Mammoth Cave Campground

Verizon speeds were fast enough to hit my plan cap of 50 Mbps download and 11 Mbps upload. Some TMobile coverage but I didn't run a speed test. AT&T wasn't usable. Verizon and T-Mobile signal taken with a roof mounted Pepwave antenna. The entire campground is wooded, so Starlink wouldn't be reliable.

The access road is in good shape. The NPS lists a fairly short trailer length limit on the website for the campground overall, but like usual it seems to not be based on anything. We got our 30ft rig in without incident, but the site had some trees that could cause issues with slides. Our specific site was ~70 ft long.

The tree cover makes solar not particularly useful. Just about everyone was running a generator but largely respected the 8am to 8pm hours. Dump station is nearby with potable water but only one hole.

The campground is within walking distance of various trails and the visitor center. The camp store has basics and a cheap laundromat.

Even though it would have been nice to have basic electric hook ups dispersed throughout the campgrounds, it was a nice stay in loop C. Seemed like everyone with an RV (including me with my 22ft travel trailer) adhered to the quiet hour rules so evenings were quiet and serene. Sites were decently sized for whether you had an RV or tent. Abundance of trees made it difficult/impossible for my Starlink to get good sky coverage. Decent amount of mosquitoes as well.

Site 54 in loop C was close enough to the bathroom/dumpster area so that trips to the building or taking out the trash wasn’t a long trek. Distance to Mammoth Cave visitor center was a nice walk. Proximity to the showers/laundry (located between the visitor center and the camp sites) wasn’t bad.

Bathrooms could do with larger stalls or doors so that I don’t have to walk out naked to grab my towel in front of possibly 2 others in their small stalls or others that might be waiting for a stall to open up. Laundry room just sites outside the women’s and men’s shower rooms where 3 washers and dryers sit. Dryer didn’t dry my clothes fully which was a bummer (didn’t have many clothes in the load to begin with) and the amount of fuzzy long legged spiders crawling around while I read a book waiting for the laundry was slightly unsettling.

Otherwise, walking trails around the national park were great. Big inclines and declines in certain spots; ended up hiking 4 miles which tuckered out the dogs. Highly recommend doing the historic (or any permutation of it) cave tour while there. Was a great learning experience to see how large and small the cave could get and the history behind it.

We stayed here two nights in Aug 2023. Site 51 was recommended for solar, but we found it to be less than ideal. Best bet is to have a generator for power, or have mobile solar panels you can use to get better sun. Also, site 51 had a lit path directly to the restroom, and my wife overheard the couple across the street from us complaining we had taken their path to the restroom, and we didn't leave any space on the asphalt of our site to get through. No kidding. Someone should read about campground etiquette where you don't walk through other people's sites anyway. Oh well. Never had an issue with them otherwise.

All sites are paved. Tent sites appeared to be very level with gravel bottoms. RV sites were plentiful, albeit very short. If you have less than a 30 foot camper, you should be okay. Otherwise, recommend staying elsewhere. Site 51 was a pull-thru site, and it was hard enough to get into. Backing into, pulling into, or pulling out of other sites may be a challenge for 30+ feet rigs. There were a few sites that appeared to be longer. Site 66 was decently long, and site 77, 80, 82, and 90 all appeared to have enough room for larger rigs.

Water was a little tricky to get. Make sure you get it at the dump station before pulling into the camp. There are water spigots in each campground, but they're not easily accessible unless you walk up with a few jugs. The water spigots were also a bit tricky. You had to use one hand to hold down a pressure relief valve, and then hold a larger handle valve down to allow water to flow. Unless you grow a third arm and hand or have help, getting water in jugs is going to be difficult.

The campground itself was very well kept. The price they charge for admission to the cave enables that. The cave itself was very large and had some neat history to it. Several lengths of tours are available, and buying tickets ahead of time is highly suggested due to how soon they sell out. Keep in mind the park is very busy.

For things to do other than see the cave and visitor center, you could bring a bike and ride any number of miles on the various trails. I don't advise riding on the road as there isn't a shoulder on the roads through the park...and nobody wants to be a statistic for riding on the road and getting hit when there's a perfectly good bike trail 30 feet off the road. My wife and I also checked out an older cemetery that was within the park that had people interred from the late 1800s. We also found a few WW I graves, where the sorrow felt by the family over the loss was felt in the epitaph on the headstones. Various Ranger led programs were offered, and we found the Rangers to be well informed and congenial.

Towns with groceries and fuel are reasonably close. There's a Family Dollar and Dollar Tree in Park City, and a Dollar General with some produce and meat products right across the street. Funny how they all seem to congregate together.

Noise in the park was minimal with a few folks running their generators. Note this park has zero hookups.

I'd stay here again, but in another site.

Before arriving at Mammoth Cave, we were fully prepared to have zero cell service. But we were pleasantly surprised that we actually had decent Verizon service! The bathrooms right next to our site were also equipped with lights, real mirrors, soap, and a hand dryer, also things we haven’t seen at many other National Park campgrounds.

