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4.0
3 votes

Mammoth Cave Campground

Mammoth Cave Entrance Rd, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky 42259 USA

$
Budget
Open Now
Thu 12a-11:59p
  • Independent
  • Pet Friendly
  • Not Wheelchair
    Accessible
  • Public
    Restrooms
  • No Wifi
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“RV park and campground in Mammoth National Park!”

The Mammoth Cave Campground is ideal for visitors seeking an authentic national park experience while still having easy access to amenities, cave tours, and other park activities. This developed campground is located within ¼ mile from the visitor center and contains 111 primitive campsites with a mixture of tent only sites, group sites, tent or RV sites, and accessible sites. Rangers on duty in the campground kiosk are happy to provide information to make your stay a special adventure.

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Reviews of Mammoth Cave Campground

39 people have reviewed this location

Ratings Summary

4.8 Access
4.9 Location
4.8 Cleanliness
4.4 Site Quality
4.3 Noise

Cell Coverage

Verizon 4G/5G

Confirmed by 24 users | Last reported on November 05, 2023

AT&T 4G/5G

Confirmed by 13 users | Last reported on November 05, 2023

T-Mobile 4G/5G

Confirmed by 6 users | Last reported on November 05, 2023
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Reviewed by
Campendium

December 03, 2015
Rated

We spent a single night here so we could visit the cave. We had a nice pull-thru site with lots of trees. There are no hook-ups, but there is a dump station and drinking water. It was an easy walk from the campground to the visitor center where the cave tours start. We visited in late October and the campground was nearly empty, but the cave is very popular, so a reservation during the summer months is recommended.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: -

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: 20

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

April 10, 2017
Rated

This open wooded campground was upgraded at some point to accomodate larger rvs and trailers, since a quarter or more of the sites are paved pull through. The spacing is good between campsites, but there is little understory, so you see to other sites. There are no hookups, but there is water available, dump station and bathrooms with NO showers. You have to go to the camp store for showers which are $3 for 10 minutes. There is a laundry room there too.

Since there are no hookups you are going to hear generators, which are a detraction for me. Since it was early April, not many people were in the park and few ran their generator for a short time. It might be very annoying in warmer weather since generator hours are from 6 AM to 10 PM. There is a small tents only site, away from the main campground loops. The leaves were not out, but I don't think this would be a place with good options for solar. If you have a portable unit, you might be able to capture patches of sun during the day.

The campground is a short walk or bike ride to the information center and where you meet your tour, get information or view the museum. There are several options for cave tours and only one option doesn't require a reservation. I suggestion you make your reservation days or weeks ahead depending on the time of year. When we left, which was early April, the next four days were sold out.

Grocery shopping in the area is abysmal. Save-a-lot is the biggest grocery store, which provides groceries at rock bottom prices with a limited selection. Bowling Green, a half hour, away has more options.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $10.00

Days Stayed: 3

Site Number: 74

4 Access
5 Location
4 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
4 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

September 11, 2017
Rated

Overall this is a very nice campground, especially for NPS. No hook-ups but there is water in the park and a dump station at the front.

In the mornings and evenings, deer would walk though the campground. Rangers came by every day to clean up an open sites.

It's a short bike ride or walk to the visitors center. There is also a nice bike path in the park.

We had one of the larger sites and no problem with our 30' trailer and truck.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $20.00

Days Stayed: 3

Site Number: 82

4 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
3 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

AT&T 4G

  • 27 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
April 03, 2018
Rated

We wound up stopping by in early April. Even though it was in the middle of spring break season and all Cave tour tickets were sold out for the week, getting a site was not an issue at all. The campground is nice a spacious with paved pads, many which are pull through. No hook ups, all though they did offer one full hook up site for $50 a night.

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roadtripper886912 would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $20.00

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: 82

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

AT&T 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

April 23, 2018
Rated

If you're here to see the caves, you can't get closer, unless you stay in the hotel connected to the visitor center. The visitor center from which all the cave tours leave is an easy 5 minute walk from the campground. Be sure to reserve your tour in advance as they sell out, especially over the weekends. The campground, on the other hand, was mostly empty when we visited in mid-April and we had our choice of sites with very few neighbors. The ranger directed us to loop C (sites 54-90) because it had plenty of pull-throughs. We thought our site (#85) was ideal because it was a pull-through, it was perfectly level, and had enough break in the tree cover to allow decent solar generation with our portable panel. The area around the fire ring did get a little soggy when it rained, however. The site separation was nice and the campground is fairly densely wooded, though you can definitely see all the neighbors.

