Reviews

Scout Olavarria

First time camping this place was perfect, very chill, a lot of great hiking, and off grid camping spots near by. Its very deep in the woods with absolutely no service so send text down by the main road. Bathrooms and showers were very clean and the showers had great hot water. Seem like there's only one bathroom though for the whole campsite.

Steven Martin

Camping has become mostly rvs and generators so don’t expect peace and quiet in nature despite this extremely remote location. My phone was on SOS mode so getting directions was impossible until heading back toward the little town. But the hosts were friendly and directed me to two amazing trails deep in the wilderness which I would have never considered! Clean sites. Strange to not have a dishpit for cleaning up after cooking. Very nice to have hot showers.

Rebecca Rader

A little gem of a campground! Conveniently located and beautiful. Bath house shower stalls are OK, bathrooms could be better, the staff and the price cannot be beat, however! I have a group event every year here with 50-65 attendees and we just love it!

Geoffrey Davis

Cave Mountain Lake is a wonderful little campground that I have been going to since I was 2 years old. I am 65 now, and I still love it. The campsites are well kept, and the volunteer camp hosts are great. The beach and the lake are awesome, however the old bath house at the lake is run down and the showers are closed. I asked about this, and it seems that they have abandoned the idea of fixing this up, due to sand clogging the drains. That is just not acceptable. There are bath houses at every beach along the oceans, and they have a lot more sand than the little bit at Cave Mountain Lake. They just need to put in new drain lines with access points to run a presssure washer to clear out the new lines periodically. I am confident that the Forrest Rangers or even the volunteer hosts could perform this task. The only showers currently available are in the camping area, and that is just not fair for day use only customers, or the regular campers. Also the old water fountains at the lake and in the picnic area are inoperable, as well as 2 bathrooms in the picnic area. Please put in a request for funding for these necessary repairs to the Trump Administration and Make Cave Mountain Lake Great Again!

Meg c.

Really nice place to swim and picnic. We did not camp. Be aware if you put the lake into Google maps it will try to bring you to the opposite side of the lake And you will probably pass the entrance to the park. It took us to a very bad gravel road. Instead of going that way we just went back to the park entrance for the campground. The people behind us told us they had the same issue. it says at the gate you have to pay the day is fee but there was no one at the booth because we were after hours. We paid using the envelope that was available for camping because there was nothing else to pay with. People behind us did the same thing. When we got to the lake we noticed another set of envelopes for the day use area. There are different color. As of the time of this review, the price of stay use per car was $8. Near the lake, there's this really beautiful log cabin pavilion that looks to be big enough for a wedding or reunion, for reservation only. We had our dog with us at the lake, we just kept her in the grassy area and it seemed dog friendly.

John Quinlan Short Videos

Glad to have found this rustic, quiet campground. Staff Ronnie and Melissa work hard to keep it up very well. Rest rooms and showers were good. They do a great job. Several things appealed to us: It's quiet, and most of the sites are well laid out and pretty private. The stream flowing through the whole campground is beautiful. The lake and swimming area is scenic and a good place to cool off. Fishing specifically for kids till June 15th to give them a chance at catching nice-sized trout. After that all ages can fish. Several good hiking trails. We enjoyed just taking walks, biking around the property, and just chilling around the campfire. There is a large, beautiful log picnic shelter built in the 1930's. It was easy to see why this has been a popular family destination for decades. We were glad to disconnect from cell service for a few days of rest and quiet, and some reading. There is very sporadic cell service in certain spots, according to one camper I spoke to. We had no reception, but we did not mind. We look forward to going back when we can.

Cassie Ware

Wow, and I mean Wow! I can't believe I have lived 40 minutes from this hidden gem for most of my life and this past weekend was my first trip. I always prefer national forest campground over privately owed. Nationals' are more primitive and offer a more authentic camping experience. There is a creek that runs throughout the campground and almost every site is able to hear the peaceful sounds of the running water. There are a few small bridges around the grounds/roadway. There are plenty of trees and nature hasn't been terribly disturbed by the creation of the campground. There is little to no cell service so you can detach and enjoy nature. It had a perfect little lake with a small beach. The lake was beautiful and the water was freezing. The nearby creeks feed the mountain water stright into the lake so no matter the time of year its always cold. My husband went for a swim and many children seemed to enjoy it. I saw multiple salamanders or tadpoles/frogs swimming around. There was also plenty of fish jumping and I would love to fish once its allowed again. Currently in May 2022, only youth fishing is allowed but adults will be able to fish in the middle of June. It is a trout stocked lake. There are also plenty of picnic tables near the lake area to have lunch or use the stationary charcoal grills. There is also a large covered area that can be rented for events, we saw a wedding while we were there. At the campground the bathhouse and restrooms were all very clean and kept. Only 1 of the 3 restrooms had soap and paper towels but all very clean. They had a cleaning schedule that worked well and didn't impact our plans at all. The location of the restrooms are placed very well and no site it too far of a walk. There is only one actually bathhouse which offers parking if you wanted to drive. There are only 4 showers for the campground but it seemed to be enough...1 handicap and 3 normal. The sites themselves were all very shaded, well equipped, and spacious. We walked around many different sites that weren't occupied and none received direct sun. Some had times were it would get sun but all seemed doable. I don't think any site would disappoint me. That being said I loved my walk in site and would definitely choose a walk in again. Most sites could accommodate multiple tents. Each site had a table and fire ring with some type of grilling grate, some sites had different grates. They all had a second small table for food preparation and to place a small charcoal grill. They also had 3 lantern poles or everysite, some poles were movable. The tables had s taped notice about feeding bears and other wildlife and it advised that all coolers and even charcoal would need to be stored inside the tent or vehicle. The campground also had rules on how long generators could run and honestly I never heard the first one. It was so peaceful everywhere. There was a hiking trail which seemed to be well trimmed and kept. We didn't walk very far in but plan to on our next stay. The campground hosts were very nice and inviting and clearly wanted to make sure everyone's stay was enjoyable. They let me know if anyone was causing issues, no matter the hour, they would help out. The only negative thing I have to say is the firepits/rings were very full of ash and needed to be cleaned out. This was the weekend before Memorial day so the season had just began and i could see it becoming a problem. I loved this campground so much and I would absolutely come back. I can't wait for my next stay!

Ivan Erway

Bring your own electricity, but the sites are maintained and there's rest rooms with running water. Not one of those campgrounds where you feel like you're visiting a trailer park. They keep it primatve and close to nature.

Meredith Moga

Super great campground! All the volunteer hosts were so nice and friendly and knowledgeable. We only stayed 2 nights but I wish we had planned to stay more! We hit the natural bridge while in town, the local caverns and went to some breweries in Lexington! This was definitely a hidden gem off the beaten path in this area with tons to do. We will definitely be back and stay longer next time!

Xiomara Sherlock

Great campground! Had a great time with my family and dog. Stay on site #1 and it was nice, large space, only site with two entrances, plenty of shade, not a whole lot of privacy but overall great spot.