CAMPANAC.Powered by public lands intelligenceMore Than Just Parks

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · KY

Kendall Campground

Reservable, and full this SaturdayEvery one of the 104 sites on offer is taken this Saturday, and the record lists no site held back for a walk-up. read 15:59 UTC

We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →

Watch for a cancellation Book on recreation.gov ↗

Right now: Taking bookingsSites offered on 16 of the next 16 nights read 15:59 UTC
A night: $16–$32Across the site types the agency prices
Sites: 118114 on recreation.gov

Photos · Matthews/ Corps of Engineers

99 ftLongest rig

600 ftElevation

609 ftWater · Cumberland River

6.9 miSW of Jamestown, KY

37%Tree cover

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 4 notices

In the agency’s own words

Kendall Campground is located at 80 Kendall Road, south of Jamestown, Kentucky, just below Wolf Creek Dam, which forms beautiful Lake Cumberland. Click here for the Lake Cumberland virtual tour. Keep reading

Recreation

Lake Cumberland is the largest man-made lake east of the Mississippi River. Its large surface acreage and over 1,200 miles of shoreline provide a myriad of recreational activities. Kendall Campground offers visitors convenient access to a cold water trout stream, making it a popular fishing destination. The stream is well-stocked with rainbow, brook and brown trout. Whispering Pines Trail, located within the campground, is a non-strenuous trail approximately half a mile long.

Facilities

The campground is a multi-use recreation area, consisting of 70 acres and 116 reservable campsites, all of which have water and electric hookups. Each campsite has a picnic table, fire ring/grill and lantern post. A group day-use picnic shelter with water and electric hookups is available as well. A boat ramp, fish cleaning station, basketball court, horseshoe pit, hiking trail and playgrounds are located within the park.

Natural Features

The campground overlooks the river, offering sweeping scenic views. Dense stands of mature hardwoods forest the site, offering scenic views, pleasant shade and wildlife habitat. Because of the temperate climate and relatively long recreation season, the lake provides varied outdoor recreational opportunities for millions of visitors each year.

Nearby Attractions

Wolf Creek Dam National Fish Hatchery is within walking distance of the campground. It is open year-round and offers free tours to the public and an excellent Environmental Education Center. Click here for more information. Lake Cumberland State Park is just 6.5 miles from the campground. This beautiful park offers fishing, hiking, horseback riding, mini golf, disc golf and boat rentals. Birders enjoy the park for its exceptional viewing prospects of raptors, songbirds and waterfowl. Grider Hill Marina and Resort is 25 minutes away, with boat rentals, a restaurant and general store. Jamestown Marina & Resort is 25 minutes away, with boat rentals, a restaurant and general store. State Dock Marina is 8 miles away, with boat rentals, snack bar and general store.

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

What the agency tells you

Rule

Check in time is 3:00 PM Central. Check out time is 12:00 PM Central.

Rule

Off-road vehicles not permitted.

Rule

Golf carts, scooters and moped vehicles are not authorized on project roadways unless handicap credentials can be established.

Everything else this campground posts · 1

Rule

America the Beautiful discount cards do not apply to group sites or shelters. Discount cards good for standard sites.

Read them on the agency’s own page →

Source: recreation.gov facility notices, quoted verbatim · Sep 9, 2026

Tents and rigs

Sites: 118
Hookups: 113 electric, 117 water, 1 sewer
Longest rig: 99 ft
Paved pads: 3 of 118
Accessible sites: 2
Pets: Allowed
Campfires: Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade: Every site

Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Dump station: Yes; recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
Boat ramp: Yes
Playground: Yes
Store: Nearby
Camp host: On site; recreation.gov lists “Host”
Stay limit: 14 nights; recreation.gov facility rule maxStay

Source: Stated in the agency description · Aug 23, 2026

Around the campground

On the water: Lake, River, Creek, Beach; Boating; Fishing; Hiking
Night sky · 11th darkest of 60 in KY: Bortle 4

Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026

Night sky: VIIRS Day/Night Band annual cloud-free composite, VNL V2 2024 (Earth Observation Group, Colorado School of Mines), read at the published coordinate · Sep 8, 2026

Full this Saturdayread 15:59 UTC

How full the weekend is nationally.