In addition to the cave tours, the campground has direct access to the hiking & biking rail trail that runs roughly parallel to the main park road. There are several different small hiking trails around the visitor center that can be done individually or linked together for a longer trek. There are tons of other, longer trails in the park, but the "backcountry" trails are all on the other side of the Green River and can only be accessed by using the Green River Ferry (which has weight limits and may not accept RVs in times of high or low water) or entering the park from an ancillary road. If you're here mostly for the longer hiking, there are several campgrounds in the backcountry area that would work better.

Cell service was very poor (1 bar 4G on AT&T) but we were able to use the free wifi broadcast from the campground office in our site. It was definitely faster in the early mornings when loads were less, and would never be enough to stream, but should be enough to check weather and email even if the campground is full. The camp store is pretty well stocked with snacks and emergency food items and there's a post office in the camp store building. I think I'd give this 5 stars if the bathrooms had showers.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: -

Days Stayed: 3

Site Number: 85

4 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

AT&T 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

August 14, 2018
Rated

Campground is average, nothing special to remark. Wouldn’t camp here in anything bigger than 35 ft. We are 34 ft and barely fit. Most pull through loops are on the wrong side. Rest of facilities are dated and a little disappointing compared to other National Parks we have visited. The visitors center has an awesome interpretive section though. The cave tours are incredible though. It’s hard to fathom how large the cave system is. We did the historic tour which told the very interesting history of the cave. Would love to come back for a longer cave tour. Cell signal was very spotty.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $25.00

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: Loop B, site 38

5 Access
4 Location
3 Cleanliness
3 Site Quality
3 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

T-Mobile 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

October 21, 2018
Rated

We stayed at Mammoth Cave Camground for 5 nights in late October of 2018. The campground is first come first served during the fall and winter, and we had no problems finding an open spot. I’d guess the campground was only about 20% full during the time we were there.

All campsites are dry, no water or electricity, except for two sites near the campground entry station that offer full hookups. Those two full hookup sites go for $50 per night and may be designated for camp hosts during the busier summer months. During our stay, they appeared to be first come first served like all of the other campsites in the campground.

Our site, 71, was a perfectly level pull through with asphalt pad and generous spacing between the other sites in the loop. The heavily treed landscape created a welcomed feeling of privacy.

Each loop offered a clean, stocked and well maintained bathroom facility with flush toilets and running water. There were also potable water spigots in each loop for use in filling your RV fresh water tanks. There are centralized trash and recycle dumpsters located on the main drive in the campground.

The NPS Rangers managing the campground were friendly, knowledgeable and a pleasure to deal with. They did state that the campground is most always full during the late spring and summer months, so if you can’t make it here during the fall or winter, you would be wise to make advance reservations on www.recreation.gov up to 6 months prior to your desired arrival date.

The camp store, located just outside of the campground, offers a variety of snack and food items as well as some household and camp items in case you forgot anything. The same building that hosts the camp store also contains coin operated shower and laundry facilities. Both of which appeared to be clean and functional.

Aside from the caves, there are plenty of other activities to keep you busy during your stay. There are plenty of trails to hike, a nice bike trail that runs along the old Mammoth Cave Railroad line, fishing in the green river and endless wildlife viewing opportunities. No fishing license is required if you are fishing within the park boundaries.

Finally, and I cannot stress this enough, the Cave tours are an AWESOME MUST SEE attraction. As others have said in their reviews, the tours also sell out way in advance, so don’t wait until you get to the park to get your tickets. Just like the campsites, you can reserve your tickets well in advance of your arrival by visiting www.recreation.gov.

We did one tour each day, although you could conceivably do more than one per day. The tours we selected were each approximately 2 - 2.5 hours in duration, and each highlighted different areas, features and formations of the world’s largest cave system. Please be sure to read the descriptions of the tours before you purchase your tickets, because some of them require visitors to climb up a large number of steps and/or bend and contort your body to make it through small or awkwardly shaped cave passages. On our very first tour, one of the participants was literally in tears by the time they got just halfway up the stairs out of the cave. Most tour areas in the caves are lighted by dim electrical lighting, but there are some tours that are only lit by handheld gas lanterns. If you get a chance, I would recommend trying one if the lantern tours.

