Koomer Ridge Campground
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 15 of the next 30 nights read 15:39 UTC
- A night
- $35–$45Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 5452 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 9 notices
In the agency’s own words
This Campground offers dozens of shaded, wooded campsites. 54 suitable for tents and 19 suitable for a trailer. Camping and fires are prohibited in rock shelters. Keep reading
Recreation
The Red River Gorge offers untouched beauty for hiking enthusiasts. From the campground access: Hidden Arch Trail, Koomer Ridge Trail, Cliff Trail and Silvermine Arch Trail.
Facilities
All sites have a picnic table and fire ring. Accessible vault toilets are available year round. Flush toilets and showers are available seasonally: April 1 through October 31. Drinking water is available seasonally: April 1 through October 31.
Natural Features
Koomer Ridge is located in the heart of the Red River Gorge on the Cumberland District in the Daniel Boone National Forest. Scenic sweeping views and amazing hiking trails.
Nearby Attractions
Red River Gorge, NADA Tunnel, Zilpo Campground, Tater Knob, Natural Bridge, Sky Bridge, Clifty Wilderness.
What the agency tells you
Please Note: One RV with tow vehicle per single site or one vehicle per tent site. Most sites can accommodate 1 extra vehicle that is not included with the reservation fee. Extra vehicle will be charged a per night fee and collected at the campground if you did not pay for the Extra Vehicle Add On.
Reserved Sites will be held until check out time (NOON) the day following your arrival date. Sites must be occupied by the checkout time of that following day to hold a reservation or the site will be forfeited and released to other guests. Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.
Fire Restrictions: Fire restrictions may be imposed at any time due to hot, dry weather conditions, at which time campfires and charcoal fires may not be allowed.
Everything else this campground posts · 6
Don't Move Firewood: Protect Kentucky's forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. For more information visit https://www.dontmovefirewood.org/
For more information about the Daniel Boone National Forest, click here https://www.fs.usda.gov/dbnf
2 pets are allowed per site.
No electricity at the campground.
This is Bear Country! For bear and human safety, keep a clean campsite and do not place food or other attractants in your tent.
Refunds: Refund requests made through www.recreation.gov will be charged a $10 processing fee. This fee is retained by the reservation service contractor along with the non-refundable reservation fee. All requests for the return of the non-refundable reservation fee and the cancellation fee will be declined by the campground concessionaire as they did not receive these fees (these are the fees retained by the reservation contractor, a different entity).
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 54 · 9 walk-in
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets · Vault Toilets
- “…a picnic table and fire ring. Accessible vault toilets are available year round. Flush toilets and showers…”
- Showers
- Seasonal Showers
- “Flush toilets and showers are available seasonally: April 1 through October 31.”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…seasonally: April 1 through October 31. Drinking water is available seasonally: April 1 through October…”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- River
- Hiking
- Picnicking
- Wildlife viewing
Full this Saturdayread 15:39 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBookedNot reservable
Every one of the 31 sites on offer is taken this Saturday. 15 are free on Mon, Oct 19. read 15:39 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
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.
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, $35–$45 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 15:39 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
54 sites
All 54 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. 52 of the 54 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Koomer Ridge | 1 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 10 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 11 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 12 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 13 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 14 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 15 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 16 | type not stated | |
| Koomer Ridge | 17 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 18 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 19 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 2 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 20 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 21 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 22 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 23 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 24 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 25 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 26 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 27 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 28 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 29 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 3 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 30 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 31 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 32 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 33 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 34 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 35 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 36 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 37 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 38 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 39 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 4 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 40 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 41 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 42 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 43 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 44 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 45 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 46 | walk to | $27 |
| Koomer Ridge | 47 | walk to | $27 |
| Koomer Ridge | 48 | walk to | $27 |
| Koomer Ridge | 49 | walk to | $27 |
| Koomer Ridge | 5 | type not stated | |
| Koomer Ridge | 50 | walk to | $27 |
| Koomer Ridge | 51 | walk to | $27 |
| Koomer Ridge | 52 | walk to | $27 |
| Koomer Ridge | 53 | walk to | $27 |
| Koomer Ridge | 54 | walk to | $27 |
| Koomer Ridge | 6 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 7 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 8 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
| Koomer Ridge | 9 | standard nonelectric | $35–$45 |
25 of 54 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Clear Creek CampgroundDaniel Boone National Forest · 18 mi
Claylick Boat-In CampgroundDaniel Boone National Forest · 21 miZilpo Recreation AreaDaniel Boone National Forest · 21 mi
Zilpo - Daniel Boone Nat. For.Daniel Boone National Forest · 21 miTwin Knobs West Group Use AreaDaniel Boone National Forest · 22 miTwin Knobs Recreation AreaDaniel Boone National Forest · 22 miTraveling east on the Mountain Parkway, take exit 33 at Slade. Turn left and then right onto KY 15. This campground is 5 miles on the left.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Campton, KY
Typical weather
Typical October night 45°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
what threatens it · who answers for it · a letter you can send
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Koomer Ridge Campground 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 →
Who can change it · 3
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 moneyHarold RogersU.S. Representative · Kentucky’s 5th district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationMitch McConnellU.S. Senator · Kentucky
- Your senator, on the same appropriationRand PaulU.S. Senator · Kentucky
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.
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 Koomer Ridge Campground, Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky
Dear Harold Rogers, I’m a constituent in Kentucky’s 5th district. I tried to camp at Koomer Ridge Campground, Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 52 of the 54 campsites the agency files at Koomer Ridge 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 31 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. Koomer Ridge Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Koomer Ridge Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service 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 Koomer Ridge Campground (Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky) via campanac.com
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 Koomer Ridge Campground, Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky
Dear Mitch McConnell, I’m a constituent in Kentucky. I tried to camp at Koomer Ridge Campground, Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 52 of the 54 campsites the agency files at Koomer Ridge 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 31 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. Koomer Ridge Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Koomer Ridge Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service 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 Koomer Ridge Campground (Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky) via campanac.com
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 Koomer Ridge Campground, Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky
Dear Rand Paul, I’m a constituent in Kentucky. I tried to camp at Koomer Ridge Campground, Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 52 of the 54 campsites the agency files at Koomer Ridge 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 31 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. Koomer Ridge Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Koomer Ridge Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service 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 Koomer Ridge Campground (Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky) via campanac.com