3 campgrounds have sites open within 30 miles, read 16:16 UTC. See them

OpenBooked

Every one of the 104 sites on offer is taken this Saturday. 36 are free on Mon, Oct 19. read 15:59 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t

Booking windowThrough November 1Bookable now through November 1, 2026, the end of this reservable season, and again for April 1, 2027 through April 16, 2027. Today at 10 AM ET, availability opens through April 17, 2027.recreation.gov

Max stay14 nightsthe facility record

A night$16–$32plus $8 to reserve, once per bookingthe agency’s rate schedule

A weekend$40–$72DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above

If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservationrecreation.gov’s schedule

Runs itU.S. Army Corps of EngineersBooked through recreation.govthe agency’s record

Watch for a cancellation

Watch this campground

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.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.

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.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.

Where there’s room this weekend Book on recreation.gov ↗

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 14

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Army Corps of Engineers

A night, per site$16–$32

Tent Only Nonelectric$16

Standard Electric$32

Group area, a night$60

Rates for the season the campground is in now, Apr 2, 2026 to Nov 1, 2026.

The booking feerecreation.gov

Reservation fee, booked online$8

One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.

Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.

What a stay costs

One nightDerived$24–$40

A weekend, Friday and SaturdayDerived$40–$72

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $16–$32 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.

If your plans changerecreation.gov

Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10

Cancellation fee$10

Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night

No-show$20 + your first night

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

Sign price: recreation.gov facility rate schedule, quoted as the agency publishes it · Oct 1, 2026

Booking fee, change fee, cancellation fee, no-show: Rules and Reservation Policies, Recreation.gov, the published fee schedule, curated by hand into lib/reservation-fee-schedule.json (9 rows, each carrying its own verbatim sentence). The publisher states these policies were last updated September 2019. · Sep 9, 2026

The two totals: Derived by CAMPANAC by adding the agency’s own published nightly rate to recreation.gov’s own published reservation fee. Both components are cited above; the addition is ours and is shown only where every component is known. · Sep 9, 2026

Who keeps the booking fee: Recreation.gov facility policy text, Dead Swede Campground (facility 234221) · Not on the national policy page. This is agency policy text recreation.gov publishes on individual campground pages; this site holds it verbatim on 45 active campgrounds (campground_rules.cancellation_description, scripts/load-facility-rules.mjs). · Sep 9, 2026

The contract: Reservation Gods: Who Stole Our Campsites and Sold Them Back to Us, More Than Just Parks, April 2025 · Apr 1, 2025

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

Open within 30 miles this weekend · 3

Sites the agency is offering this Friday and Saturday that nobody has taken, nearest first. read 16:16 UTC

Obey River ParkDale Hollow Lake · 24 mi · 42 of 244 site-nights open
Holmes BendGreen River Lake · 25 mi · 2 of 118 site-nights open
Fishing Creek CampgroundLake Cumberland · 29 mi · 24 of 92 site-nights open

Open this weekend: recreation.gov availability · derived by CAMPANAC: site-nights the agency offered this weekend that nobody has taken, within the radius, closures removed by the closure rule · Oct 16, 2026

recreation.gov availability, read 15:59 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

120 records · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 108 mapped sites

62 ftbetween you and the next site, typically

Most roomLoop KEND 068 177 ftLoop KEND 056 169 ftLoop KEND 055 142 ftLoop KEND 063 136 ftLoop KEND A100 125 ft

Least roomLoop KEND 070 37 ftLoop KEND 072 37 ftLoop KEND 034 37 ft

Source: Derived by CAMPANAC from recreation.gov per-site coordinates (nearest-neighbor distance) · Oct 12, 2026

