The night sky of stars and quiet stillness brought a calm and peace from our busy week. 

We look forward to another weekend excursion to the farm next year.

We stayed here almost 3 weeks and will visit again. It's a great little stop, almost right in town. Review doesn't include any wifi services or the pool because it was closed for the season. It's also not a place that has a bunch of organized activities etc but we don't care about that. Anyway, it's easy to navigate (we have a triple axl), clean, and owners were very nice and responsive. It's very shaded and pretty quiet. Huge open area for pets, and a nice little pond for catch and release. We didn't see the bath house but did use the washer/dryer area which was nice. Literally the only gripe I can make is the playground just needs torn down. Not repainted etc, just destroyed. It's so old and has some safety concerns, so we only used the swings.

We stayed a few nights at this campground in October.  The campground is made for smaller sizes but we were able to negotiate the main ring road with our 37' travel trailer.  The spot that we had reserved was in an area were we could not get into but we went to the gatehouse and they gave us another spot that was on the main ring road that we were able to park in with no issues.  Cell service was great with Verizon and AT&T service.  The lake was beautiful and the park was well maintained.  Wished the beach, paddle boats, and petting zoo was open...  Still had a great time.  We will surely come back next year when everything is open!!  Had 30 and 50 amp service with water hookups and a dump station at the exit.  Make sure you have plenty of leveling blocks.  We used all of ours and was not level.

Lots of run down RV’s and shanty town in the back of the park. More long term renters than weekend warriors. One dump station, no sewage on the sites. One bathroom, for the whole Park. lots of tents sites (that were busy) makes for poor bathrooms. Not to mention its outhouse style with no climate control. 1/3 men’s bathrooms were out of order and 1/3 urinals were too. 2/3 showers where out of order and the two useable toilets, the door locks were broken. No wifi. Fires are allowed. Fire pits are run down so be mindful. 2/5 bars for ATT services. Sites aren’t labeled or labeled extremely bad. Electrical seems very out dated. Make sure you have protection. Over priced at $60 + tax for the night. Scattered shade. Pull through sites mainly. Picnic tables have seen better days (years more like it). Good space between sites and access to the river for water sports. Little lake for fishing. No pet area and strict leash laws. I wanna give this a 2/5 because they were pleasant. They encouraged me to review on multiple sites but I think that would be bad for them so I’ll stick to my main review site. 1/5, if the price was better like 30-40/night maybe 2/5 but for the price of a motel 6 and only electrical and that is sketchy. Save your money book elsewhere or avoid.

Got there late and was greeted by the hosts, they led us back on a 4-wheeler, so we know what to expect on the the dirt lane back to the sites. They're first come, first serve, but all the sites have their own advantages. Some are a little slanted, but not so bad its disruptive for sleep. The stars can get pretty bright at night, despite the pollution from neighboring cities, so it makes for some nice stargazing. Apparently firewood is included, and if you let the hosts know, they're very attentive and will come right out to make sure you've got firewood, or even paddles for the boats that are available to use free of charge. There's a shed that is normally stocked with fishing gear, firewood, life vests, trolling motors and other goodies. (Though it was a little sparse on our visit) I wouldn't say it's entirely RV friendly, but maybe 1-2 sites could handle one. If I recall correctly, pets are allowed, but they must be leashed at all times since there's farmland nearby. Overall we loved our visit, and can't wait to go back since m'lady broke her ankle night one, and hence we spent most of our day in Lexington.  Getting into a boat can be a chore with a broken ankle, but once you manage it, its rewarding. HLF is a great place to go if you just want (some) privacy and to relax a bit.

I'll preface this with the fact that I am a Lexington, KY Native and have always lived close to the Kentucky Horse Park and Kentucky Horse Park Campground, but have never stayed there until this weekend. 

We stayed on Loop A in site #38.

First, site #38 was a great large and fairly level site with 50AMP hookups and Water. There were no sewer hook ups, but the park has 2 dump stations that accommodate 2 RV/Trailers being dumped at one time. The site had a large amount of space between ourselves and our neighbors and we had a lot of extra space behind out paved site that was grassy. A great area for the kids/pets to run around. 

