Bear Creek Horse Camp

Bear Creek Horse Camp Overview

Rating

Phone (423) 569-9778

Address Lee Hollow Rd, Strunk, KY 42649, USA

Website https://www.nps.gov/biso/planyourvisit/horsecamps.htm

Hours

Bear Creek Horse Camp Location & Map

Kentucky McCreary County Strunk Lee Hollow Road

Bear Creek Horse Camp About

Are you a Kentucky equestrian or outdoor enthusiast searching for the ideal campground where both you and your horse can thrive? Look no further than Bear Creek Horse Camp in Strunk, KY. Tucked away in a quiet, unpopulated area, this campground is a true gem for those who love to explore the wilderness on horseback. It’s a place where clean, well-equipped campsites meet direct access to exciting trails, promising an adventure-filled yet comfortable escape into the heart of Kentucky’s natural beauty.

Bear Creek Horse Camp stands out for its meticulous attention to cleanliness, with visitors consistently praising the "spotless and heated bathrooms" and "very hot, great water pressure" in the showers. But beyond the comfort for campers, it’s designed with the horse in mind. Each site offers convenient horse accommodations, making it easier than ever to bring your equine companions along. This commitment to both human and animal comfort, combined with direct trail access to the stunning Big South Fork area, ensures that your camping and riding experience will be truly exceptional. From scenic overlooks to challenging trails, Bear Creek Horse Camp is poised to become your new favorite equestrian destination in Kentucky.

Location and Accessibility

Bear Creek Horse Camp is located at Lee Hollow Rd, Strunk, KY 42649, USA. This location places it in a quiet, less populated area within McCreary County, Kentucky, offering a genuine escape into the wilderness. Strunk itself is a small community situated near the vast and beautiful Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, a major draw for outdoor enthusiasts.

Access to the campground involves navigating approximately 8 miles of a well-maintained gravel road. While mostly one-lane, this road is free of potholes and generally manageable for rigs, though larger setups might find it "annoying" at times. There is one minor dip with a small amount of water that might cause a slight bump. Despite this rural approach, the seclusion is precisely what contributes to the campground's appeal, ensuring a peaceful atmosphere and a truly "gorgeous" night sky. The location’s remote nature means it's bear country, so guests are advised to be diligent about food and trash storage. This combination of a quiet, unpopulated setting with a manageable, albeit rustic, access road makes Bear Creek Horse Camp a unique and desirable destination for those looking to immerse themselves in Kentucky’s natural landscapes.

Services Offered

Campsites with Full Hookups: Each campsite is equipped with electricity and water hookups, providing essential amenities for RVs and trailers.
Horse Accommodations: Every campsite includes open-back 4-horse stocks. Additionally, a few round pen corrals are placed throughout the campground for easier horse keeping.
Spotless & Heated Bathrooms: Well-maintained bathhouses with hot water, great water pressure, and heating for comfort. These facilities are also wheelchair-friendly, including one of the two showers and the stalls.
Mucking Areas: Wheelbarrows, shovels, and designated mucking pile areas are provided for easy manure disposal.
Picnic Tables & Grills: Each site comes with a picnic table and a grill over the fire pit, suitable for cast iron pans and kettles.
Fire Pits: Individual fire pits at every site for campfires and outdoor cooking.
On-site Trail Access: Direct access to numerous horse riding trails from the campground.

Features / Highlights

Direct Access to Horse Trails: The biggest draw for equestrians, with trails of varying difficulties (easy to intermediate, with some steep, rocky, and muddy sections depending on weather) leading directly from the campground. Horse shoes are recommended for rocky and gravel areas.
Wheelchair Accessibility: Bathrooms and one shower are notably wheelchair-friendly, a significant positive feature for inclusivity.
Excellent Amenities at Sites: Beyond the basic hookups, the inclusion of picnic tables, grills, and fire pits at every site enhances the camping experience.
Stunning Night Sky: Being far away from towns, the area boasts a "gorgeous" night sky, perfect for stargazing.
Peaceful and Quiet Environment: The unpopulated area ensures a tranquil stay, ideal for relaxing after a day on the trails.
Overlook Area & Rock Formations: A recommended feature, offering "really amazing and fun" rock formations and a "gorgeous" view of the whole area. The walk to the river view is easy, though the final steps are not wheelchair-friendly.
Fall Foliage: A prime location for experiencing beautiful fall colors, enhancing the scenic appeal of the campground.
Bear Country Awareness: While requiring diligence with food storage, this highlights the true wilderness experience the campground offers.
Dedicated Horse Facilities: The provision of horse stocks, round pens, and mucking tools demonstrates a deep understanding of equestrian needs.
Experienced Trail Horses Thrive: The trails are enjoyable for "good trail horses," indicating a genuine challenge and adventure for seasoned equine partners.

Promotions or Special Offers

As of the current available public data, specific, ongoing promotions for Bear Creek Horse Camp are not extensively detailed. However, specialized campgrounds catering to niche interests like horse camping often offer varying rates based on the season, duration of stay (e.g., nightly, weekly, monthly), or group bookings. Given the unique amenities for horses, there might also be package deals that include site fees and horse accommodations. It is always recommended to directly contact Bear Creek Horse Camp at (423) 569-9778 for the most accurate and up-to-date information regarding their pricing, availability, and any special offers or promotions they might be running. Booking in advance, especially during peak riding seasons, is highly advisable to secure your preferred campsite and horse accommodations.

