We stayed in Barren Lakes campground for a week in early October. The resort lodge is nice. We thought the salad bar was delicious. The dinner buffet was average. The staff and service was very good. The campground is hilly with a scattering of trees. We are in a 40' RV and it was more difficult than usual to maneuver the turns. Fortunately, we arrived early in the week so we could cut across a few other campsites. You will definitely need to use your levelers here! It doesn't look like they have level sites anywhere in the park but they do have a few sites with sewer. The sites not being level makes it awkward to set up outside with a "bump up" as soon as you step out your door. The non-sewer sites don't seem to be as bad. The bathhouse is typical for KY, old but clean. It seems to be a good park for boaters with plenty of parking around the boat ramp. We were able to get a Direct TV signal but no air TV and the cell service was the minimum so if you want to work, it's not going to be likely. The lodge has free wifi you can use in the lobby but I found it to be spotty. We used site 1 and 8 and they were about the same. It's very hilly so you won't ride a bike except on the paved 2.5 mile trail outside the campground. It's about 12 miles from Glasgow and 50 minutes from Mammoth Cave National Park. We found the Kentucky Cultural Center in downtown Glasgow was a gem, especially the 2nd floor. It's free and well worth your time. The Marble Dome was a big disappointment. After finding it, we were surprised to see it was a dilapidated building with a dirt ring inside and a smattering of living room chairs along the wall. It was what I would envision as a cock fight ring. I wish I could include a pic here. We drove to the Old Mulkey Meeting House Historic Site and was worth the drive. A beautiful setting with well-done historical information. A peaceful place. New bathrooms and nice picnic and playground. We took the short and free Ferry ride across the river and drove the scenic drive along the northern border of Tennessee. Scenic with good roads. The Corp of Engineer Dale Hollow Dam Campground in TN was more "campy" feeling with lots of trees and level sites. Well off the road so it was much quieter and scenic. read more

The lodge has a very nice lake view and the park is beautiful. The rooms are clean and could use some decor updates. However, the mattresses are awful. Worst nights sleep! Every joint in my body hurts! Please get new mattresses!!!! read more

I grew up visiting this park and probably have months of camping days under my belt here with my old Boy Scout troop. As others mention on tripadvisor, what once was a "grand" place is now sort of run down. The trails and creeks are the same but the facilities (restaurant, hotel, etc) are a sad shell of what they once were. It all looks neglected. I can remember coming here as a youth in the 80s and 90s and it was just superb. Now, when you walk in to the main lodge the carpet is stained and worn--a visual indication of failed management? We are staying in one of the villas and it is very nice. Furniture needs to be replaced, but the construction and setup is nice. If you are coming here to hike, bike or camp in one of the group camps it is prob still a good bet. I would not, however, stay in the lodge. I hope the state of TN improves the situation and I hear similar state parks are having similar issues. read more

Deciding to go camping last minute, I had a new tent shipped to the hotel front desk, and that worked out well; ...the staff seemed nice there at the facility. Noticed the hotel had an indoor pool, which --although only for hotel / villa guests, I was told-- looked very tempting. . . [The grounds around the hotel looked a little scruffy, but it was early in the year, so I forgive them waiting 'til the shrubs do their Spring growth.] Would love to check out some of the hiking trails next time. read more

Beautiful place! Had a blast taking hikes with my dogs along the creeks. The views are very nice. Will start going more often. Diffidently habit forming. I'll bring a boat next time! read more

We rented 2 campsites for 3 days to spend some time with our grandchildren...We had sites 82 & 84.. They were level and well graveled but too tight to the neighbor. My biggest complaint was the bath house. It has not been updated since it was built.. The pole light outside the bath house was not working and it was pitch dark. There is no excuse for that. Safety issue !! No soap in the the dispenser to wash your hands either. I doubt that my family will be back. read more

