Carter Caves State Park Campground in Kentucky on map
Carter Caves State Park Campground
The exceptional list of activities here outdoes the campground.
If you like a wide variety of activities concentrated in one area, Carter Caves is the place for you. Being honeycombed with numerous caverns is given away in its name. Visitors can tour them in varied fashion, from easy walking tours to down-and-dirty cave crawls. But there's more, as in 20 miles of hiking trails, canoe trips on lakes and rivers, fishing, boating, and horseback riding. With all this to do, you probably won't be spending much time in the campground, which is a mixture of desirable and less-than-desirable sites.
Luckily for tent campers, the campground is divided into two distinct sections. The main campground will make
you realize why you're a tent camper. A full 90 sites are laid out in subdivisionlike fashion. Many are too close together, though there are a few good shaded sites. Tent campers can ignore this area. Instead, they should head for the tall pines of the primitive area, whose 30 sites are laid out in a teardrop-shaped loop. The sites under the pines have a lush, grassy understory that is appealing but does compromise privacy. The sites on the outside of the loop are more spacious and slope down the side of the ridge. Toward the back of the loop are the less-delineated but larger sites. Two bathhouses and several water spigots serve the campground. A small camp store has limited supplies.
Carter Caves Campground is open year-round, filling only on nice weekends during high summer. A unique attraction of visiting here is cave-touring during the cold season, as the temperature in the caves stays the same year-round— an advantage on a hot or rainy summer day. Three primary tours are available for campers. The Cascade Cave Tour, about a mile in length, is highlighted by a visit to an underground waterfall inside the cave. The X Cave, which contains the park's largest and oldest cave formation, is named after the shape of its passages; its tour is one-quarter mile long. The most historic cave is Saltpetre, named for the saltpeter that was extracted from it and used to make gunpowder during the War of 1812. This is also the coldest cave in the park. On weekends, cave tours take off about six times a day. Get your tickets at the Welcome Center. Rangers also lead rough, strenuous crawling tours that pass through tight, wet places. Bring a flashlight, wet clothes, and kneepads for these. In summer you can tour the Bat Cave, where thousands of bats make their home in winter. This is also a rugged tour.
Aboveground ranger programs include singings, ice-cream socials, folk-tale telling, and nature walks.
The park prides itself on many guided tours aboveground. Take a horseback ride from the riding stable. Rangers lead canoe trips on Smoky Valley Lake, providing the boats and interesting information about the park. Fishing and pedal boats are also available for rent on the 40-acre impoundment, which offers angling for largemouth bass, crappie, and bluegill. Rangers also lead canoe trips down Tygart's Creek.
You can entertain yourself on some of the 20 miles of trails that course through the rugged land. Shorter paths lead to natural bridges, arches, and rock formations. The longer Carter Caves Crosscountry Trail makes a 7.2-mile loop. Even longer is a 10-mile loop through Tygart's Forest on the Kiser Hollow Multiuse Trail.
More citified pastimes include lounging by the swimming pool, putting on the nine-hole golf course, and playing miniature golf. You might need a little of this conventional relaxation after touring the natural features of Carter Caves.
Getting to Carter Caves State Park Campground
From Exit 161 on 1-64 west of Grayson, take US 60 East 1.4 miles to KY 182. Turn left on KY 182, and continue 3 miles to a left turn into the park.
GPS COORDINATES N38° 22.652' W83° 7.527'
Key Information about Carter Caves State Park Campground
ADDRESS: 344 Caveland Dr., Olive Hill, KY 41164-9032
OPERATED BY: Kentucky State Parks
CONTACT: 606-286-4411, parks. ky. gov ; reservations: 877-444-6777, reserveamerica . com
OPEN: Year-round
SITES: 30 primitive, 90 water and electric
SITE AMENITIES: Picnic table, fire ring; some have water and electricity
ASSIGNMENT: First come, first served and by reservation
REGISTRATION: At campground check-in station
FACILITIES: Hot showers, flush toilets, laundry, camp store
PARKING: At campsites only
FEE: $16-$19 tent, $23-$33 others
ELEVATION: 900 feet
RESTRICTIONS in Carter Caves State Park Campground
II Pets: On 6-foot leash only
¦ Fires: In fire rings only
¦ Alcohol: Prohibited
¦ Vehicles: None
¦ Other: 14-day stay limit
