Zilpo - Daniel Boone Nat. For.

Peaceful location.

Peaceful location.

Zilpo is a great campground, if not underutilized.

- Our RV site was well-paved and had fine gravel over the common area. There was a nice fire ring, a hook on a pole, and a picnic table.
- The restrooms and showers were clean with plenty of hot water (solar heated, so it's hot in the summer, and mild in the spring and fall).
- Most of the campground has poor cell service (AT&T, T-Mobile) but going up the hill from the check-in gate is a cell tower that provides excellent reception.
- The beach was not in great shape - the sand was littered with hard gravel that made walking barefoot painful - with the gravel extending well into the water. It was better to swim outside of the beach areas where it was much more sandy. The water was clean.
- The campground store was closed but set to open within a few days of our departure. There was a maintenance issue that deferred its opening. The closest store is 30 minutes away near Salt Lick. Firewood and ice are sold at the gatehouse, though.

I wish more amenities were offered at Zilpo. There are trails around but they are not advertised (compared to a state park). Sadly, the fire tower was never rebuilt although it would make for a nice observation platform (minus the shelter building).

Zilpo is a great campground, if not underutilized.

- Our RV site was well-paved and had fine gravel over the common area. There was a nice fire ring, a hook on a pole, and a picnic table.
- The restrooms and showers were clean with plenty of hot water (solar heated, so it's hot in the summer, and mild in the spring and fall).
- Most of the campground has poor cell service (AT&T, T-Mobile) but going up the hill from the check-in gate is a cell tower that provides excellent reception.
- The beach was not in great shape - the sand was littered with hard gravel that made walking barefoot painful - with the gravel extending well into the water. It was better to swim outside of the beach areas where it was much more sandy. The water was clean.
- The campground store was closed but set to open within a few days of our departure. There was a maintenance issue that deferred its opening. The closest store is 30 minutes away near Salt Lick. Firewood and ice are sold at the gatehouse, though.

I wish more amenities were offered at Zilpo. There are trails around but they are not advertised (compared to a state park). Sadly, the fire tower was never rebuilt although it would make for a nice observation platform (minus the shelter building).

Pretty good site and campground, but be advised that site H001 (and H002) are listed as "waterfront" but the water is not actually accessible from the site (there's a very steep cliff that leads down to the water). The grate for cooking over the fire pit was broken, also, but we had our own.

Pretty good site and campground, but be advised that site H001 (and H002) are listed as "waterfront" but the water is not actually accessible from the site (there's a very steep cliff that leads down to the water). The grate for cooking over the fire pit was broken, also, but we had our own.

This was my group's 10th year staying at Zilpo. The camp site are in my opinion the best because of the seclusion, maintained, and level. Cave Run Lake was walking distance from my campsite. Camp host was great and friendly.

This was my group's 10th year staying at Zilpo. The camp site are in my opinion the best because of the seclusion, maintained, and level. Cave Run Lake was walking distance from my campsite. Camp host was great and friendly.

Our cabin was super cute, comfortable & exactly what we wanted. Getting the key though involved calling 2 different numbers & took about 20min. I don’t understand why the gatehouse was closed at close to check-in (230pm), but it was.
The lake was wonderful, although the rocks on the beach hurt our feet (my 7yr old actually cut his foot on one). We ended up wearing our flip-flops to swim in because the rocks continued far into the water. I'm unsure as to why they didn't use river rocks or pebbles instead of driveway grade gravel.
Also the camp store was closed, which we weren’t informed of, so that wasn't exactly convenient. They were doing some kind of renovation to the stairs, so it wasn't short notice for them. I even rechecked the website but it still said it was open for business.
Most of the bathrooms were out of order as well.
Overall, it was a good "primitive camping" experience, but it definitely could have been better. I hope things are improved by the next time we visit!

Our cabin was super cute, comfortable & exactly what we wanted. Getting the key though involved calling 2 different numbers & took about 20min. I don’t understand why the gatehouse was closed at close to check-in (230pm), but it was.
The lake was wonderful, although the rocks on the beach hurt our feet (my 7yr old actually cut his foot on one). We ended up wearing our flip-flops to swim in because the rocks continued far into the water. I'm unsure as to why they didn't use river rocks or pebbles instead of driveway grade gravel.
Also the camp store was closed, which we weren’t informed of, so that wasn't exactly convenient. They were doing some kind of renovation to the stairs, so it wasn't short notice for them. I even rechecked the website but it still said it was open for business.
Most of the bathrooms were out of order as well.
Overall, it was a good "primitive camping" experience, but it definitely could have been better. I hope things are improved by the next time we visit!