This was the second time that I've visited Holly Bay campground. It's located in Daniel Boone…read moreNational Forest and on Laurel Lake and just a few miles from Cumberland Falls. It's my favorite campground when I'm looking for seclusion. It seems like you're hours from the city, but it's just about an hour and a half from Lexington and 20 minutes or so from the interstate. The Grove is it's sister property, so if there isn't spots available here, there may be some at The Grove.
Loops D & H are available via reservation, the other loops are walk up. This time we stayed in loop G area... G2 was our site and through the trees, you could see the lake. The paved pad was long and then there were steps that led to the huge graveled fire pit area. Perfect for tent camping. It wasn't considered a premium or double site, but compared to state resort park sites, it was at least twice as big.
The shower house was decent. The water cold and the fact that the water on the shower was controlled by a button that you had to push every 30 seconds, was a bit annoying. I was thankful for hand soap and toilet paper though.
The lady at check-in was a hot mess. She kept answering her cell phone and the landline phone instead of waiting on us. She didn't know which sites were lake side and wouldn't let us pay, look to choose a site, drop off and come back. She made us tow the camper down the narrow paths, choose a spot and then come back to pay with the camper in tow. Then it took her at least 10 minutes to write up the ticket, etc. After a 45 minute fiasco, we finally set up in the dark. Lesson learned... Remember what site # that you want, if you've not been there, study the map before you go. Things to consider are if you want to be by the lake, the shower house, or away from other sites.
It's an American Land and Leisure run campground. I can't really figure out the ins and outs of the structurally run campgrounds... I've stayed at the Cor of Engineer, state park and KOA campgrounds. The American Land and Leisure campgrounds and sites seem to be the biggest and the most inexpensive.