Red River Gorge Adventures, near Slade, Kentucky, is a laid-back campground that offers a unique blend of outdoor fun and natural beauty. With primitive sites right alongside the river, it’s a great spot for families looking to enjoy some quality time together around a campfire.

The campground is known for its friendly atmosphere and well-maintained facilities, including picnic tables and fire rings at most sites. Visitors have mentioned that it’s a peaceful place to unwind, with plenty of space to spread out and enjoy the surroundings. One camper noted, “I’ve camped on holiday weekends and never had other campers within 100 ft of my site.”

For those eager to explore, you’re just a short hike away from some of the best views in the area, like Hanson’s Point, which is often touted as the best view of the gorge. Plus, the campground is conveniently located near popular spots for kayaking and rock climbing, making it easy to dive into adventure. 

While amenities are limited, the natural setting and the chance to disconnect from the hustle and bustle make Red River Gorge Adventures a solid choice for anyone looking to escape into nature. Whether you’re here for a weekend or a longer stay, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to relax and enjoy the great outdoors.

The campground is on 10 acres of tree lined frontage on the Red River. There is a mix of trees/shade and open fields. It is a primitive campground, meaning that there are no power hook-ups or running water. There is an excellent canoe/kayak take-out. It's location in the heart of the Gorge makes it the perfect place for riverside camping and provides access to hiking trails.

Red River Gorge Adventures

Join the fun near Slade. With tons of outdoor activities and scenic camping, this is an excellent vacation spot for all kinds of travelers. There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in, as well as sights to see and explore. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your Kentucky camping adventure.

Slade

The Best Camping Near Slade, Kentucky

This is my all time favorite campground. (When I’m not looking for a lot of amenities). This campground is actually a veteran owned boating rental/shuttle service with an attached campground. It’s very spacious, I’ve camped on holiday weekends and never had other campers within 100 ft of my site. I’ve also been on weekends where I was the only camper there. The campsites are fairly primitive, only including a fire ring and a nice picnic table. They do not have any water or electric hookups and no cell service, which is all a plus in my opinion. But they do have a trash bin and portable-potty’s scattered around and they sell firewood on site. Oh and the grass is always maintained. There is so much room and there are a variety of “types” of campsites. By that I mean there are wide open spaces, sites in the trees, sites with sandy floors, etc. The entire campground runs alongside the river bank, so you can put in your own kayak/canoe or rent one from them. I just love this place. It is super family friendly, they have an 11pm quiet time and strict alcohol policy. The owners and all staff are the friendliest people I’ve ever met. Two of the owners know me and my friends by name and strike up convo with us every time we’re there and we’ve only been 3-4 times a year for the past 3 years. This campground is only a two mile paddle to the infamous jump rock and swim hole. Also, you are just 10 minutes from slade, where you will find Miguel’s, (the best pizza you’ll ever eat), gas stations, and cell signal. You’re also only 20-30 minutes away from Muir Valley, an excellent rock climbing destination. And if you have made It this far, I don’t mind sharing with you that if you wade out into the water about 15ft upstream of the boat launch, the river is relatively flat with a sandy bottom that is about 5’ at normal water level. Excellent place for an afternoon swim or a rinse after a hot day of climbing. I looked for photos, I just have one from our trip and It was after we packed up. See below. Happy Camping my friends!

Excellent, quiet and secluded family friendly spot.

What a nice quiet secluded spot. Such a friendly staff, reasonable prices, and well maintained campground. We spent a great day in the river and an even better night in our hammocks!

Will definitely return here!

Love this place, will be returning in the future.  We stayed a week and only saw three other campers and no one with in 100  yards of our campsite.  All the sites had a fire pit and I believe tables at the sites.  They close the gates at night and don’t open the gates till 8 am was the only drawback.  The gate adds to the security of the campground I liked that they control coming and going at night times.

Quiet secluded campground

Dispite the reviews saying it was peaceful and either well spaced/not crowded, i found it to be the smallest campground I've ever seen and we were packed in there like sardines.  It was VERY crowded.  Also the GPS took us to the wrong location, making it cwry difficult to find.

Disappointing 

Great place to camp right on the river! I would suggest bring your own fire wood and do not by it there at the camp the wood they gave us was not good and wouldn't catch fire. But other than that I would go back in a heartbeat. With trails close by to explore! 

Red River Adventure

My wife, two friends, and I all own our own kayaks and decided to go to the Gorge one afternoon. We usually put in at the normal kayak put in and pull out at the parking lot that is located near jump rock. The parking lot happened to be closed due to corona so we drove down to Red River Adventure to see how much it would be to park one car there so we could drive our other to the put in. A woman came out and we asked how much to just park our car there since we already had our own kayaks. She immediately got an attitude with my wife, I’m assuming since we weren’t going to rent their kayaks, and said it would be $15 to park. Then she said we would also have to pay an additional $5 per kayak to pull out our own kayaks since it’s their private pull out. Which is fine, but we weren’t trying to spend a lot of money since we had brought all our own supplies. We told her we were going to try to find another pull out near by, but we might we back. That’s when she really got an attitude with us and told us, “good luck finding parking and do NOT pull out on their land”. We left and drove 1/4 of a mile down the road and found parking and a pull out that was perfect. She was so rude to us for no reason and we will not be using them or recommending them to any more of our friends in the future.

Very Rude and Unprofessional 

Hanson’s point at the red river gorge is often called the best view of the Gorge. To get to Hanson’s point you’ll have to earn it by hiking for about 2.5 miles, but trust me when I say it’s worth it. The campsites at Hanson’s Point are primitive campsites, so make sure you bring EVERYTHING you need for your stay. 
Here are the coordinates to the parking lot.
Type in the coordinates into your GPS and it will take you right to it!

37.80528, -83.65528

To easily stay on the trial, I recommend downloading the AllTrails apps. Enjoy!

Hanson’s Point 

This was a nice little campground right on the Red River. The spots were all primitive with rock fire rings. One site had a pic nic table. During our two night stay the other sites were all filled with families, so very kid friendly. Not a lot of amenities. 

Photos of Red River Gorge Adventures

Real photos from real campers