This park has many advantages, but also a few disadvantages. It is a large park, fully forested, and is well interpreted. The area was an iron mining area in the early 19th century, and when it played out, apparently the whole area was left for dead. In the 1930s, as part of the WPA and CCC programs, the place was revitalized. The soil was amended, trees were planted, and some wonderful CCC structures were built, including a gorgeous stone causeway, over which a stream falls. It's stunning. The park office is beautiful, and the staff friendly. There was, however, a forlorn horned owl kept in a cage outside. I'm sure it was crippled, the way it was holding it's wing. But that cage looked cold, bare, and in bad shape. Part of the roof was gone. I felt quite bad for the thing, with no company. Part of it was the weather. It simply rained, hard, the entire time I was there. Seeing that owl in that forlorn, unprotected cage in the rain just looked bad. The main complaint I have about the campground is that the sites are very narrow, and very muddy. Like I said, it was raining. But all the sites badly need re-gravelling and clean-up. There were branches and piles of wet leaves everywhere. And you really have to watch where you're driving in any high profile rig. There are trees just about everywhere, all very close to the narrowing winding campground road. I had a devil of a time backing into my site, even with a smaller RV and backing up cameras, the whole bit. I finally went out and went front in. Only to have a terrible time backing out to leave. There are just multiple trees in precisely the wrong spots. read more

So I shall start this review by saying I'm not really much of a state-park gal. Sure, I enjoy the occasional campfire, but mainly just because of the accompanying s'mores. Mostly I dislike being bitten by assorted bugs, showering outside, and in general doing anything involved in camping. A recent retreat brought me to stay here overnight, as our festivities were held in the conference rooms over the course of two days. Honestly, I have to say I was pretty impressed. The rooms were nicely stocked and the associated food was pretty good, and definitely better than some of the other state park food I've experienced in the past. Both rooms could really use some new carpet-they're really stained and one of them had an active puddle, which I noticed during yoga as I stepped my hand into it. Accommodations were clean and not as nice as I'd usually like, but definitely good compared to other state park experiences. All employees I came across were very friendly. They even gave me coffee during breakfast in my travel mug so that I could take it on the road. Had a pretty lake with paddle boat and canoe rentals, and a nice shelter area overlooking the lake where we built a fire in the fireplace to make s'mores (even though it was over 100 degrees outside). And I didn't even get eaten by that many bugs. read more

Beautiful sights but confused staff. I was surprised and like the room, almost all rooms seemed to have a good view of the water or nature which was good. There was a AAA discount which was good, and it was $20 off. We were told breakfast was included and then ended up finding out after waking up early to a so/so not impressive breakfast buffet that it was NOT included and $25 for two people. There are boats for rental but the access to this area is very odd, we wanted to fish the day as we were checking out, which is allowed but difficult to get to and from the dock area from the parking lots. A good state park overall but I will try another park before coming back. read more

Awesome food and service! Great setting! There is a Great golf course, many trails, close to White Bluff and just Great all around place! read more

Nice kid friendly park. It's just too busy. The State of TN needs to develop another campground.

We really enjoyed the hike we did (the 6 miler) but came home with an INSANE number of ticks. Be prepared! Started out as a great day and ended up a nightmare - spent hours pulling ticks off of our dog. (This was late May) read more

I am Here at The Inn @ Montgomery Bell State Park. For the weekend Nov 3 And 4 . IT i my daughters 16th birthday. My house is too small to do anything. I am a single parent , my husband passed away 6 years ago. I work 2 jobs. I recently bought her a car for her birthday , however. I have worked my ass off to make this possible. And when i was asleep in the bed and housekeeping walked in and started making comment about how messy the room is, 8 people are staying in here, however, i have taken out my own trash , and cleaned up after our puppy. they stated how there is several pizza boxes and cake . btw there is still pizza in each box. and cake still left over . even tho your air conditioner leaked water on the floor and we never complained . your housekeeping complains about people that stay there. If they don't like their jobs. They don't need to be in housekeeping. That is what it is . Cleaning. Sort of like a surgeon. Don't talk about the patient when they are under . They might hear you. Customer service is in all aspects of a job. Not just behind a counter. Never know who is listening. You have no clue how low i felt laying there as a parent. They said there was no adults staying in that room. There is. These kids have been behaving. not been any trouble. All my daughter wanted was her friends around for her birthday. You people seriously need to know how to treat others. and now it is is 510 pm and other people are playing around on my patio. with their kids. But I'm not complaining or anything. Just stating the kids that are staying in my room are in the room and not running around messing around with other peoples rooms . i won't ever stay here again. Thanks for ruining my daughters weekend. read more

Outstanding park, very clean and quiet! We were there during a storm and the park ranger came around at 10 o'clock at night to check on the creek. Wish we lived closer to this park. read more

Love this park ,great trials,great staff,have not played the golf course yet heard it was nice .