All 120 records

114 of 120 records located

RV / electric107Type not stated5Day use1Host pad1

001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014 015 016 017 018 019 020 021 022 024 026 027 028 029 030 032 033 034 035 036 037 038 039 Host Site 040 041 042 043 044 045 046 047 048 049 050 051 052 053 054 054A 055 056 057 058 059 060 061 062 063 064 065 066 067 068 069 070 071 072 073 074 075 076 077 A100 078 079 080 081 082 083 084 085 086 087 088 089 090 091 092 093 094 095 096 097 098 099 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115

Aerial · Esri World Imagery

Sites: recreation.gov (RIDB), coordinates as published · Aug 23, 2026

Imagery: Esri World Imagery

SleepsTakes aUp to

The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 113 of the 120 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.

Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.


KEND	001	standard electric	46 ft	50 amp		91 ft	848 ft	$32
KEND	002	standard electric	35 ft	50 amp		69 ft	888 ft	$32
KEND	003	standard electric	53 ft	30 amp		69 ft	845 ft	$32
KEND	004	standard electric	53 ft	30 amp		73 ft	776 ft	$32
KEND	005	standard electric	61 ft	50 amp		73 ft	704 ft	$32
KEND	006	standard electric	55 ft	50 amp		84 ft	612 ft	$32
KEND	007	standard electric	66 ft	50 amp		84 ft	528 ft	$32
KEND	008	standard electric	30 ft	50 amp		97 ft	437 ft	$32
KEND	009	standard electric	30 ft	50 amp		103 ft	348 ft	$32
KEND	010	standard electric	62 ft	50 amp		107 ft	239 ft	$32
KEND	011	standard electric	51 ft	50 amp		90 ft	199 ft	$32
KEND	012	standard electric	66 ft	50 amp		76 ft	617 ft	$32
KEND	013	standard electric	65 ft	50 amp		51 ft	661 ft	$32
KEND	014	standard electric	42 ft	50 amp		40 ft	674 ft	$32
KEND	015	standard electric	52 ft	50 amp		53 ft	779 ft	$32
KEND	016	standard electric	92 ft	50 amp		53 ft	730 ft	$32
KEND	017	standard electric	59 ft	50 amp		40 ft	650 ft	$32
KEND	018	standard electric	56 ft	50 amp		58 ft	672 ft	$32
KEND	019	standard electric	53 ft	50 amp		58 ft	607 ft	$32
KEND	020	standard electric	62 ft	50 amp		53 ft	603 ft	$32
KEND	021	standard electric	53 ft	50 amp		58 ft	549 ft	$32
KEND	022	standard electric	53 ft	50 amp		73 ft	483 ft	$32
KEND	023	standard electric	71 ft	50 amp				$32
KEND	024	standard electric	30 ft	50 amp		65 ft	536 ft	$32
KEND	025	standard electric	81 ft	50 amp				$32
KEND	026	standard electric	48 ft	50 amp		39 ft	317 ft	$32
KEND	027	standard electric	30 ft	50 amp		65 ft	471 ft	$32
KEND	028	standard electric	67 ft	50 amp		39 ft	311 ft	$32
KEND	029	standard electric	42 ft	50 amp		56 ft	341 ft	$32
KEND	030	standard electric	70 ft	50 amp		90 ft	150 ft	$32
KEND	031	standard electric	55 ft	50 amp				$32
KEND	032	standard electric	53 ft	50 amp		54 ft	510 ft	$32
KEND	033	standard electric	61 ft	50 amp		45 ft	543 ft	$32
KEND	034	standard electric	75 ft	50 amp		38 ft	523 ft	$32
KEND	035	standard electric	74 ft	50 amp		38 ft	512 ft	$32
KEND	036	standard electric	52 ft	50 amp	yes	78 ft	356 ft	$32
KEND	037	standard electric	56 ft	50 amp		49 ft	471 ft	$32
KEND	038	standard electric	53 ft	50 amp		56 ft	392 ft	$32
KEND	039 Host Site	host pad	58 ft	50 amp			438 ft
KEND	040	standard electric	46 ft	50 amp		76 ft	592 ft	$32
KEND	041	standard electric	51 ft	50 amp		76 ft	666 ft	$32
KEND	042	standard electric	47 ft	30 amp		77 ft	734 ft	$32
KEND	043	type not stated					94 ft
KEND	044	type not stated	57 ft	50 amp			95 ft
KEND	045	standard electric	83 ft	50 amp		90 ft	97 ft	$32
KEND	046	standard electric	67 ft	50 amp		62 ft	84 ft	$32
KEND	047	standard electric	69 ft	50 amp		62 ft	82 ft	$32
KEND	048	standard electric	58 ft	50 amp		62 ft	86 ft	$32
KEND	049	standard electric	75 ft	50 amp		40 ft	117 ft	$32
KEND	050	standard electric	79 ft	50 amp		40 ft	120 ft	$32
KEND	051	type not stated	84 ft	50 amp			124 ft
KEND	052	type not stated	84 ft	50 amp			139 ft
KEND	053	standard electric	62 ft	50 amp		71 ft	129 ft	$32
KEND	054	standard electric	58 ft	50 amp		58 ft	98 ft	$32
KEND	054A	standard electric	55 ft	50 amp		58 ft	85 ft	$32
KEND	055	standard electric	82 ft	50 amp		142 ft	261 ft	$32
KEND	056	standard electric	77 ft	50 amp		169 ft	390 ft	$32
KEND	057	standard electric	80 ft	50 amp		87 ft	624 ft	$32
KEND	058	standard electric	99 ft	50 amp		95 ft	589 ft	$32
KEND	059	standard electric	63 ft	50 amp		87 ft	709 ft	$32
KEND	060	standard electric	99 ft	50 amp		95 ft	684 ft	$32
KEND	061	standard electric	76 ft	50 amp		113 ft	844 ft	$32
KEND	062	standard electric	40 ft	50 amp		113 ft	957 ft	$32
KEND	063	standard electric	75 ft	50 amp		135 ft	999 ft	$32
KEND	064	standard electric	50 ft	50 amp		93 ft	910 ft	$32
KEND	065	standard electric	50 ft	50 amp		93 ft	828 ft	$32
