Kentucky - Land Between the Lakes National Forest
April 21, 2018
I'm now officially in the Eastern US after crossing the Mississippi River into northwestern Tennessee. There are several state parks, wildlife refuges, and Wildlife Management Areas here, but no free campgrounds. I spent most of the day looking but to no avail. Unlike Arkansas and Missouri, the Wold life Management Areas in Tennessee don't really allow camping.
I wasn't far from The Land Between the Lakes National Forest in Kentucky, so that's where I decided to spend the night. I discovered this place about a year ago when looking at a website called freecampsites.net. I stayed here one night and seems it was free then, but now one must get a camping permit to stay here. It is only seven dollars for three nights. Well that's almost free.
I entered the park on the northern entrance crossing the Barkley Canal that connects the two lakes formed by damming the Tennessee River on the west side, the Kentucky Lake and the Cumberland River on the east side, Lake Barkley. I stayed at the northern most campground called Nickkel Branch. It has about 15 sites down three short roads that branched off the main road, with picnic tables and fire rings with great views of Lake Barkley. There is also a vault toilet and a trash dumpster, but no water.
Since I car camped, I stayed in one of three sites that provided a level spot for my car. There is a level parking lot as well I could have used. Dispersed camping is allowed and there were several sites along the road in.
I like this campground and would highly recommend it. Hiking trails are nearby as well and a visitor center for information and permit purchasing only a couple of miles south on the main road, that runs the length of the park for about forty miles.
The top two thirds of the park are in Kentucky and the bottom third is in Tennessee. The park is like a peninsula about 40 miles long and 8 miles wide. I'll be telling you more about the park in future videos. There is plenty to see and do here. One could easily spend a month here and not see it all. Also a great place for bird watching and wildlife viewing.
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