We found both Verizon and ATT cell coverage to range from poor, to nonexistent, throughout the park and campground, with most times only being able to secure 3G or 1X coverage. In the campground, with a Verizon JetPack and an external directional MIMO antenna, we were able to secure useable 4G service at approximately 10 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up.

All in all, we would absolutely recommend staying here. We thought the campground was nicely laid out, conveniently located and well managed and maintained.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $20.00

Days Stayed: 5

Site Number: 71

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

November 08, 2018
Rated

Nestled in the woods .Deer are very friendly.
Camped in a tent on Labor Day weekend not to loud but very full.
Bathrooms have only sinks and toilets .There is a "fee for use" shower at campstore also laundry and mail.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $20.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: -

5 Access
5 Location
4 Cleanliness
2 Site Quality
3 Noise
Photo of Campendium

Reviewed by
Campendium

April 04, 2019
Rated

There are many other accurate descriptions here so I'll just mention that there is also a USPS office inside the camp store building which is open with limited hours.

We were fortunate to stay on one of the two full hookup sites during the off season for half price ($25) with our Lifetime Senior Pass discount.

The campground was only 25% full for our entire week, about half tenters and half RVers.

We visited this campground from 03/28/19 until 04/04/19.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $25.00

Days Stayed: 7

Site Number: 91

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

AT&T

Photo of Campendium

Reviewed by
Campendium

July 18, 2019
Rated

Thinking that the campground would be crowed, we made reservation for site 22. There is no way to see the site and we took one of the few left. When we arrived we found site 22 unusable by an RV as it is on a steep upward slope (18 inch drop in 20 feet). The attendant was off duty so we picked an available site in the first come/first served area that was much better. The next morning we were allowed to switch our reservation fee over to site 56 but we ended up paying fees for two separate sites for one night.

There are four loops: A for tents only; B and D for first come/first serve and C for reserve-able sites. Most sites are pretty well spaced but a high percentage of the drive through sites have the usable space on the wrong side of the unit.

Toilets are flush. Pay showers at the the camp store.

There is free wifi at the Visitor Center. We were occasionally able to get that signal our camp site.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $10.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: 56

5 Access
5 Location
4 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

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Mammoth Cave Campground

Mammoth Cave Entrance Rd
Mammoth Cave, Kentucky
42259 USA
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Hours

Open 24 hours today
  • Sun - Sat: 12:00 am - 11:59 pm

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  • Unavailable
    Parking
  • Check
    Pets Allowed
  • Check
    Restrooms
  • Unavailable
    Wifi
  • Unavailable
    Wheelchair Accessible
  • Unknown
    Credit Cards Accepted
Affiliation
National park
Check In
12:00 PM
Check Out
11:00 AM
Group Tent Sites Count
4
Last Nightly Rate
10.0
Longest Vehicle Length Reported
38.0
Lowest Nightly Rate
10.0
Max Length
26
Max Stay
14
Season End
Nov.
Season Start
March
Sites Count
111
  • Check
    Paved Sites
  • Unavailable
    Full Hookup
  • Check
    Rec Facilities
  • Check
    Pull Through
  • Check
    Tent Sites
  • Check
    Dump Station
  • Check
    Big Rigs
  • Check
    Open Seasonally
  • Unavailable
    Age Restricted
  • Check
    Boondock
  • Unavailable
    Cabin Sites
  • Unavailable
    Dispersed Sites
  • Unavailable
    Equestrian Sites
  • Check
    Firewood
  • Unavailable
    Fulltime Residents
  • Check
    Group Tent Sites
  • Check
    Laundry
  • Unavailable
    Mobile Homes
  • Unavailable
    Permit Required
  • Check
    Potable Water
  • Unavailable
    Propane
  • Check
    Public Water
  • Check
    Pull Through RV Sites
  • Check
    Reservations
  • Unavailable
    RV Sites
  • Unavailable
    Sewer Hookup
  • Check
    Showers
  • Check
    Sites
  • Check
    Standard Tent Sites
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    Trailer Permitted
  • Unavailable
    Water Hookup
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