KEND	066	standard electric	50 ft	50 amp		47 ft	704 ft	$32
KEND	067	standard electric	48 ft	30 amp		47 ft	674 ft	$32
KEND	068	standard electric	99 ft	30 amp		176 ft	662 ft	$32
KEND	069	standard electric	80 ft	30 amp		83 ft	429 ft	$32
KEND	070	standard electric	60 ft	50 amp		37 ft	631 ft	$32
KEND	071	standard electric	99 ft	50 amp		69 ft	389 ft	$32
KEND	072	standard electric	56 ft	50 amp		37 ft	616 ft	$32
KEND	073	standard electric	98 ft	50 amp		69 ft	356 ft	$32
KEND	074	standard electric	52 ft	50 amp		119 ft	501 ft	$32
KEND	075	standard electric	68 ft	50 amp		65 ft	286 ft	$32
KEND	076	standard electric	74 ft	50 amp		65 ft	239 ft	$32
KEND	077	standard electric	81 ft	50 amp		69 ft	201 ft	$32
KEND	A100	day use		15 amp		125 ft	115 ft	$60
KENDALL ANNEX	078	standard electric	58 ft	50 amp		48 ft	191 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	079	type not stated	66 ft	50 amp			127 ft
KENDALL ANNEX	080	standard electric	60 ft	50 amp		48 ft	200 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	081	standard electric	67 ft	50 amp		70 ft	116 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	082	standard electric	67 ft	50 amp		48 ft	201 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	083	standard electric	60 ft	50 amp		42 ft	120 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	084	standard electric	76 ft	50 amp		61 ft	208 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	085	standard electric	66 ft	50 amp		42 ft	123 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	086	standard electric	72 ft	50 amp		53 ft	210 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	087	standard electric	60 ft	50 amp		45 ft	119 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	088	standard electric	71 ft	50 amp		53 ft	203 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	089	standard electric	63 ft	50 amp		45 ft	116 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	090	standard electric	71 ft	50 amp		58 ft	209 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	091	standard electric	60 ft	50 amp		59 ft	121 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	092	standard electric	66 ft	50 amp		65 ft	208 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	093	standard electric	57 ft	50 amp		67 ft	127 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	094	standard electric	64 ft	50 amp		81 ft	211 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	095	standard electric	59 ft	50 amp		43 ft	130 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	096	standard electric	49 ft	50 amp		43 ft	122 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	097	standard electric	54 ft	50 amp		47 ft	132 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	098	standard electric	50 ft	50 amp		47 ft	137 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	099	standard electric	53 ft	50 amp		58 ft	139 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	100	standard electric	60 ft	50 amp		58 ft	129 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	101	standard electric	62 ft	50 amp		61 ft	131 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	102	standard electric	50 ft	50 amp		70 ft	213 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	103	standard electric	67 ft	50 amp		61 ft	126 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	104	standard electric	50 ft	50 amp		66 ft	218 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	105	standard electric	54 ft	50 amp		63 ft	98 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	106	standard electric	48 ft	50 amp		63 ft	108 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	107	standard electric	50 ft	50 amp		62 ft	218 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	108	standard electric	50 ft	50 amp		55 ft	280 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	109	standard electric	50 ft	50 amp	yes	77 ft	321 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	110	standard electric	50 ft	50 amp		55 ft	333 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	111	standard electric	50 ft	50 amp		77 ft	396 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	112	standard electric	50 ft	50 amp		61 ft	393 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	113	standard electric		50 amp		58 ft	788 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	114	standard electric		50 amp		49 ft	846 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	115	standard electric		50 amp		49 ft	892 ft	$32
KENDALL ANNEX	116	standard electric		50 amp				$32
KENDALL ANNEX	117	standard electric		50 amp				$32
KENDALL ANNEX	118	standard electric		50 amp				$32

