Best Equestrian Camping near Portland, TN

Equestrian Camping Reviews near Portland, TN

160 Reviews of 6 Portland Campgrounds

• 

  Sara S.

  Legend

  Jul. 25, 2016

  Maple Springs Campground — Mammoth Cave National Park

  lots of horses

  While visiting Mammoth Cave, we drove through the campgrounds checking them out for family that was going to be traveling here in the next couple of months. These sites looked super nice, but many are reserved for group camping and equestrian camping it seemed. It does seem like some people didn’t have horses too, so there must be regular camping as well. The campground was small, but wooded and seemed to offer some seclusion from others and it was a reprieve from the busy park.

• 

  Shelly S.

  Legend

  Apr. 28, 2020

  Mammoth Cave Horse Camp — Mammoth Cave National Park

  Glamping

  Tucked away on the backside of Mammoth Cave NF, Ky, you want to find this Horse Camp.

  Not huge and not to small, you can easily bring a small group of friends here for a private horsing around retreat ( pun intended) Direct access to several horse trails in Mammoth Cave. Spend your day riding and then kick back at your site and relax. There is an area in the “back” to park your rig and set up your glamping area. Stalls if your horse likes it fancy. A nice camp store and friendly staff to assist you. We visited while in the area, my favorite thing is the out of the way location! (Check out their page for events too.)

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• 

  Shelly S.

  Legend

  May. 20, 2018

  Mammoth Cave Campground — Mammoth Cave National Park

  Base Station

  Mammoth Cave Campground is in the country but centrally located between several nice size cities and right off I65.

  No signal once you get in the park except if your lucky at the lodge. We tuned in to WIFI whenever we passed through the Visitors Center/lodge restaurant in the morning.

  The campground is primitive, no electric with parking pads, picnic tables and fire rings. There is a restroom in the campground and a shower house, laundry room, post office and store adjacent. The dump station is next to that facility right outside the front “gate”.

  There is enough space between camp sites to have some privacy and the trees provide natural noise block and shade. There be critters in the woods so protect your food! You may see deer and turkey, you won’t see the little shit raccoon that runs off with dog toys and any food left out ;)

  There are several trail access points directly from the campground. Including two easy trails to the visitors center.

  Aside from the obvious, cave tours, there are several other options on how to spend your day and nights.

  If your coming for the cave specifically make sure you reserve your preferred cave tour way ahead of time!

  If you are coming for the trails, enjoy! There are multiple options. I run the trail near the visitor center year round. It is technical and hilly, not stroller friendly.

  The trails on the far side of the Green River ferry have dispersed camping sites and plenty of natural features to discover.

  The float down the Green River is enjoyable. If you bring your own water craft several of the companies will drive you to the put in from the ferry parking area for a nominal fee.

  Also across the Green River is the Maple Springs group and horse campground, I’m not a horse person but I see plenty of them in the area and they seem to be enjoying the trails and campground.

  There is also zip lines in the area, a winery and golfing.

  Fast food and Wally World in Brownsville, other touristy attractions one exit up at Cave City. (Ky Down Under and Dinosaur World, plus a Yogi Bear Campground)

  We spent the weekend hiking in the rain and avoided Green River, it’s a muddy mess right now.

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• 

  Shelly S.

  Legend

  Jul. 30, 2016

  Maple Springs Campground — Mammoth Cave National Park

  Across the ferry

  Nice large camping areas, secluded and quiet, easy access to the trails. Well maintained full hookup for RVs and plenty of room for your horse too. There are also several primitive spots you can backpack into, check in with the staff before beginning your adventure.

• K

  Kim B.

  Ranger

  Sep. 29, 2016

  Mammoth Cave Campground — Mammoth Cave National Park

  Mammoth Cave National Park

  WOW we loved this park and caves and hikes, the kids could not stop talking and talking about the caves. This campground is close to the visitor center and you’ll need site reservations in summer. Showers are wonderfully hot but there’s no RV hookups. Our sites were pretty close to another but I think some of them had some more privacy. We met someone camping here with their horse which sounded like so much fun (but don’t worry the horse sites are farther away so no barn smells).

• 

  Carrie J.

  Guide

  Jul. 8, 2016

  Maple Springs Campground — Mammoth Cave National Park

  Maple Springs in Early Spring

  I visited the Maple Springs Campground in Mammoth Cave National Park for a total of 3 days/2 nights. I chose this site because it was pet friendly. Each site was spacious with room for up to three tents without feeling crowded. The sites were also spaced far enough apart that you never have to interact with your neighbors. Each site has two grated fire pits as well as picnic tables.

  The campground offered several facilities such as a communal fire pit and a few privies and water supply stations. Everything was clean and in order while I was there.

  Horses are allowed in the campground and you will see a lot of people taking their horses for a few runs around the road through the campsite as a warm up in the early mornings. My dogs did not like the horses at first but they got used to it as the trip went on. Keep this in mind if you plan to bring any four legged friends!

  The only downside to the entire trip is that the park is infested with seed ticks and deer ticks. I was pulling ticks off of every inch of me even though I was coated in several layers of hardcore bug spray and my gear had been treated with permethrin. Seriously, the ticks were gnarly.

  Overall, this was a great place to stay. I would happily go back if I felt that I had more control over the bug situation. I hope I can learn a little more about tick control and make my way back there soon!

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• 

  Shelly S.

