Kentucky campground recommendations? (Lexington, Fort Thomas, Corbin: school, camping, live)

[stargazer1976]

We'll be starting in northern Kentucky (Fort Thomas)--we won't want to drive much more than a couple hours for a campground. Our friends are driving from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia so it would be great to drive a couple hours or less in their direction and meet up.

We're happy just to pitch tents. We do have young children, so a place with proper bathrooms/showers/playground, etc. would be good. Good hiking is a plus!

Any recommendations?

[CraigCreek]

The Kentucky Horse Park is just off I-75 in the scenic Inner Bluegrass thoroughbred horse farm country outside of Lexington, about an hour and a half south of Fort Thomas, and I-64 (from WVA and Virginia) intersects with I-75 just a few miles away. The Horse Park has all kinds of horse-related exhibits and attractions -the Museum of the Horse and the twice-daily Parade of the Breeds are must sees. Pony rides are available for the kids, while a horse-drawn trolley tour of the park's highlights is included with admission.

It's not exactly hiking, but lots of walking is possible here. The campground should offer everything you require but advance reservations are a very good idea.

[kygman]

Here's the information about the state's campgrounds from the state web site. Have a great trip!
Kentucky State Parks - Explore Camping (http://parks.ky.gov/explore/explore-camping.htm - broken link)

[stargazer1976]

Thanks for the replies! So helpful! I will definitely check out the horse-related place!

[kygman]

Glad to see somebody else who tent camps. I have a facebook friend in Washington state said they couldn't go camping for quite a while last summer. The microwave in the camper broke! lol

[CraigCreek]

The link given above requires users to go directly to the camping section - look under "all parks", and you'll find complete info. about the Kentucky Horse Park, which otherwise seems to be omitted from mention elsewhere in this online brochure. Very odd, given the Horse Park's prominence as the site of last year's World Equestrian Games, the status of its International Museum of the Horse as a Smithsonian affiliate, and the wide range of activities which go on here. It's really one of several jewels in the crown of the Kentucky state park system.

Camping prices are very reasonable, but as reservations can be made up to one year in advance, it would be ideal if you check out availability asap. Hope it works out for you and your friends and that you will enjoy your stay.

[InLondon]

Originally Posted by stargazer1976

We'll be starting in northern Kentucky (Fort Thomas)--we won't want to drive much more than a couple hours for a campground. Our friends are driving from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia so it would be great to drive a couple hours or less in their direction and meet up.

We're happy just to pitch tents. We do have young children, so a place with proper bathrooms/showers/playground, etc. would be good. Good hiking is a plus!

Any recommendations?

The campground at Cumberland Falls!! It's about 20 minutes west of Corbin. This is not in Northern Kentucky but you won't find hiking up in that part of the state anyway.

[Visvaldis]

Originally Posted by stargazer1976

We'll be starting in northern Kentucky (Fort Thomas)--we won't want to drive much more than a couple hours for a campground. Our friends are driving from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia so it would be great to drive a couple hours or less in their direction and meet up.

We're happy just to pitch tents. We do have young children, so a place with proper bathrooms/showers/playground, etc. would be good. Good hiking is a plus!

Any recommendations?

Just off the Mountain Parkway by Slade is Koomer Ridge Campground, in the Red River Gorge area. The campground is US Forest Service, has about 45 sites widely spaced apart. It's full of trees and quiet. Only about 3 sites have electric hook-ups, so the campground seldom has anything but tent campers. One clean bathhouse, but no playground. Hiking is great, many trails, but be careful because of cliffs. Much more hiking possibilities off of Tunnel Ridge Road (about 5 miles from campground). As most Kentucky campgrounds, be cautious of copperheads under rocks and logs, and poison ivy is everywhere.

[CraigCreek]

Visvaldis (and OP), while Koomer Ridge and the Red River Gorge are spectacular, those abrupt, high cliffs and drop-offs make it not ideal for small children, unless they are constantly kept under very, very close supervision. However, it's a wonderful place for families with school-age or older kids - just make sure any extra-lively children understand the need for caution, and don't let kids run ahead on the trails (or off the trails, either).

There are playgrounds at the Natural Bridge State Park campgrounds near Koomer Ridge, along with other desirable facilities.

[kygman]

You can call the campgrounds where you want to stay and see if there will be a need for reservations. Most of the time, unless you go on Memorial Day or Labor Day weekends, there are plenty of campsites.
I know this is more than a couple hour drive for you but if you want to plan a trip sometime for camping and hiking, check out the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. This is 170,000 acres between Kentucky and Barkley Lakes in western Kentucky. There are over 200 miles of hiking trails and abandon roads. LBL | Hiking Can't do much right now because all the flooding has closed just about everything off the main roads. But they have great campgrounds. We had a site reserved weekend before last (discount rates for reserving in April. ) Most of the campground we were going to was flooded.