Lexington, KY – Kentucky Horse Park Review
Date of our stay: November 8, 2015 arrival; November 11, 2015 departure
General Information
Located just 9 miles from downtown Lexington and in the midst of horse country, the Kentucky Horse Park offers 260 spacious sites with 50/30/20 amp electric and water. All sites are 55′ paved back-ins with fire rings and picnic tables. The campground is open all year but the water is shut off from November thru March.
Besides the campground, within the KY Horse Park is the International Museum of the Horse, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the American Saddlebred Museum, Horse Farm Tours, Horse Drawn Tours, the Hall of Champions and equine presentations throughout the day. There’s a lot to see and do here but check ahead as there may be closures in the winter months.
Getting Here:
No problems with access, the campground is literally just a minute or two from I-75 Exit 120. Note that the Campground entrance is about 1/3 mile further east on KY1973 than the KY Horse Park Main entrance. Our map above has the correct coordinates for the campground.
Rates:
Daily, weekly and monthly rates are available here. Note that the maximum stay is 14 days and that there is a $7.50 fee to make a reservation.
Overall Impression – 4/5
Very nice campground located in the midst of the Kentucky Horse Park. 200 mostly big rig friendly, sites (water, 50/30/20 electric, no sewer) that can accommodate up to 45′ coaches. Prior to our arrival, we received a call – the people on the site we had originally booked (#C156) had a mechanical failure on their unit so they were unable to leave. We were told that the loops A & B (the two loops on the right side of the site map) were closed for the winter but we could pick out a site in C or D loop (left side of site map). Note that water is shutdown in ALL loops November thru March. After unhitching and driving around, we selected site #C156 on the outermost loop. Sites are paved, come with a picnic table and firepit, but no real patio and are well spaced so you don’t feel like you are on top of your neighbors. Only complaint was that some of the sites looked somewhat unlevel.
Sites
Size – 3/5
Sites were of adequate length with just enough room for our 43′ rig and our van. Each site has a cement curbstone at the end of the paved pad. For air bag rigs, be careful that you won’t damage the tranny or engine pan if you hang your rear end over the curb and dump your air bags. Pads were a little narrow. Our site #156 had a large expanse of grass behind it with plenty of room on either side.
Privacy – 3/5
Some trees but no low vegetation between sites to offer any privacy. We didn’t have any neighbors but if we did, it appeared that there would be adequate spacing between sites so we most likely wouldn’t feel “exposed”.
Amenities – 4/5
Two dump stations, a grocery store/gift shop, two bathhouses, tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts, a junior Olympic-size swimming pool and lots of planned activities. Legacy Trail, a 12-mile-long (8.5 miles is currently finished) paved walking and biking trail leads from the Kentucky Horse Park Campground to downtown Lexington.
Lot of attractions within the park including Horse Farm Tours, Breeds Barn Shows, Hall of Champions, and the International Museum of the Horse. Several of these were closed during our stay.
Location:
Convenience – 4/5
Some groceries can be purchased at the campground store. Fairly convenient to Georgetown where there are grocery stores (about 6 miles away) and Walmart (about 8 miles away). Numerous restaurants nearby including the Red State BBQ (btw, we did take out – it was very good) just a few miles away. Other area attractions include Toyota (free tour, highly recommended), Keeneland Racetrack, Shaker Village and Woodford Reserve Distillery are within a 30 minute drive.
Physical Surroundings – 4/5
Lovely campground in the midst of the rolling hills of horse country. Lots of trees and grass create a semi-pastoral setting.
Maneuverability and Roads – 4/5
Roads were paved and in most cases were easy to maneuver. The loop roads were a bit on the narrow side, but would only be a problem if other campers were parking in the road. It is possible during peak times that there might be some maneuvering challenges for a big rig within the loops. Also there is no designated parking at the registration office for RV arrivals, so you have to park anywhere you can, which means you will usually be blocking parking spaces. Two large dual dump stations with easy in/out access.
Peace & Quiet – 4/5
Very quiet campground but that could be due to the time of year that we were there. The park was pretty empty. Even though it is close to I-75 and the Iron Works Parkway we didn’t notice any traffic noise. We have read in other reviews that it can get quite busy, noisy and unpleasant here in the summer months.
Utilities – 3/5
- Sewer – None
- Satellite – No problem at our site (C156) hitting the DISH western arc (110/119/129) but there may be issues from some sites.
- WiFi – did not test.
- Cellular signal – Adequate Verizon 4G inside and outside the coach without a booster.
- Over-the-Air (OTA) TV – Received all major OTA networks
- Power – Good power, 120+ voltage on both legs of the 50A
- Water Pressure/Quality – Good pressure and quality, no turbidity or off odors noted.
What We Liked
– Overall setting of the campground and the Horse Park in general
– Fairly spacious sites
– Lots of amenities although we didn’t get to experience many of them
What We Didn’t Like
– Unlevel sites
– No sewer
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