Dog Creek is our go-to spot for lake camping, and we return every year. It's a smaller campground, less crowded than others on Nolin Lake, and has direct access to the water from many sites. We like the privacy and seclusion of Dog Creek, but our city friends got a bit bored. The only activity offered is the lake, and we spent 3 afternoons floating in the cove at the beach, which wasn't enough to keep their (overactive) grandson entertained. Next time we return to Dog Creek we'll bring the right kind of company who know how to kick back and chill at a campground way out in the country. - Flying Mantis

We really loved the views from most everywhere in the park. Each campsite was clean and spacious. Each is equipped with water and electric except for a few tent sites. People brought their boats and there was easy access to putting them in the water. There's a lovely beach we did not take advantage of swimming there. We found it very comfortable, quiet and people were very friendly. We would strongly recommend this location to people but be aware there is no cell reception. You would want to come well-equipped with supplies. - John-Jean

An older Corps park. Many sites not very level. Quite tight, compared to other Corps parks. In need of some basic maintenance (doesn't look like grass has been cut in weeks). Mostly locals who camp here often, and all seem to know each other, but lots of families and well behaved kids.
Not many sites that are big rig friendly, and a dump station that is very difficult to get in to. (We found it easier to just use our porta tank).
We generally prefer the COEs, but won't return to this one. - Mark&Jane

Great site - 3 bath houses, all sites very long. A lot of folks bring their boat and in many cases room for RV and boat on site. Picnic table, fire ring. Sites have great level portion - but while most are long, not all are level across the length. Great use of trees. Several sites in A loop immediately next to Nolin reservoir shore. Easy access from I65 or Bluegrass Parkway. For RVs of any size. Every site has dry gravel patio as well. - KB Farms

We pulled into Nolin Lake state park expecting great things. Mostly, we got them. The site was only gravel, with a lot of prickers around it, making it difficult to walk around with camp shoes (Crocs or sandals). The site was nice and long though, with plenty of space for our 35ft fifth wheel, and even enough space to pull our 20ft truck in at the front, which is a rarity among most campgrounds. There was no campground Wi-Fi plus weak cell service, and, me, being very attached to my technology, was disappointed. Do not let that affect your idea on this park... that was just me. Went to campground showers for most nights in fear of our gray tank filling up (no sewer hookup) the bathhouses and bathrooms were VERY well-kept, and we enjoyed long, hot showers with flawless temperature control. AMAZING PARK WILL RETURN. - Patty03

Our third year visiting Nolin Lake SP; it has become an annual trip for us because of the draw of the serenity of the lakefront sites. This is a small park, with nicely kept grounds, in an out-of-the-way location. We like the fact that the park has restricted the boat parking to the parking lot, rather than them being scattered all along the roadways. I understand that's not as convenient for those with boats (I guess...), but it sure improves the character of the park. There is NO AT&T mobile signal at site 21; Verizon does work. OTA TV will get a few channels at night, with our new TT having a signal booster (the previous unit received nothing). Webb's Grocery is 3 miles away for necessities. Camp office sells ice and firewood (and laundry soap...of all things...they don't have any W/D... weird). There is a boat rental facility called Moutardier Marina (prunounced Moody Deer ;-) on the other side of the lake that is very affordable for pontoon rental and is about a 20/25 minute drive from the campground. There are also a handful of little country diners on that route. For the quality of the site, with waterfront view and access, with W/E hookup for under $30/night, clean facilities and nice folks, we think Nolin Lake is hard to beat. - fastalker64

This turned out to be a great time of year to visit. The price reflects a "By One Get One" discount. The lake was beautiful even though it was not yet at summer pool, plus the trees were not leafed out yet so we had a nice view of the water and rock formations. This must be on a flyway, we woke up to so many different bird songs every morning. The sites are spacious and our site was level. Our fire pit was full of ashes but someone came out right away to empty it for us. Also, the trail head is very close by, nice hiking. Only (minor) drawback is that we had no AT&T service, which is to be expected. You can get service about 3 miles up the road. - janci

Love our 2 night stay here! Waterfront sites are great and we had excellent weather to make it an overall great experience. Will definitely be back! - B and V travels

Would have rated excellent if it had sewer. But restroom was close. Would have been nice if showers had curtain between actual shower and changing area to keep water out of that area. This site is 85 feet long and easy to pull through. Great view of lake. Did get good Verizon cell and MIFI. Also able to get DirecTV satellite connection. - phyllen