Contact Information

Address: Lee Hollow Rd, Strunk, KY 42649, USA

Phone: (423) 569-9778

Mobile Phone: +1 423-569-9778

Conclusion: Why this place is suitable for locals

For Kentucky equestrians and nature lovers, Bear Creek Horse Camp offers an exceptional and highly suitable local destination. Its location in Strunk provides direct access to the expansive and challenging trails of the Big South Fork area, making it an ideal base for horse riding adventures. The campground's standout features—clean, heated, and wheelchair-friendly bathrooms, along with electricity and water at every site—ensure a comfortable stay for campers. More importantly for horse owners, the provision of open-back 4-horse stocks and dedicated mucking areas at each site, plus communal round pens, truly caters to the unique needs of equestrian campers.

While the gravel access road and some rougher trail sections require preparedness (like horse shoes and careful driving for larger rigs), these minor considerations are far outweighed by the "beautiful" fall foliage, "gorgeous" night skies, and the thrill of exploring diverse trails right from your campsite. The "quiet and not populated much" area guarantees a peaceful retreat, and the diligent approach to being in "bear country" ensures a respectful coexistence with nature. For Kentucky locals seeking a genuine, well-equipped, and adventurous horse camping experience, Bear Creek Horse Camp is a "great time" and a place they "would happily be back" to again and again. It truly is a gem for those who want to disconnect and hit the trails with their equine partners in the heart of the Bluegrass State.

Customer Reviews

4.0

30 reviews

Leandra Collier

Oct 25, 2022

Campsites were clean, electricity and water at every site, bathrooms were spotless and heated, hot water was very hot, water pressure was great. Bathrooms are wheelchair friendly, as is the stalls. One of the two showers is as well. We saw fall foliage and loved the campground. A few round pen corrals have been placed throughout the campground making keeping horses there even easier. Open back 4 horse stocks are provided at every camp site. They are older and look a little rusty but would do the trick while camping. Wheel barrows, mucking pile areas, and shovels were provided. Buckets are not, we brought our own hay, grain, and enough buckets for water and food both. There were no water troughs that I saw provided. Trails were a lot of fun, I’d say some were intermediate thanks to a recent rain leaving lots of mud, some steep places, and some trail wash out leaving small ravine cracks in the path. The long loop looked more difficult than the Bear Creek Loop which was pretty easy. And I’d recommend shoes on your horses for rocks and gravel used on trails. But having them right there was great and we thought the adventure was fun. Our horses are good trail horses and did fine. There was a picnic table and grill and fire pit at every site and it’s far away from towns so the sky was gorgeous at night. We brought our own firewood and fire starters. The grill is not a waist high, stand alone one but instead it’s over the fire pit. Fit a cast iron pan and water kettle no prob. Area was quiet and not populated much. The road in does have a gravel stretch that is mostly one lane for 8 miles, with our rig it was fine but a huge rig would be annoying to drive into this place. Road was well maintained and no pot holes. There was one creek area with a small amount of water and a dip that we bumped a little on the dirt road. We were careful to put away all food and garbage properly each time we weren’t actively cooking. We also were very careful about our trash and making sure we left no trace when we left. This is bear country and we took it seriously. We left nothing that had any lingering food smells out, everything went back into the car and shut tight. I recommend the overlook area, the rock formations were really amazing and fun. The walk to the river view was easy (a few steps at the end make it not wheelchair friendly.) The view is gorgeous and you can see the whole area. I had a great time and would happily be back.

Jean Speechley

May 24, 2024

It's a nic campground and restrooms are very clean but the ar a where you put your horses needs help concrete is very hard on the horses for standing on it for long periods of time, I suggest either 3/4 rubber mats for them to stand on or get rid of the metal stuff and put two 10x10 panels at each site. We horses people would like this improved thank tou

Renae Smith

Sep 16, 2023

The trails are amazing. The park has improved these trails immensley. Beautiful, quiet, clean, awesome church nearby called OTTER Creek Baptist. Friendly enviroment,Round pens to use. Our favorite place to camp , coming from Ohio.

adat smith

Jun 01, 2022

Rangers were confiscating coolers that had water in them. Water. Extremely unfriendly, inconsistent with dogs running everywhere, grills left out, yet watched him skip every other camp and chew out campers letting random others go unchecked. one ranger pulled up on my neighboring camp with a cooler in the bed of their truck as they were leaving, blocked their vehicle in, got out and said to them "you trying to avoid me?" Grass overgrown, trails awful. Bathrooms were spotless, that's about the only positive.

Joe Harvey

Oct 15, 2017

Good camping and trail riding. A little rocky, but OK. There are some nests of ground hornets and yellow jackets, unmarked, on or near the trails. I do not like the concrete racks your horses have to stand in, but there are a couple of corrals, and I think you can picket, as long as the horses don't chew on trees.