The agency files 2 more records here that aren’t sites for the night: 1 it files as day use and 1 it names a host pad. They’re in the table above, marked for what they are, and none of them is counted as a site.

Price: Derived by CAMPANAC: each site takes the per-night rate this campground publishes for the site’s own site type (recreation.gov rate schedule). recreation.gov publishes no per-campsite fee, and a site whose type carries no published rate is left blank rather than called free · Sep 11, 2026

OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.

25 of 120 listed

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number

Coordinate36.87209, -85.14574

The mapSee it on the map

The driveDirections ↗

The phone270-343-4660

The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Also near here

Fall Creek Campground18 mi

Cumberland Point Campground18 mi

Lillydale Campground and Day Use20 mi

Willow Grove Campground23 mi

Obey River Park24 mi

Holmes Bend25 mi

Getting there

From Jamestown, Kentucky, take US Highway 127 south for 10 miles and turn right just before crossing the dam. Campground is on Kendall Road.

Directions: Driving directions as the agency wrote them · Sep 9, 2026

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Tonight44°Mostly Cloudy then Chance Rain Showers9% rain

Saturday58°Mostly Sunny2% rain

Saturday Night37°Clear

Sunday66°Sunny

NWS forecast for Jamestown, KY

Source: National Weather Service, LMK forecast office · Oct 17, 2026

Typical weather

Typical October night 45°F, day 69°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical January night 25°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.

90°32°20°

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.

Measured at: JAMESTOWN WWTP, KY (USC00154208), 10 miles away and 290 ft higher

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, monthly normals · Sep 8, 2026

The land, and who answers for it

who answers for it · a letter you can send

Who answers for this land

Kendall Campground is in Kentucky’s 1st congressional district. Its representative, James Comer (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

Source: U.S. Census district boundaries and the MTJP Congressional Public Lands Score

Who can change it · 3

Write to somebody who can change it

Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.