I frequently use COE campgrounds, but this one will not be on my return list. It isn't a bad one and would do OK for week-end of family camping. For me, there were too many annoying, pet peeves negatives. First, the interior roads are laid out like a go-cart track: circled, narrow, and curvy. Big rigs can maneuver on them, but it is best to pay attention. There were overhanging tree branches along some parts of the roads and over some sites. Most sites have some degree of sloping; although, none are drastic. The space between sites is less than most COE parks. The hook-up locations are not standard. My site had power on one side and water on the other. All of the lake side sites lack utilities. The noise from someone doing weed eating started at 7:45 am. The roads leading to the park are what would be called "back roads". They are narrow, without a shoulder, hilly, and a chore to drive on with a rig of size. At the time of visit, about half of the park sites are closed due to current administration budget shortages, but that would not be the campground's fault. Now on the plus side: The location is scenic and the sites are long with a nice picnic table and fire ring. There is some nice playground equipment. The bath houses (there are several) are a bit better than average. Utilities were good. 3G cell was 3 bars. Satellite signals would depend on the site due to trees. The rate is based on an A.T.B. Access Card discount. - RLM

Stayed at this park with a group of friends. These are equestrian/group sites and about a 1/2 acre each. There were several groups and several single families spread out over the generous sites. The large sites are very private and we had no trouble with a travel trailer, two tents and 4 cars on a single site. The loop is paved and there are generous parking areas for horse trailers and trucks. There are several adjacent hiking and biking trails as well as a charming dirt road down to an old Baptist Church in the woods. There was minimal evidence of horses but abundant wildlife. This is 20 min and a ferry ride away from the Mammoth Cave visitor's center and cave but it feels like its 100 away. RVs cannot cross the ferry so must come in across other roads. The toilets are well maintained pit toilets and there are no showers. I assume they would let us dump in the main campground but its over an hour drive to get there without using the ferry. Everyone was impressed with this little gem and we plan to be back. - Dennchristen

Great stop for cave tours. Dry camp only, but plenty of water faucets and restrooms nearby. Lots of trees, no satellite service. Spotty cell service. Lots of firewood stacked throughout the campground, free for the taking. It takes an effort to find a level friendly site. - rvrrat520

Great spot for staying while exploring Mammoth Cave. Campground is a short walk from visitor center where all guided tours of the cave start.

If you are into birding there are many different species you can watch from your campsite. There are also miles hiking trails but make sure you take an underground cave tour. We've taken two. and hope to to back and take another.

There are no hookups so if you need AC or water at your site then check the other campgrounds in the area. Just remember it's a few miles onto the park so you will need to drive in from other campgrounds.

During the season you will need to book your stay through reserveamerica.com. Off season (check with them for dates) you can usually just drive in and pick a site.

Sites are among the trees so there is plenty of shade on most sites.

Sites are packed stone and you will need to do some minor leveling on most sites if RVing it.

IMPORTANT!!! There is poison ivy growing on the trees at almost every site!!! Be especially aware if you have small children that may go near it.

This is a National Park so they wont do anything about it.

Campground has water, dump station, and a small general store.

I gave it a rating of 8 since there aren't hook-ups on the sites (although water and dump station are available) and there's poison ivy all over the place. - Old Radios

This NPS Park is really beautiful! It's dry camping at its best. Shade everywhere, quiet, clean, and friendly. Our 28' Allegro had enough room to maneuver the loops, but be forewarned, tree limbs are everywhere. Light scratching to your rig may occur. A $5 bundle of firewood bought at the camp store will last about an hour or so. No outside wood should be brought in due to the emerald ash borer bug. Didn't need the showers, but the price is now $3 for 10 minutes. Dump station and potable water are available at the entrance at no cost. 2 sites at the entrance are full hookup, but $50 per night. Lots are really large, all are paved. Quiet time 10pm to 6am was respected. - mjngerti

We stayed here while visiting Mammoth Cave National Park, about 15 minutes away. Access from the interstate is easy but the entrance road is somewhat steep when entering the park. The park is set on the side of a large hill with the parking spaces and roadways terraced into the hill. I liked the unusual layout. The roads approaching and exiting the park are asphalt. The interior roads are gravel. Our site had a large puddle in front of our door that required me to relocate slightly after it rained. The dump station on the exit road is located on the curb side, the wrong side for my trailer. I could connect with a long hose but the outlet on my trailer was on the high side, so that the tank would not completely drain. I had to exit the park then re-enter in the opposite direction so that the sewer connection would be on the downhill side. - R V Camper

Most of the sites were closed for repair prior to the Memorial Day weekend so we were in the lower very open sites closest to the interstate. Lots of grass and open spaces in this lower section (8-10 sites) but no trees or shade. Pull through the sites are easy to get in to and relatively level. Down side was the hwy noise all night and the noise from the animals in the on-site barnyard. I'm guessing the roosters started crowing, the ducks quacking like crazy and the donkeys braing starting at 2:30am (probably because of the high intensity yard lights they probably thought it was morning) were more than we could sleep through. Probably the upper part of the park, that was closed at the time, is much nicer and quieter. We stayed here to visit Mammoth Caves and the Abraham Lincoln birthplace and childhood home parks. We might stay again if we could stay in the upper section. - Corona-travels

