Land Between The Lakes area camping question

[iowaborn]

October is going to be a busy month for us. We are attending the Amana Iowa October-fest, then on the 7th we are headed to The Land Between The Lakes area meeting the DW's sister and her husband, and on the 13th we are headed to the Smokey Mountain Jamboree.
The LBL Hillman Ferry and Piney CG's are pretty full, even in October and it is difficult getting 2 sites next to each other.
Does any one have input on the quality of the Corps Of Engineers camp sites around the Berkeley Lake area?

[fvstringpicker]

We were at Piney a couple of years ago. Its a nice park. I'd recommend it. I've never been disappointed with a Corps of Engineers Park. If you hike in the woods in that area before a cold snap, wear insect repellent. The chiggers will damn well eat you alive.

[4mula1fan]

Try the Canal CG. There are many sites still open next to each other, lots are walkup sites, but can be reserved. It's a Corps CG, and is VERY nice! We have a site reserved in Oct as well. Recreation.gov will get you there. The skunks will carry you away at Hillman Ferry...

[cwhitis]

If you are talking about Lake Barkley in Kentucky, we happened to be in the area, not to camp, but rode thru the campgrounds to check them out. The actual campgrounds grounds are well maintained but hardly anyone was there. It was during prime camping time too. The two cg we rode thru seemed nice, we did stop and go in one restroom/bathhouse. It didn't appear to have been used in a long time. It was disappointing and greatly needed cleaned not from being dirty, just not used, bugs in sink and in corners. The lake and area is very pretty, I would camp there, just use my own facilities!

[4mula1fan]

The facilities at the Canal are brand new, tiled and clean. Shoot, my mother stays with us and uses the bath houses. She's 91.

[ryand]

We really really liked Hillman ferry. Very clean park and great camp store. You could give to office a call they might be able to point out a few adjoining sites. My parents and my family had 100 and 88. Although not buddy sites it worked very well f

Can not comment about the canal park as we didn't stay there. Big write up on my blog about this park. See signature link.


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[4mula1fan]

We just got back from our first weekend in our new camper. We stayed at the Canal site 61. Awesome place. We love being close to a CG like this. Hillman is 5 or so miles down the Trace past the welcome center. Both places are nice, we just prefer the quiet of the Canal.

[iowaborn]

Some event must be happening in the LBL area the week we picked, most campgrounds are filled. Canal has several sites, but they are first come first served and 400 miles is too far to drive with no site reserved. I called Canal directly but they could do nothing for me; they just referred me to the reservation.gov site. We have made reservations at a private campground, Holiday Hills, so we are hoping it turns out ok. Thanks everyone for your input.

[4mula1fan]

I think that is fall break for the kids. Yep, the CG's fill up fast at those times.

[iowaborn]

This is a sample of the water at this campground. It was almost red at first and this is what it looks like after attempting to clear the water lines for at least 10 minutes. I'm not about to hook the water up to my RV, we don't want this nasty stuff in our plumbing. Tomorrow we will be scouting the area for a better place.

[WBrian]

Read their brochure... Might it be free apple juice? Damn, that's bad stuff!

[ryand]

Holy cow!!! Was that canal campground?


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[4mula1fan]

I hope it was Holiday Hills...

[ryand]

Originally Posted by 4mula1fan

I hope it was Holiday Hills...

Thats what i get for not reading.....Hey what do you think of your coachmen??Looks nice what model?

[4mula1fan]

We love it. Not 1 problem so far. 2013 Coachmen Catalina 252RLS

[iowaborn]

Originally Posted by 4mula1fan

I hope it was Holiday Hills...

Yes, it was Holiday Hills. We let the water run for probably 3 hours over two days before the water cleared up enough to hook up to the camper. I put a camco in line filter at the hydrant to catch the sediment and the carbon filter in the camper cleaned it up pretty good. Just using the campground water to flush the toilet and wash dishes.
We went to Canal and Hurricane Creek but no walk ups were available. It turns out that this week is fall break for area Kentucky schools.

[4mula1fan]

Spring and fall breaks are bad at the lake. We never schedule anything at the lake at those times. I hate it that you couldn't get in at the Canal. It is a very nicely laid out CG. We have a week in a couple of weeks reserved , and it will shut down for the year a day after we leave.

[4mula1fan]

Oh, and we never drink the water at the lakes period. It's fine for washing and stuff, but most of the water tastes like a rubber pipe. We always take water from home.

[4mula1fan]

Having a great time at the Canal Campground. Love this time of year.