The member who votes the moneyJames ComerU.S. Representative · Kentucky’s 1st district
Open their contact form ↗Their record →
Your senator, on the same appropriationMitch McConnellU.S. Senator · Kentucky
Open their contact form ↗
Your senator, on the same appropriationRand PaulU.S. Senator · Kentucky
Open their contact form ↗

Read the draft, or change the wording

For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.

To James Comer

Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.

Subject Walk-up camping at Kendall Campground, Kentucky

Dear James Comer,

I’m a constituent in Kentucky’s 1st district. I tried to camp at Kendall Campground, Kentucky, and couldn’t.

recreation.gov lists 114 of the 118 campsites the agency files at Kendall Campground, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 104 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked.

1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Kendall Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Kendall Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund.

The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them.

Sent about Kendall Campground (Kentucky) via campanac.com

To Mitch McConnell

Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.

Subject Walk-up camping at Kendall Campground, Kentucky

Dear Mitch McConnell,

I’m a constituent in Kentucky. I tried to camp at Kendall Campground, Kentucky, and couldn’t.

recreation.gov lists 114 of the 118 campsites the agency files at Kendall Campground, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 104 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked.

1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Kendall Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Kendall Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund.

The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them.

Sent about Kendall Campground (Kentucky) via campanac.com

To Rand Paul

Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.

Subject Walk-up camping at Kendall Campground, Kentucky

Dear Rand Paul,

I’m a constituent in Kentucky. I tried to camp at Kendall Campground, Kentucky, and couldn’t.

recreation.gov lists 114 of the 118 campsites the agency files at Kendall Campground, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 104 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked.

1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Kendall Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Kendall Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund.

The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them.

Sent about Kendall Campground (Kentucky) via campanac.com

How we know this · 4

Contacts: Contact forms from @unitedstates/congress-legislators · Sep 9, 2026

The figures in these drafts: Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress (CRS Report RS20643) · Updated December 4, 2025 · “The ship’s final procurement cost was $13,316.5 million (i.e., about $13.3 billion) in then-year dollars.”

The figures in these drafts: Salary Table 2026-GS, Incorporating the 1% General Schedule Increase, Effective January 2026 (U.S. Office of Personnel Management) · Effective January 2026 · “Grade 5, Step 1: $34,799 (annual rate, before locality pay).”

The figures in these drafts: Update to Civilian Position Full Fringe Benefit Cost Factor, Federal Pay Raise Assumptions, and Inflation Factors used in OMB Circular No. A-76 (OMB Memorandum M-08-13) · March 11, 2008 · “the civilian position full fringe benefit cost factor needs to be adjusted downward, from 36.45 percent to 36.25 percent”

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from

Right now: recreation.gov is offering sites on 16 of the next 16 nights, which isn’t something a closed campground does.

Sites on recreation.gov: recreation.gov’s own month availability payload for this facility, asked for October 2026, November 2026 and July 2027. It names 114 of the 118 campsites the agency files here, and every one of them carries an answer either way. A campground nobody has read carries no answer at all, never a no. · Oct 11, 2026

Elevation: USGS 3DEP elevation point query at this campground’s coordinate · Sep 7, 2026

Tree cover: NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC), one 30 m cell at this coordinate, taken as the median across the 114 campsites here that carry a reading · Sep 9, 2026

Water: USGS National Hydrography Dataset, nearest perennial lake, reservoir, river or stream to this campground’s coordinate · Sep 8, 2026

Night sky: VIIRS Day/Night Band annual cloud-free composite, VNL V2 2024 (Earth Observation Group, Colorado School of Mines), read at the published coordinate: 0.5 mcd/m² of artificial all-sky glow, ranked against the 60 rated federal campgrounds in Kentucky · Sep 8, 2026

Sky-glow model: Duriscoe, Anderson, Luginbuhl and Baugh (2018), a simplified model of all-sky artificial sky glow derived from VIIRS Day/Night band data, the National Park Service sky-glow model

Cell signal: the Army Corps’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.

Nearest town: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 places, measured by CAMPANAC to the town boundary; population is the ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimate · Sep 9, 2026