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Camping Falls Campground in Kentucky
Camp Kentucky: I’m talking with Bob today. He’s the Manager at Falls Campground in Kentucky. How’s it going today, Bob?
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Bob: Pretty good, thank you.
Camp Kentucky: So, maybe let’s start out with just a little bit of history about Falls Campground.
Bob: Okay. Well, this is our 19th year of operation, and it’s a pretty bit of history. My mom and dad bought this land probably 40 years ago. And when he retired 20 years ago, they decided that they would develop it into a campground. And so, I guess probably the last two to three years, man, it was like a jungle.
Camp Kentucky: Okay.
Bob: It was. There was hardly any resemblance of what you see now. I couldn’t see it. I guess not many people could see it. But after clearing a lot of the brush and trees and so on, it turned out to be nice. It’s beautiful. It’s like a creek running through it.
Camp Kentucky: They had the vision.
Bob: Yeah. Well, he did. He had a great vision and I’m impressed. I mean now, the older I get, the more I realize like: “Wow, it took a lot to see that,” when you couldn’t even see the creek from the highway. So, less is more in this case for sure.
Camp Kentucky: Yeah. And what types of camping do you offer there?
Bob: We have pretty much anything from tents to diesel pushers. I mean we have got probably in the vicinity of 90 campsites that are, again, 20amp, 30amp, or 50amp. And lots are pretty much across the board leveled. Each one has got its own little characteristics based on like campground I guess, but shade is the big thing and we’ve got plenty of it in varying degrees.
Camp Kentucky: Cool. I’m looking at your website here. The cabins look pretty fun.
Bob: Yeah, the cabins are neat. They’re something we started probably ten years ago. After he visited the KOA and saw the little cabins and how popular they were, and so he created these. That’s all they are. They’re camping cabins. You bring your own linens, and they have no indoor plumbing, but they have a little refrigerator, microwave, and TV. And obviously air and heat. And yeah, they’re very popular. Extremely popular.
Camp Kentucky: Cool.
Bob: And yeah, kind of like camping in a wooden tent, but with microwave, refrigerator, and a TV.
Camp Kentucky: Yeah.
Bob: So, yeah.
Camp Kentucky: What are the most popular activities for guests there?
Bob: Well, the creek that runs through the campground is pretty unique in that – I guess, first of all, it is the centerpiece by far. It’s got great fishing and kids like to play and adults even like to play in the creek. And by the creek here, it’s just really interested. The little town is called Fallsburg that our campground is in. And right here, on the site of the campground, was a mill that went back to like early 1812 or something like that.
Camp Kentucky: Cool.
Bob: And perhaps even earlier than that. It’s kind of hard to scrounge up a lot of the information on it, but we’ve got certain things like mill sacks and stuff like that, or flower stacks and stuff. They were dated. The company was in operation from 1812 on. And the remnants of the mill is not working or standing right now, but all the trace and the boxes and so on that the water flowed into to turn the wheels, and eventually they put hydro in there. But it’s over here.
Camp Kentucky: Okay.
Bob: And what’s interesting about is that it’s Fallsburg. And you’re looking at these falls and you’re like: “No, they’re not really tall or anything like that,” but it’s really wide. Yeah, it’s the sandstone plateau, if you will, on the creek, and it widens out to about at least a football field size.
Camp Kentucky: Yeah.
Bob: So, this little creek just blows up right here at the campground. So, there are walks to crawl around and jump off of.
Camp Kentucky: It looks like it would be just great on a hot summer day.
Bob: Oh, it is. Yeah, it’s excellent. And again, the fishing is really weird. You would look at this and think: “No, there’s not that much fish that could possibly be here,” but I guess what happens is that when the water does get up high and the big sandy river is probably just about – I don’t know – a mile away.
Camp Kentucky: Okay.
Bob: This little creek meanders forever, but when the water gets up high enough, evidently a lot of fish come upstream. They hit the falls here that can’t go any further upstream, and so they just kind of settle. I guess water eventually goes down.
Camp Kentucky: Sure.
Bob: And there’s this big pool that’s right down below. It’s sitting right here in the campground. It’s just right below where the falls start, and that’s where they hang out.
Camp Kentucky: Okay.
Bob: So there’s great fishing. It’s quite phenomenal.
Camp Kentucky: Cool. Now, what are some of your favorite attractions in the surrounding area?
Bob: Shoot, the area is probably – it’s filled with all kinds of things from, again, fishing and recreation boating, and so on. Gates Field Lake is just right up the road. We’re three miles away from the marina. There’s quite a bit. Off the top of my head, we get a lot of people that like to do off-road either ATVs or four-wheels, or anything like that. There’s plenty of good spots around here to do that. Carter Caves. If you’re into spelunking, it’s right down the road, probably 30 miles away. It’s quite a bit.
Camp Kentucky: Cool.
Bob: Yeah, we’re right here in the middle of, I guess, this whole eastern Kentucky thing with (Unclear 7:02.3) and (Unclear 7:04.6) and McCoy and all that. There seems to be a great interest in that.
Camp Kentucky: Yeah.
Bob: We’re not very far from Daniel Boon National Forest either.
Camp Kentucky: Okay.
Bob: So, yeah, there’s a lot of stuff to do if you’re into hiking and outdoor stuff.
Camp Kentucky: All right, two more questions for you, Bob. If you could spend only one hour at Falls Campground in Kentucky, how would you spend your time there?
Bob: Oh, I know easily how I’d do it. One hour at Falls Campground. I’d build me a fire real quick. I would kick back. I think our number one thing is our simplicity and relaxation. The falls are usually churning. They’re developing this beautiful (Unclear 7:49.9) that’s just easy to sit back, build fire, kick your feet up, listen to the sounds, and it’s even visually impressive. I mean I guess it’s white water. It mesmerizes me. That’s what I would do.
Camp Kentucky: Cool. That sounds awesome. And if you could spend just one night in Falls Campground in Kentucky, which specific campsite would you choose and why?
Bob: I think 27 and that’s 27 in our A Section. And I think the reason why is going back to the water. It’s just ideally located. It’s where the water comes around a trace. We call it an island. There’s a little bridge that walks over to it.
Camp Kentucky: Cool.
Bob: And it’s right there at the mill side. And it’s the convergence of that trace that goes around the island and the main creek, and it’s just got some great rock formation and the water is always turning over it, and so you get a big dose of that white noise that seems so relaxing.
Camp Kentucky: Yeah, it sounds very relaxing. Well, hey, thank you so much, Bob, for taking some time out of your day to chat with us about Falls Campground in Kentucky.
Bob: Thank you.