  Legend

  Jun. 1, 2018

  Mammoth Cave Campground — Mammoth Cave National Park

  Not just for bat lovers

  I went to Mammoth Cave National Park the first time as a child with my family in the 70’s. I took my children to Mammoth in the 90’s. And I have lived within 45 minutes of Mammoth for the last 10 years. The only time during the last 10 years I was not at the Park at least monthly was during my deployment and when the government shutdown in 2013.

  In all that time I have visited the cave maybe 10 times. Spelunking was the most exhilarating visit. Make sure you check out the tour offerings online https://www.nps.gov/maca/planyourvisit/gocavetours.htm well before your visit and reserve a place. If you wait until your visit you will probably have a hard time getting past the cathedral.

  All the other visits were spent enjoying all the other things there are to do at Mammoth.

  First and foremost is the camping. Mammoth has a campground adjacent to the Visitors Center which is basic except for two sites. There are reservable as well as walk up sites. A store, showerhouse, laundry and post office are co-located at the front of the campground and there are toilet facilities in the campground. I used the access points in the campground to hike some of the trails and walk to the visitors center.

  An aspect that I have just recently started exploring are the several dispersed camp sites throughout the park. These are free but you must check in at the Lodge before hiking to them. A good , waterproof map is key.

  In addition at Maple Springs on the far side of the Green River Ferry ( yes, there is a cool little two car ferry) is the Maple Springs horse and group site camping area. Nice basic, shaded area with trailheads in the area.

  Now that you have found your home for your stay what to do?

  Kayaking/watercraft, fishing: several companies work the Green River. If you brought your own craft they will usually meet you at the Green River Ferry parking area and transport you up river for a nominal fee. Check ahead at least a day so they are tracking you and can coordinate.

  Hiking, Trail Running, dirtbiking, , horse, Geocaching: My favorite trail run is from the main picnic area to the ferry, with several connectors. Just technical enough to keep you on your toes, definitely not a mountain but the hills and valleys give you good work out.

  The Maple Springs Trailhead is the major access point for all things backpacking and horse back riding. It even has a handicap accessible horse “loading” area which is wheelchairs friendly.

  If your going to geocache pre-save your coordinates and instructions cause there is no signal in the park. If you visit the restaurant at the lodge they have WiFi but it’s slloooowwwww. When we stay over I always try to do my site surfing first thing in the morning.

  If you are dirt biking check your trails, some are limited access.

  On our most recent visit we explored the new construction on the ferry trailhead. Pictures included.

  Not Mammoth related or affiliated but a few things you may want to try while in the area:

  http://www.kentuckywine.com/cave-valley-winery-at-park-mammoth-resort/

  Guns and wine, can’t get much more Kentucky then that!

  https://dinosaurworld.com/kentucky/

  Dogs allowed ;)

  http://kentuckydownunder.com/

  Educational and fun, who knew!

  http://mammothcave-adventures.com/

  You will drop some green here but it is a lot of fun!

  And there’s more ;) Happy Camping

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• 

  Dan N.

  Ranger

  Aug. 1, 2016

  Maple Springs Campground — Mammoth Cave National Park

  Small horse-friendly campground

  Half the sites are for horses so it’s a little more barn-like than I expected. Lots of trees but not all sites are shady. Small and simple, didn’t really do much here besides spend the night. If you don’t have a horse you might want to look elsewhere but really I have no complaints.

• 

  Shelly S.

  Legend

  May. 20, 2018

  Maple Springs Campground — Mammoth Cave National Park

  Spacey

  Ranger Review: Renogy Water Filtration at Maple Springs Campground Mammoth Cave NP.

  Campground Review: Maple Springs Campground is a horse and group campground in Mammoth Cave NP. From the main park you take the Green River Ferry across you guessed it Green River to the far side.

  Pro: this area is definitely less traveled than the main park.

  Con: you are sharing the trails with horse and bike ( not really a con but..)

  Pro: there are some good technical single track trails that take you into the “woods” AND there are free dispersed camping sites! Just check in with the main camp office first. Many, many interesting things to see.

  Con: got nothing

  Pro: the campground is well spaced out, horse trailer and horse friendly, pretty good shade. I am not a horse person so I can’t speak from that expertise. Plenty of room for groups, there was a Boy Scout invasion when we visited.

  Con: pit toilets…..

  Pro: direct trail access

  Con: pit toilets, though they are clean and well maintained

  Product Review: I packed the Renogy Water Filtration

  ****https://www.renogy.com/

  in my hydration bag no problem. . I would suggest pre-assembly due to a few small parts. There are three “main parts” after initial assembly. Intake hose with initial filter and float, the Renogy hand pump and the out put hose. (These are not the official terms, they are my laymen terms) I left the “flusher” at the campsite while hiking. You use it when you are complete with filtration to back flush the “core”.

  The only problem I had with the Renogy was handling all the components and three dogs and my cell phone for video capture;) Otherwise it was total ease of use!

  1: Place initial filter with float in your source water.

  2: place out put tube in your capture vessel

  3: pump handle until capture vessel is full and make sure your initial filter is not sitting in the bottom silt.

  I sampled my filtered water (yesterday) and have had no ill effects.

  A few things to note, I used a run off stream and filtered water from above the trail crossing (I didn’t want any extra trail apple or other flavoring). I have used other filters and water sources before and even with filtration sometimes the water doesn’t taste “pristine” but it’s still palatable. The stream I used was fresh rainwater from the night before and day of. Avoid stagnant water and water with obvious metal contamination. I’m no expert, so there are more tips, read up before extensive use.

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