Bear Creek Campground - KY
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- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:43 UTC
- A night
- $30–$35Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 22All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 6 notices
In the agency’s own words
Bear Creek Horse Camp is located in the Kentucky portion of Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. Keep reading
Recreation
Numerous trails snake through the recreation area, offering mountain biking, hiking and horseback riding for visitors.
Facilities
Bear Creek combines the experience of traditional woods camping with the modern conveniences of flush toilets, hot showers and electric hookups. Sites can accommodate both RV and tent camping. Tie-stalls are available on each site.
Natural Features
Big South Fork is located in north-central Tennessee and southeastern Kentucky in some of the most rugged terrain of the Cumberland Plateau. The park encompasses approximately 125,000 acres including rocky gorges and forested plateaus.
Nearby Attractions
Just a few miles from the campground is Blue Heron Mine, also known as Mine 18, a historic abandoned mining town that has been rebuilt as an outdoor museum. Visitors can hear audio presentations from actual people who lived in the community in the 1950s.
What the agency tells you
Black bears and other wildlife frequent this campground. Please keep in mind that “food” to a bear includes any item with a scent, regardless of packaging. This may consist of items that you do not consider food, such as canned goods, horse feed, bottles, drinks, soaps, cosmetics, toiletries, trash, ice chests (even when empty), and unwashed items used for preparing or eating meals. All these items must be stored properly. --Secure coolers, grills, cooking utensils, horse feed, any food not in use, and anything with food odors inside the locked compartment of a vehicle or trailer or a bear proof storage locker if available. Food storage lockers each measure approximately 29" deep x 38" wide x 43" tall. --Wipe off picnic tables and grills. Properly discard aluminum foil used for cooking. --Avoid burning garbage in fire rings because it will leave behind grease and food scraps. --Always discard all garbage in wildlife proof trash cans or dumpsters. Keep a clean campsite. --Do not hang garbage from lantern poles. Following these guidelines will keep you from getting your property confiscated from your campsite. We appreciate your cooperation.
Dispose of garbage immediately in bear-proof dumpsters. This rule is strictly enforced!
Horses or other members of the Equidae family being transported into or through the park from out of state shall be accompanied by a negative test for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) (Coggins) conducted not more than twelve (12) months prior to entering the state as well as proof of veterinary inspection. These forms must be in possession of the horse handler at all times.
Everything else this campground posts · 3
Firewood Quarantine: The possession of any firewood originating from any location for which a federal or state firewood quarantine is in effect is prohibited. The movement of firewood into the park from counties adjacent to the park for which a federal or state quarantine is in place is permitted. Firewood which bears a USDA or a state certificate is allowed. The National Park Service STRONGLY discourages the movement of firewood from one location to another. Help protect the park and chose to bring only heat-treated wood on your next visit!
Any group larger than 25 persons wishing to participate in any activity in the park in which members of the group will depart from an established road and/or parking area must first obtain a permit for such activity. More information can be found online at www.nps.gov/biso/planyourvisit/special-use-permits.htm.
Please be advised that an approved Permit or Authorization by the superintendent is required before providing business services within Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. This includes services such as RV or tent delivery and setup, firewood sales and delivery, shuttle and transportation services, guided hikes, guided floats, and similar activities. To apply for a permit, please visit our website at www.nps.gov/biso and navigate to the "Doing Business With the Park" section. There you will find application forms, instructions, and contact information.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 22 · 22 equestrian
- Hookups
- 22 electric, 22 water
- Longest rig
- 100 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets - seasonal
- Showers
- Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
- “Facilities Bear Creek combines the experience of traditional woods camping with the modern conveniences of flush toilets, hot showers and electric hookups.”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- Dump station
- Yes
- recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
- Stay limit
- 30 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek
- Hiking
- Horseback riding
- Hunting
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 13th darkest of 60 in KY
- Bortle 4
23 of 44 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:43 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBooked
These counts cover the 22 reservable sites only. This campground also has first-come sites, and recreation.gov publishes no availability for a site you can’t reserve.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 13
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $30–$35 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 5
recreation.gov availability, read 16:43 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
22 sites
All 22 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 22 of the 22 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Bear Creek Campground | 001 | equestrian electric | 55 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 002 | equestrian electric | 60 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 003 (With Two 12' x 12' Corral-Panel Horse Stalls) | equestrian electric | 70 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 004 | equestrian electric | 60 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 005 (With Two 12' x 12' Corral-Panel Horse Stalls) | equestrian electric | 50 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 006 | equestrian electric | 100 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 007 | equestrian electric | 60 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 008 | equestrian electric | 62 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 009 HORSE TIE LINE | equestrian electric | 75 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 010 (With Two 12' x 12' Corral-Panel Horse Stalls) | equestrian electric | 60 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 011 | equestrian electric | 47 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 012 (With Two 12' x 12' Corral-Panel Horse Stalls) | equestrian electric | 63 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 013 (With Two 12' x 12' Corral-Panel Horse Stalls) | equestrian electric | 63 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 014 (With Two 12' x 12' Corral-Panel Horse Stalls) | equestrian electric | 63 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 015 | equestrian electric | 50 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 016 | equestrian electric | 48 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 017 | equestrian electric | 54 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 018 | equestrian electric | 57 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 019 | equestrian electric | 65 ft | 30 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 020 (With Two 12' x 12' Corral-Panel Horse Stalls) | equestrian electric | 47 ft | 50 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 021 (With Two 12' x 12' Corral-Panel Horse Stalls) | equestrian electric | 66 ft | 50 amp | $30–$35 |
| Bear Creek Campground | 022 | equestrian electric | 60 ft | 50 amp | $30–$35 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Blue Heron CampgroundBig South Fork National River and Recreation Area · 2.6 mi
Alum Ford CampgroundBig South Fork National River and Recreation Area · 8.7 mi
Station Camp CampgroundBig South Fork National River and Recreation Area · 9.0 mi
Great Meadows CampgroundDaniel Boone National Forest · 11 mi
Bandy CreekBig South Fork National River and Recreation Area · 14 mi
Waitsboro Campground26 miFor detailed directions, please visit: http://www.nps.gov/biso/planyourvisit/directions.htm
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Stearns, KY
Typical weather
Typical October night 42°F, day 69°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 24°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Bear Creek Campground - KY is in Kentucky’s 5th congressional district. Its representative, Hal Rogers (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →