Houchin Ferry Campground — Hotel in Bowling Green

This is not a frilly/glamping sort of place. I get the impression this campground is mostly used by through hikers, backpackers and folks canoeing or kayaking down the Green River and utilizing the portage at the old ferry site. That said, here are the pros and cons.

Pros: it is surrounded by nature and even though the town of Brownsville is a 3 minute drive out of the park, you can’t hear the through traffic and it doesn’t feel like you’re in or near town.

The camp sites all have a concrete picnic table that is a good size, and it’s nicer than wooden ones that tend to get grimy and all funky.

The camp ring is well maintained and big enough to maintain a good fire.

The spots are mostly flat, with a little bit of looking for the best spot on each site.

Each site has a view of the river even if it isn’t river front.

The property is well maintained, not a bunch of trash or debris.

Port o potties were cleaned on our third day there.

There are water spigots.

Now, the cons:

Each fire ring has a cook grate and that’s all well and good except they are at a severe angle and without a bit of manipulation, your food will either roll off, fall in between the wide bars or cook very unevenly, this was a huge con for me as I love cooking when I camp. Also, where they’re set up would make it difficult to sit around them if there are more than 2-3 chairs

There’s no way to easily fish at this spot, the banks are very elevated and it would take more effort than I was willing to put in.

The spots are small. You’re very close to your neighbors. You can hear their conversations even if they talk at a normal tone.

Overall, we were happy with our experience here. We enjoyed being by the river, it was private, the campground wasn’t full when we were visiting. We made use of the amenities, and appreciated the portable toilets were cleaned by the end of our trip. We would recommend this overall, just manage your expectations when it comes to space, shade, river access and the cooking abilities.

There is no playground, but there is a very nice...

This is a primitive campground and used to be a popular picnic spot. We used to fish off the end of the ferry after it closed for the night. However, since the removal of the lock and dam downstream, the water level has fallen an average of 12 feet, leaving only a trickle that probably isn’t deep enough for a fish to swim in! The road across the river has disappeared into the wilderness with just the ramp still showing. Even the streetlights have been turned off making it pitch black at night. The tightly packed sites are okay if you don’t mind being a few feet from your neighbor. Each site had a pure pit with grill grate, a concrete picnic table, a lantern hook, and a camp stove table. There is a potable water tap on site. No host is in attendance nowadays. It’s all rather sad to see the decay. The pit toilets were filthy with excrement almost reaching the seats. I can’t understand why the fee is $20 still since the National Park Service obviously doesn’t take serious care of the place or at least not on the weekend I most recently stayed there. . That all being said, despite the close proximity of the sites, it is still a beautiful place to relax. At night, the once quiet river is now a...

We booked 2 nights here in the middle of July and ended up leaving after the first night and here’s why:

There were a lot of cons, mostly weather related but some were site related. We brought our dog as pets are allowed but it was so hot and humid that he was miserable the whole time. It kept down pouring off and on and the campsites are pretty much dirt and turned into mud. The sites were also very close together. We got lucky at site 7 and only had one super close neighbor and the other one was a normal distance away. Sites 10 & 12 were definitely the best options as they were a bit more tucked away and seemed to be more private. We could hear the conversation that our neighbors were having all night.

Since we were there in July, the bugs were absolutely insane and we had seen the most insane flying bugs and yes they were flying all around our heads and food. I also go bit by many different bugs despite dousing myself in bug spray. It doesn’t help that this campground is right on the water.

The pros:

Clean porta potties Water pumps Fire pits Picnic tables Picnic area/shelter Access...