The only downside to dry camping is also the thing that makes the sites nice: the tree cover. We didn’t get much solar in the four days we were there, so had to be careful about our power usage. But the tree cover was great, and our site was even level. Definitely a trade-off we’d make again!

The campground is an easy walk to the store and to the Visitor’s Center. We loved the options for recycling (also something we don’t see very often). Town isn’t too far away if you need groceries or gas. Definitely make your cave tour reservations as soon as you know you’re traveling to Mammoth Cave (the park is free but cave tours aren’t). We did the four-hour, four-mile Grand Historic Tour and would absolutely recommend it.

Four stars for noise because the campground was absolutely packed when we stayed over Memorial Day weekend, and folks were being quite festive late into the night. But overall not so bad.

We didn't do laundry or take showers, but both of those services are available behind the camp store. There's a change machine that takes $1 and $5 bills. At the time we stayed in late May 2023, showers were $1.50 for four minutes and thirty seconds; additional time can be added for 30 seconds per quarter. Didn't make a note of the laundry prices.

If you haven't seen it before, there's a trick to the fresh water filling station (located next to the camp store and dump station before entering the campground; also others spread around the campground). Attach your hose and then pull down on the nozzle, like a bath tub. We needed help from the ranger to figure it out, and I think she planned to put a sign up to describe the process for others.

Verizon: 85.5 Mbps up, 1.0 down
AT&T: not enough service to run a speed test

Good Campground very close to the visitor center. Our campsite 56 was pretty level and easy to back into. Even though our campsite was somewhat small and a bit close to the next site, as we looked through the campground, many sites were spaced further apart. The campground was well cared for.
We did a cave tour that was great and the Park rangers were helpful. While people used generators, it wasn’t that loud and everyone stuck to the quiet hours.

We enjoyed several days here in March. Sites are nicely space but most were empty this time of year.
We had a pull through site but the pavement was curved, short and between trees so a big rig would not fit here. The sites are quite variable in size and how level they are so check specific site reviews if concerned about this.
Adequate showers and laundry are not new, but clean. Dump station and potable water are available. WiFi at the outside the camp store and visitor center was helpful. I had 2 Verizon bars at my site and could make and receive calls there but our site was more elevated than many.
Make your cave tour reservations ahead of time as they are largely sold out on the day of the tour.

I love off-season camping, lots fewer people and without leaves on the trees, I was able to get enough power using my solar panels. Summer would be impossible to get charged.

Sites are pretty large and have nice separation. The showers are adequate, it takes what seems like a minute of your time for them to get warm. Flush toilets, lots of pull-through sites. During the off season there is a loop closed, I think it was called D loop it has 40 sites.

I was able to find a hole in the trees for decent Starlink connection. I had no cellular connection with Google FI, T-Mobile. Our site was close enough to the camp store that I could get a connection from the park wi-fi, though it dropped alot, but sufficient to do email.

The park is amazing, lots of good hiking from the campground. Camp sites are half off with the Lifetime Senior Pass and it also gives you half off of cave tours for one person. With a family, it would get expensie quickly doing the cave tours. We did the Heritage cave tour and it was great! The cave is incredible, not like any cave I have been in before, but still beautiful.

The big drawback is the generator usage. My opinion is everyone ought to figure out a way to function for at least 24 hours without running a generator. Also people lack respect for the generator hours and there was no enforcement of the hours, which are from 8 to 8. First morning, the guy across the street started his up at 6 am!

All in all a great stop.

This campsite is very close to the visitors center, and close to a park convenience store for the basics. This campground has coin op showers as well as flushing toilets. There is also a place to fill water jugs. Our campsite had a fire pit and picnic table, as well as a good place to put a tent.

Some sights are more private than others. Luckily ours only had one neighbor. We saw deer roaming the campsite and woods every morning.

We opted to stay at the Mammoth Cave campground instead of Houchin Ferry at the last minute - we generally try to find less crowded options, but despite being nearly full, this campground was very peaceful and didn't feel crowded, and we had 9am tours booked so it was nice to be close to the visitor center. All booking after 4:30 has to happen via recreation.gov, so you may want to do that while you have cell service if coming in late afternoon. Site 64 is level, although not one of the longer pads (we have a truck camper, plenty of room for that). Concrete picnic table, walking distance to a very clean and upgraded bathroom and we walked back and forth to the campstore and the visitor center for tours, although less walky types might opt to drive. Showers at the campstore were not bad, 4.5 minutes for $1.50. There is also laundry. Decent enough cell service (Google Fi).

The tours of the cave are great, definitely worth the time and $$. But book ahead! Even being there in October, they were sold out by 9:00am. We did the Historic Tour and loved it. Also check out coming in or leaving via the Green River ferry if you don't have an RV or trailer. Truck campers and cars allowed, and although it's a very short ride, it's pretty cool and a lovely drive up the other side out of the park (no fee to ride).