Mammoth Cave Backcountry Camping

Made a 3 day / 2 night trip on the Green River from Munfordville, KY to Houchin Ferry; the weather was perfect and we enjoyed the river.

The campsite itself was great. Some trash left behind by previous campers but the location was well away from the main trail and surrounded by peaceful woods. The trail to get to the site is also a horse trail and there were some tricky point where the trail was very muddy and torn up. We brought our one year old son and had him in a hiking backpack/carrier so that made traversing these muddy areas particularly hard. I was a little scared of losing my balance and falling with him in the backpack behind me. A more coordinated person might have a better time of it. We didn't encounter any horse back riders or other hikers so it was a very peaceful hike.

We hiked in from the Temple Hill trailhead, which was a short hike. While the trail is in really good shape, the signage to the campsites leaves a lot to be desired. When we arrived at our site, it was occupied by another party, although we had the reservations. They were supposed to be at First Creek 1, but went to the wrong site because of the bad signage. I am not the first person who has had this problem, so the sign issue has been going on for a long time and apparently the park has not bothered to take any steps to fix it. The trail sign at the junction of the McCoy Hollow and First Creek trails doesn't tell you which way to go for the campsites, although that would be the best place to put something that indicates which way you need to turn. There are two campsites here, First Creek 1 is to the left of the trail junction and First Creek 2 is to the right. The sign for First Creek 2 has fallen down and is propped up against a tree pointing the wrong way. Both campground signs are about 100 feet down the trail from the junction, so you have to walk a bit to figure out which site you need to go to. Also, the backcountry trail maps the park provides and this website have campsite listings that don't match the trail signage. The trail signs are marked as First Creek Campsite A and First Creek Campsite B, but the map and the listings on this website are shown as First Creek Campsite 1 and First Creek Campsite 2. It would be a great idea if the signage on the trail matched what is published on the maps and the internet, but I guess that would be asking too much for the national park to do. If the signage was fixed so backpackers would know which was the right campsites, I would have given it 5 stars, but the issues with another party taking our site and the bad signage only ranks a 3.

I took ulgy creek rd to trail head and creek was not ugly. Fun gravel rd with few ruts and washouts. Trail head had very little parking but was safe. Trail was completely flat until the last .25 headed down to campsite. Horse trail but not muddy. Only got a lil rock on the down hill part. Very easy trail that ends at camp right by the green river. Nice flat tent spot with fire ring and good hammock trees. The old Dennison ferry site is directly across the river from camp with a gravel road lots of night time traffic and music. Possible teenage hangout. Great spot but it isn't secluded. Still had a perfect night. Just don't expect to be alone. People will be right across the river. Other sites are much more private.

The park had a lot to offer. We spent three nights outback camping. The trails were easy to follow and the campsites were great. Definitely check out the museum in the visitors center and take the long tour in Mammoth Cave, it's worth it.

It was not just a walk-in-the-park hike to the campsite; it was a hike with mud and rocky portions, just like a small three-mile trek on the AT. Loved it!

We stayed at the Raymer Hollow campsite. The campsite was good, with a nice, flat, sandy area for pitching 2 tents. The cooking grate no longer lowers over the firepit. There was plentiful water down the hill in a small creek. On the north side of the park, many of the trails are shared with horseback riders and there are places where the horses have created social trails that may make it difficult to know where the original trial was. This is particularly true at the clearing where the spur takes off to the Ferguson campsite. If you are going north along the Blair Spring Hollow Trial, there are several takeoffs on the other side of the clearing that might be the trail. We had a difficult time being sure we were on the correct trail because the horseback riders have socialized a trail just to the left of the original, marked trail. The sign for the original takeoff of the trail has been knocked over and that part of the trails has started to grow over a bit.

Not a lot of people on the river ... we did 20 miles from Dennison ferry to Houchin ferry... the water level stayed below 10 the whole time we were there... 2 nights 3 days... great swimming too!!

Beautiful campsite with lots of interesting rock features. Small waterfall nearby. The tent area is nice and flat. Perfect spot for a peaceful night in the woods!

I reserved a spot at the Homestead backcountry camping location. As I followed the roads to the parking lot, there were no trail signs for the trail I was supposed to take to get there. After studying the map and determining the way I thought it was, I walked for about two miles find some landmarks, but still without a definite idea of where I was. I never found the spot. Pretty disappointing