Kentucky Horse Park Campground — Hotel in Lexington

Just returned from our second visit to the Horse Park Campground, and it's a beautiful and well maintained campground. Based on my first visit, I'd give it a 5 star rating, however, I was extremely disappointed this time, with the way that a situation was handled.

We camped from July 19-22, staying in site 128. On the morning of June 20, as I was adjusting my canopy over my picnic table, I was swarmed by hornets, being stung twice. Once I'd gotten away from them, my friends and I found their nest, which was about 7 feet in the air, hanging from a limb, approximately 10 feet from our picnic table. I had unknowingly gotten too close to their nest, so they attacked.

I immediately went to the store, and spoke with the staff. Because of the incoming storms (which were VERY bad this weekend) they told me that they wouldn't be able to quickly get the pest control company out to remove it, but that they were able to move us to site 107, which was very close to our current site. I would rather have stayed in 128, which was part of a large block of sites reserved by my friends and I, however, under the circumstances and the incoming storm, I understood their point, and gladly moved.

A couple of hours later, they sent a maintenance worker out with a can of Hornet spray. He took one look at the size of the nest and realized that a can of Raid would probably just make them mad, and he left without spraying.

Up until this point, I was very happy with the way that they handled the situation. Given the size of the nest, we figured that it would require a professional pest control company, which I'm sure takes time to coordinate, especially given the weather this weekend.

The reason for the lower rating, however, is because of the response when our friends, who had reserved site 127, for the following day, asked if the nest had been removed. They have two small children, and were obviously concerned, since their site was also next to the tree, and nest. It had still not been moved, and they moved them to a different site. They were told that I had "blown it out of proportion", and that the size of the nest was very small, and not a big deal. This was upsetting, as I had been stung twice and swarmed for getting close to the nest. Also, I had not complained about anything, nor did I raise any kind of fuss. I simply asked for the nest to be removed, since it was only a few feet from my campsite. When I was told that it would take time to remove it, I understood and gladly took the replacement site.

The hive is probably 30 feet from the basketball court, and is in a high traffic lane with adults and children routinely walking right by it on the way to the pool, basketball court, and playground. I don't feel that i blew anything out of proportion, and was disappointed that I was accused of doing so.

We will continue to come to the horse park campground, because other than this comment, I've had nothing but great experiences here, however I was very disappointed that this is how I was viewed...

We stayed at the Horse Park Campground in July 2025. The location is hard to beat — about 3 miles south of Georgetown and 9 miles from downtown Lexington, right on Iron Works Pike. It’s close to everything, but secluded enough to feel relaxing. That part is great. But the campground itself? It’s definitely showing its age and needs some serious updates.

First off, be aware they require a 6-night minimum stay over major holidays like the 4th of July — but even with that, there are no sewer hookups at the sites. That was surprising.

The playgrounds are worn down, especially the one by the pool, the volleyball court looks like it hasn’t been touched in years. The kids' splash pool? Still closed, and apparently has been for years, which is frustrating if you’ve got little ones.

The biggest concern for us was the pool area. There’s a no food or drink policy posted, which we totally respect, but the selective enforcement is hard to ignore. Our 5-year-old twins, were spoken to pretty harshly by the teenage staff for simply asking to bring in a small drink and snack bar.

Meanwhile, other guests were literally sitting there eating pizza, chips, drinking 16oz sodas and coffee… no one said a word. (See photo)

We politely pointed it out and got the classic shrug — “Well… it’s not supposed to happen.” That kind of inconsistent enforcement, especially when it singles out little kids, doesn’t sit right.

The bathhouses are rough. Outdated, several sinks didn’t work, some floor drain covers were loose or missing, and the showers? The shower heads are installed right at face level and spray like an industrial pressure washer. Some of them don’t even have shower curtains. Not exactly a relaxing setup after a hot day.

The grounds crew? Doesn’t seem to care. They mowed our site right in the middle of lunch, sprayed grass all over our camper and vehicles, and wandered off. No heads-up, no consideration for guests, kids, or pets.

The internet situation is honestly ridiculous. This is 2025 — reliable, secure Wi-Fi should be basic at any modern campground, especially one connected to a major Kentucky attraction. What they have now is barely usable and not secure.

The staff in the camp store were polite and professional, which we appreciated, but overall, the campground feels neglected.

If you’re coming strictly for the Horse Park itself, the campground serves its purpose. But if you’re expecting a modern, well-maintained camping experience with consistent staff and fair treatment for families — especially those with young kids — you’ll probably be disappointed. The place has potential, but right now, it’s...

UPDATE: 10/23

Great News! The Horsepark campground now has an adequate size dog park.

They have planted a few replacement trees for those damaged by storms.

They have straightened up the majority of the leaning water connections updated within the year.

Perhaps soon they will plant a little grass and make some gravel rug placement areas from camper door access in the off season so when it rains the sites won't be so muddy.

Seems they are finally putting some money back into the campground.

Do not take your dog to the field for off leash exercise. A lady hit our dogs with a leash. Stated all dogs should be leashed even in open field. She threatened another person and their dog. She was carrying a whip like rope and threaten to hit others dogs with it if they came near her or her dog. Thing is, today as her dog show friends came in they let some of theirs run loose in the field off the leash. Apparently she only wanted others to follow a leash law and not her or her friends.

Horsepark needs a dog park. One for small dogs and one for large dogs.

Update: 8/01/2022

Well, the Horsepark continues to go downhill. Rain brings water and floods 55% of the campgrounds because they do not have grass. They need to put some pee gravel down for placement of rugs. That way the mud doesn't cover the campers' rugs. Some people had to go buy tarps and put down and still were muddy and flooded. It seems the Horsepark CEO spends all the money on the park and none on the campground to keep it up.

It is a shame too, because the Horsepark campground use to be one of the nicest places to camp, whether private or state owned. It is not the case any longer.

People were buying tarps and even their own bales of hay to throw down at the campsite to keep mud out of their rigs. Totally uncalled for, the state and workers at the Horspark campground should take far more pride in it. It represents the state.

Sad.

Memorial Day Weekend was fair this year. As usual park was full and over flow was in use. Pool was not open apparently due to some type of mechanical problem. Although it was full of water, not sure what the deal was. Basketball, volleyball, tennis courts and playgrounds were used all day long by someone. Little ones every where enjoying camping life.

Had the usual activities, except no golf cart parade. Which, to many was disappointing. But rain 2 days. That would've been a wet ride. Did hear many say they couldn't figure out why the grass was not mowed. But all in all still a nice weekend. Still wishing...