Cumberland Falls Campground — Attraction in Kentucky

My husband and I stayed at campsite 44 within the Clifty Campground area. I had read some reviews that there was not any privacy at this tent campsite as the spots were against each other with no brush/trees in between sites and while that was true SOME of the sites within Clifty are more secluded than the majority. Site 49 is one of the two sites that will have complete privacy although if there is a gathering at the nearby shelter you would hear it. A trail exits close by as well. Other than that 49 looked like the best spot, hands down. A lot of tree cover. It's on a turnaround loop for cars though but I don't see, given the amenities, why anyone would driver down that way. Site 48 sits at the end of the narrow road through the bulk of the "on top of each other" sites and is very secluded but I didn't see a water spigot or electricity run to it if you're concerned about that. This one is the furthest away from the bathrooms obviously but next to 49 the most secluded. It also looked to be the biggest site with the largest area of flat ground. Most of the sites are gravel but this one seemed to have some grassy/worn areas to set up tents... several would fit at this site. The fire ring is kind of off to the side though, which I thought was weird and there wasn't a picnic bench like at the other sites. (Probably just moved by campers, I assume) You will have to carry your gear in about 25 feet or so as the site is past where the pavement ends and there are some large (although flat) rocks jutting up out of the ground in between the site and the road. Site 50 sits lower than street level and it's easy to miss it but it is closest to the playground, restroom facilities and the pool (which was not open for the season when we were there). There are no other campsites on either side though so if noise doesn't bother you this one would be cool. Surrounded on 3 sides by heavily wooded area. Site 44, where we camped had a small area jutting out over the trail below and although it sloped down a little we pitched our tent there and faced the door out over the cliff to make it seem more private. Water spigot worked great, forceful flow. Electric box had 4 grounded outlets and a cover... we took my electric car and it charged without an issue! There are old lights on the posts lining the road through the campground but none of them function so there is less artificial light the further away from the restroom building you get. Quiet time is at 11 and the only person that didn't obey that was the Park Law Enforcement Officer. He came to help some stranded campers with a dead battery and in the process fried something in his truck... he sat at the site next to ours, which was unoccupied, for HOURS having loud conversations on his cell phone and eventually a flat bed wrecker came to get his truck and backed in, back up beeper blaring, all the lights on, just loud as hell as those big wreckers are. They both talked loudly, over the sound of the wrecker, the whole time his vehicle was getting loaded. Thankfully that didn't take long but dang... it really affected the vibe of the first night we had there over the weekend. Clifty Campground was fairly handicap accessible aside from the bathrooms... the stalls are typical campground stalls... super small... none of them would fit a wheelchair and if a person needed a walker they'd probably need a spotter so they could leave the stall door open. One tiny step over ledge to the shower but other than that the campground was barrier free at every site from site 41 to 46 for someone that would be a in a chair. Other than the ding dong Park Officer it was a good weekend, just chose your spot wisely and bring your thickest sleeping pad (I took two)...

This review is for tent camping in Clifty Campground sites 40-47. Some comments/issues will apply to the other sites, while others won't.

Pros - great staff, hiking, cleanliness, pool availability, gravel site mean no mud (see cons), water and electric access at site, wifi available at site

Cons - sites are quite small and literally right next to each other, gravel sites are a pain if tent-camping, no cell service (will obviously vary by provider), vehicle noises from main road.

Depending on what kind of experience you're use to and looking for, the sites at the campground might not be for you. As mentioned, they are tiny, with a couple exceptions. Usually this wouldn't be a huge problem, but they are also right next to each other, separated only by a small fence. There is no privacy and no feeling like you're in the wilderness. With no wilderness buffer, the people in the next site are literally feet from your tent. You will hear all of their conversations, and they will hear yours. Even sites two or three down will be audible depend on the people staying.

The gravel is both a pro and con. Since it's gravel, you won't get much mud, but if you're tent camping, make sure you bring a sleeping pad or something that gets you off the ground. Otherwise, you're literally going to be spending the night trying to get comfortable on a bed of sharp rocks.

Since the area is pretty compact, you're never very far from the main road. You will hear vehicles, especially trucks and motorcycles at all hours of the day. This may not be an issue for some, but it's good to be aware.

There is water and electricity access at each site, which is nice. The restrooms near the camp seemed clean enough (can't expect miracles, but far better than a portapotty). Cell service was basically non-existent for me (AT&T), but thankfully almost every area of the park aside from hiking areas offers free wifi access.

Since the site is gravel, children may have a hard time finding space to play on site. Heard lots of complaining from kids from both neighboring sites about boredom. There is a play ground near the pool which would help, but again, no real place or room to play at the site itself.

However, the camp ground is close to the falls, which is nice. Less than a few minutes drive or about a 20 min hike will put you there, and the sound of the cascade is always in the background, which is pleasant. The hike is a fairly good grade, and not sure how easy it would be to try at night to go see the moonbow.

Overall, it's fine. It's not my preference, I really, really don't like how crammed together the sites are and the gravel as opposed to dirt is uncomfortable and annoying. If you don't get good neighbors, you probably aren't going to have a good time at the site. Thankfully, there are plenty of hiking trails and activities like swimming to keep you away during the day, but having a family prepare breakfast literally less than 5 feet from your head way too early in the AM is not fun and will put a hamper...

3 stars= 1 for affordability, 1 for peaceful natural wooded scenery and proximity to trails, 1 for cleanliness of grounds and bathrooms. There's multiple shower stalls. We had nice hot and strong water pressure. There's 2 family bathrooms with toilet/ shower combo &handicap accessible (it was a lifesaver with an infant). There's also a full men's and women's bathroom with several toilet stalls and a couple of showers as well. Travel Trailers BEWARE. We have a 19-foot TT with 1 slide out, and this campground would be a nightmare to navigate had it been full when we stayed there. We stayed at site 22 on the Ridge side (by the camp store). Thankfully the 2 sites directly across from us were empty so we were able make the tight turns to back in and pull out from our site upon arrival and departure (we had to drive into the other camp sites to make the turn possible). My husband said that if the campground were full, site 21 would be the best option for backing in. There are a handful of non-shaded pull through sites at the front of the campground next to the dump station, camp store, and bathrooms if you have a slightly larger RV. The rest of the RV sites on the main row are back-in and situated directly across from each other on a one lane road with a roundabout at the end (in the middle of the round about is the playground). The easiest sites to maneuver would be the pull through sites and the ones near the round about. Every 2 sites also share power and water hookup with each other located on a single pole stand (with 2 30 Amp outlets and 2 110 outlets) with water spikets as well at the same location as electric. This was a challenge because the sites differ in size and distance from each other, and the hookup is somewhere in the middle of the 2 sites. It was not on the correct side that we needed for our travel trailer once we backed in. We had to use a 25 ft extension cord plus a 25 ft power cord and a 50-foot hose to reach since the hookup was on the opposite side. All sites have gravel with picnic table and fire ring and asphalt for the RV. As some others have mentioned, there are also trees at several sites to navigate between while backing in, but we didn't have an issue since the sites across from ours were empty and allowed us to position properly. We'd suggest 22ft rigs or less at the back in sites, whether Travel Trailers, Pop-up Tent trailers, or Camper Van (otherwise book the pull through site to be safe). Tent camping would be ideal here with the shade, size of sites, and access to water/ electricity, bathrooms, ...