I like this KOA but it comes with some caveats. Good things include wide enough roads to maneuver, nice pool and other activities for the kids, including a very worn mini-golf course. My only real hesitation is the lack of level sites. We stayed in one of the ten full hookup pull-throughs at the lowest level. I was able to level my 5er by lowering the nose landing gear fully. I don't like doing that, but at least I was able to get level. Some of the other campsites up the hill were laughable. Many slope both front to rear and side to side. Granted most of these were their smaller sites but still, do some leveling before graveling in these sites. We also rented one of their cabins for a few days and it was very nice for about $100 per night. Wi-Fi connected okay but seldom provided an Internet connection. Both Verizon and AT&T had good signals. There is road noise from nearby I-65 too. The KOA put on a very nice fireworks show on the 4th. I'd stay here again but be ready for leveling challenges. - Danno

Tiny, quirky, and delightful! This unusual property is being revamped by new owners. We scored last minute reservations here on a busy holiday weekend when all other campgrounds were overbooked and overpriced. The property is situated around tiny rock cabins, originally built in the 1930's. Full hookup RV sites are located between and behind the cabins. A large adjacent field also accommodates tent campers. Owner and his dog, Harvey, make the rounds regularly to stop and chat and make their guests feel welcome. He even let our buddy pitch a tent in our site for no extra charge. The property is a little overgrown at the far edges, and a couple of ancient campers are scattered about waiting for renovation. But all that adds to the oddball quirkiness of the place, which we loved! One of the staff gave an aerial show with his RC planes, a group of fire jugglers entertained us in the field at night, and there was a swell fireworks display for Memorial Day. It's cute, it's odd, and it's just our style. - Flying Mantis

This is basically a no-frills camp with only 30-amp service but it does have a catch-and-release fish pond and lots of space for kids and pets. WiFi was weak and could not be used by some devices. Boards were needed to assist hydraulic jacks in leveling our motorhome. Lots of trees requires careful positioning for satellite TV. Rules are charmingly fundamentalist and included requests to wear shirts and shoes, and to avoid profanity "as much as possible". A building was pointed out as the safest structure in storms, something all parks should do, and business cards were provided to insure 24-hour accessibility in emergencies. - Mtmoi

Extremely nice owners. Smaller park with fishing pond. A few longer term residents with more run down units. Stayed 2 nights. - sjwake

Very clean, neat and manicured. We had site #41 which is a pull through and, lucky for us, the 'porch' side was very big because there was an underground pipe between us and the next RV. It made it very comfortable. However, the RV on the other side of us was VERY close and it must have felt crowded for them. Site was just shy of level. Not bad. There was no cable and on-again, off-again Wifi. We got about 20 channels with OTA. Verizon cell signal was super weak. The staff are wonderfully friendly and helpful with information about the area. And, speaking of the area - it is beautiful! Mammoth National Park is just down the street from the rv park. We would definitely go back. - jomark

The park is staffed by very nice people but the sites are very close together. A motorhome parked next to us and I can reach out my window and practically touch their awning. Personally I would appreciate larger sites. - Kathib

Stayed during Memorial Day weekend. There were numerous activities planned for adults and kids. Live band on Saturday night & a memorial service on Monday to honor our service men & women. Park staff was very friendly and we had our choice of sites which we were escorted to, to make sure we chose one that would work. The pool, playground, common areas are clean and well maintained. - rracer5

This is one of those parks that greatly varies in site quality and privacy. We got very lucky and got into site 602 which is on the top of a hill on the southwest side of the property. There are a couple of permanent residences nearby but your patio side looks out onto nothing but mountains and trees. Nobody nearby made a bit of noise the two weeks we were there. It was like our own little home for a while and made this stay bearable. If you are staying more than a night it is worth it to drive around and see what's open. This site 602 was quite unlevel side to side but not a problem. That being said, most of the other sites here are just standard spacing with a few pull-throughs and back-ins. Many sites seemed very unlevel. The park itself just looks tired. You drive in past the most ridiculous looking decrepit mini-golf and it doesn't get better. The pool (granted not quite pool season in KY) was half full of thick green water. The buildings look like they are never used. You can tell there are a few permanent residents here that try their best, but this park really needs an investment injection to compete in today's market. The fact they charge a $4/day resort fee is laughable. Add that to the standard rate of $45 per day and it just doesn't compute. We did get a passport America discount for 5 days and a weekly rate that was slightly less. But the resort fee is fixed. There is huge potential here since this is actually located within the Mammoth Cave national park, I hope they improve. Water pressure on the hill was poor. Water pump required for showers. The staff were all very nice and helpful. Very easy access for any size rig. - leemhicks