The park has 2 playgrounds (one was closed due to COVID and the sanitizing that would have to be done. The park said they didn't have the staff to sanitize the playground further from the office/store). There is a community pool (it was closed because it isn't memorial day yet and the staff is still trying to determine if it will open this season after being closed all of 2020 due to COVID).

You're able to bring your Golf Cart if you would like but you must get a permit from the campground office/store. They say there is a rule that no one under the age of 16 or anyone without a valid drivers license is allowed to drive the golf carts, but this is clearly not enforced, as my kids were nearly run over (more than once) by young kids speeding around on the gold carts. 

The park is great for bike riding and you can travel just a short distance to get to the Legacy Trail (a 12 mile paved trail great from biking/running that runs from the horse park into downtown Lexington). It rained most of the day on Saturday while we were there but in the evening, we got to get the bikes out and go see the horses as they were grazing in the fields. 

Right next door, you have the World Famous Kentucky Horse Park. Their trail rides are back open (Ages 7 an older $25.00 per person) and they also have their Pony ride for kids 12 and under ($5 a person) opened back up. You can go visit the different barns, go to the museums, etc. 

Just 1 exit north on I75 you have  a Camping World, for all of your camping needs and then 1 exit after that you have a Walmart and Lowes for other things. Many food options as well. 

There is a gas station just down Iron Works pike for all of your fuel and and snack needs. Attached to the gas station is also a liquor store. 

Your smack in the middle of Georgetown and Lexington which both offer several family friendly Craft Beer Breweries/Taprooms, a lot of great local eating options and bars/nightlife options. 

On Holidays now, at the Horse Park Campground, you have to have 5 day minimum stay, which can get a bit pricey. 

All around though, great little campsite with easy access to I65/I64.

We decided to go down for a weekend to see how we'd like it. It's situated high up on the Kentucky river bank which is nice but there's little access to the riverbank except from the floating dock and boat ramp. When we arrived there was left overs from the previous flood which made it very muddy. It's definitely dog friendly but with no trails to really walk them on. We found a game trail that took us down to the riverbank at the end of the campground and found a goat hanging in a tree from the previous flooding. Perfect campground for partiers who don't respect quiet hours and those who stay at their camper the whole time.

First time at 2Rivers; cannot give this place enough stars! From the public bathrooms/showers that were immensely clean (and emailed password protected), to the connecting trails right from your back door to both the Kentucky and Ohio river, there is an activity for everyone. It takes someone who has has a sloped slab to truly appreciate a fully concrete level slab with…INDIVIDUAL HOOKUPS! Yes, this was incredible! No community water, each site has their own water, sewer, and electric hookup. We brought our two dogs and they loved swimming in the rivers and running on the acres of freshly mowed park grass. Within minutes of a courthouse town with a great sporting good store! If the August heat would have been slightly less dramatic, this would have been the perfect weekend! Highly recommend

General Butler State Park had a lot to do on site and wasn't too far from the town's nearest amenities like a grocery store and a few places to dine out. 

Things to do: Scenic overlook- great view- as a short person I couldn’t see a ton though as the trees were impeding on my view. Hiked the Butler Lake Trail with dogs this was a fun trail We tried to hike the Woodland Trail- unfortunately it had just rained for the few days before that and it was too sloppy for us and our dogs General Butler State Park

Laundry Facilities- Only two washers and dryers that I could find at the entire park. Luckily no one was there when I went to do laundry but several came after me that had to wait.

Pool- There was a pool available for free to any of the campers- we did not get a chance to check this out.

Showers/Bathrooms- Showers and bathrooms were good, generally clean two shower houses at the park. The one I tried worked well.

Two Parks for kids to play at and a lot of room to walk just around the campgrounds on the cement for our dogs with ample available grass area for our dogs to go potty.

Really beautiful park overall.