Carter Caves State Resort Park
Address: 344 Caveland Drive, Olive Hill, Kentucky 41164
Phone: (606) 286-4411
Maps: Park | Campgrounds | Trails
Website: parks.ky.gov/parks/resortparks/carter-caves/
Brochure: Download PDF
Description: Carter Caves State Resort Park is located in Carter County along Tygarts Creek. It is formed by Carter Caves, and nearby Cascade Caves, which were added to the park in 1959. On December 16, 1981, 146 acres of the park were designated as nature preserves. Bat Cave and Cascade Caverns State Nature Preserves were dedicated for the protection of the Indiana bat, mountain maple, and Canada yew, all which are endangered species.
Enjoy the great outdoors! The campground features 89 campsites with utilities, 8 equestrian campsites with utilities, and 30 tent sites without utilities. Two bunkhouses with six wooden bunk beds and electric give those without tents or RV an opportunity to “rough it” (bring your own bedding/linens). A dump station, and three central service buildings with rest rooms and showers available for campers use.
Carter Caves is a park that features a fieldstone lodge offering 28 rooms with full amenities, cottages, 18-hole putt-putt course, 9-hole golf course, full-service campground, and immense natural beauty. It has various cave tours available year round that displays and explains the wonders of the underground world. It also has seasonal horse riding stables. The park has over thirty (30) miles of hiking trails encounter seven (7) natural bridges throughout the park. Smokey Valley Lake is a 45-acre lake within the park. Anglers will find populations of largemouth bass, bluegill, catfish, and crappie in the lake. Carter Caves State Resort Park is well known for its splendor above and below ground.
Grayson Lake State Park
Address: Grayson Lake State Park Road, Grayson, Kentucky 41164
Phone: (606) 474-9727
Maps: Park | Campgrounds
Website: parks.ky.gov/parks/recreationparks/grayson-lake/
Brochure: Download PDF
Description: Grayson Lake State Park is located in two Kentucky counties, Carter and Elliott. Sheer sandstone canyons and gentle slopes are a featured quality of the 1,512 acres of Grayson Lake State Park Northeastern KY. The park’s site was a favorite camping area for former occupants: the Shawnee and Cherokee Indians. The beautiful rolling terrain of the park offers challenging play on Hidden Cove Golf Course, an 18-hole Signature Series golf course that encircles the lake. For an excellent adventure choose the hiking trails, which offer several species of ferns, mosses, and lichens, the flowering rhododendron, “lizard head rock,” and the unusual combination of beech-hemlock trees.
There is a launching ramp that provides boaters access to Grayson Lake. The 74.2-miles of shoreline range from gentle slopes to scenic canyons. Located 3 miles from the park, a marina has everything you need for a great day on the lake: rental fishing boats and pontoon boats, bait, grocery and rest rooms. Pick your spot under the stars in the spacious, 71-site campground. Utility hookups, a dump station, and two central service buildings with rest rooms, showers, and laundry facilities are available.
Greenbo Lake State Resort Park
Address: 965 Lodge Road, Greenup, Kentucky 41144
Phone: (606) 473-7324
Maps: Park | Campgrounds
Website: parks.ky.gov/parks/resortparks/greenbo-lake/
Description: Greenbo Lake State Resort Park is named for its central feature, placid Greenbo Lake, in which visitors love to fish. Spending the afternoon on a boat on this peaceful lake is a great way to relax. A lakeside swimming pool with a spiraling waterslide, hiking and horseback riding trails in the forest around the lake, and relaxing at the beautiful fieldstone lodge at this resort are all favorite activities. The Lodge has a 232-seat dining room serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Most of the 36 rooms feature private patios and balconies overlooking Greenbo Lake. Also in the lodge, the Greenup, Carter, and Boyd Rooms each seat 100 for meetings or events, and the main meeting room can accommodate 300.
The campground features 58 sites with utility hookups and 35 primitive sites. Three dumping stations, two central service buildings with showers and restrooms, and a grocery store guarantee camping convenience. The park has two picnic shelters in the beach area, and in the campground.
Cast away your cares at Greenbo Lake! This 225-acre lake is home of two state largemouth bass records! The lake also holds large bluegill, crappie, catfish, and trout. The park trails provide the perfect opportunity for hikers, mountain bikers and horsemen to enjoy the scenery of beautiful Greenbo Forest. Self-guided trails provide 25 miles of easy-to-difficult hiking, or marked for multi-use. Also, there’s a swimming pool adjacent to the lodge is for the exclusive use of lodge guests. A community pool features a water slide and a children’s area with a rain tree is located next to the lake.
Yatesville Lake State Park
Address: 2667 Pleasant Ridge Road, Louisa, Kentucky 41230
Phone: (606) 673-1492
Maps: Park | Campgrounds | Marina
Website: parks.ky.gov/parks/recreationparks/yatesville-lake/
Brochure: Download PDF
Yatesville Lake State Park is a recreational facility in the eastern part of the Kentucky, close to the town of Louisa, Kentucky in Lawrence County. The park occupies a peninsula on Yatesville Lake, an impoundment of Blaine Creek that covers 2,300 acres, has three islands, and averages 40 feet in depth. The park features an 18-hole golf course called Eagle Ridge; in 2014 Golf Digest magazine ranked the course #11 as the “Best Courses You Can Play in Kentucky.”
Relax in the scenic lakeside setting of Yatesville Lake’s campground. There are 27 campsites with utilities and 20 primitive sites – 16 ‘boat-in’ sites and 4 ‘hike-in’ sites, restrooms and showers, laundry facilities, and dump station. The “boat-in” sites are maintained by a service road and three restroom facilities are spaced alongside, but only your boat can get you to your site. The ‘hike-in’ sites are in the regular campground but set back into the woods with no electricity. Pets are allowed if restrained. The park hosts two launch ramps (marina & campgrounds) for better access to the lake. Yatesville Lake is well known for its cleanliness and you can rent pontoon boats from the marina to enjoy it to its full extent. Yatesville Lake is highly regarded for its bluegill, crappie, and bass fishing.