Good for birding, it's not very rural but as long as you don't come Friday-Sunday it's not very busy

Just got back from a long weekend there and overall had a very good weekend. The staff were all helpful and nice! THE GOLF COURSE My husband and I are golfers and played twice while we were there. The course itself was in decent shape. There were some brown areas and spots that were very dry, but the greens and tee boxes were nice. Fairways are wide and very little trouble along the way. Hardly any water comes into play and there aren't too many bunkers. Seems a little expensive for not being in pristine shape, but we had a great time. Loved that they had two coolers of water on each nine since it was over 90 both days. Driving range has clearly marked distances, and electric carts were smooth. FOOD The snack bar at the golf course was great!! Tasty burgers, loved the pimento cheese, and all other sandwiches hit the spot. Great selection of chips and snacks, and prices were good for a meal. If you want a place to eat that isn't the buffet, definitely try it! Not sure what their hours are, and it was closed one day at 6 after we finished golfing, so count on lunch if nothing else. You can sit in the snack bar to eat or they have picnic tables at the ninth green, which are in the shade, so you can watch golfers come in. The buffet at the inn was not impressive. We liked the breakfast, and found that was generally worth the $20 after tip and tax for two, because there was a lot of variety and it was good to feed us before golf. FYI if you get cereal, they will bring out milk...it's not out on the buffet. The Friday night seafood buffet was not to our liking. The fried shrimp was the best, the baked chicken okay, but we didn't like much else. Surprised they didn't have more kid-friendly things like pizza or chicken fingers, and instead had frogs legs and clam strips. We didn't know it was seafood night, and they charge more for that due to the menu. The fish was overcooked as well. And they don't label any of the dishes. Was not worth $15 each due to lack of variety and some of the food we had wasn't very tasty. We avoided the buffet after that except for breakfast and opted for eating at the golf course and in Dickson. LODGING We stayed at the inn, and the rooms are just okay. They don't have many king rooms, so just two doubles for us. No bathroom fan, LOUD air conditioner, and the beds are not very comfortable. The balcony was nice, but the lake view may or may not be obscured by trees. The wifi worked great in our room, but the front desk said it doesn't work in all rooms...so we got lucky. The walls are THIN....we could hear when people in the next rooms were watching TV or having a conversation. I wouldn't want to stay here very many nights, but it was fine for two nights. ACTIVITIES We didn't do a whole lot else in activities, but I will say their prices for kayak, canoe, Jon boats, and paddle boats were great! Cash or check only for those, but nice and cheap. The beach swim area looked smaller than I thought it would be. We did the basic orienteering course, but it was sort of pointless because it follows a clearly marked trail. The trail map for the park is available at the ranger station with a suggested donation of $2, but it is not extremely detailed. It's useful to learn distances, approximately where trails start, and how to join trails together. They had a list of weekend activities on a handout, and it was impressive...included a moonlit canoe outing, nature hikes, day canoeing, craft activities, etc. There was a lot and would be great for kids! CONFERENCE FACILITIES I attended meetings only and did not do any planning. It was sufficient but nothing spectacular. The rooms aren't very sound proof so you can hear the room next to you, which was distracting at times. They also were good about keeping drinks replenished. The audio visual stuff all worked just fine as well. read more

Every member of the staff was exceptionally courteous and friendly. Cabins are clean and quiet. Tons of things for families to do. We will definitely be back! read more

this place perfectly suited our needs. it was pretty quiet and the sound of the owls and cicadas was beautiful. the bathrooms were clean and the showers worked well enough. at $12 for a tent site you can't beat it! they also have wood on hand for $5 a bundle. you have to pay cash for the wood but can use a credit card for the camping fee. read more

I stayed at this state park several times in the 90s and 00s with great experiences, so when we were returning from Memphis last September, I wanted to introduce my husband to how beautiful it was. I was surprised when I called and was able to get a reservation at the last minute on a Saturday night at the height of the fall leave-changing season. I was even more surprised to find most of the inn was empty. We arrived to find there were no more rooms with queen or king beds...so we'd have to sleep in separate full beds for our "romantic getaway." (My husband's rather tall so two people in a full size bed is not an option for us.) This would have been believable had the hotel been bustling with business but we saw very few other guests in the 24 hours we were there. We walked into our room and the smell assaulted us. It smelled dank and stale. The carpet and bedding was extremely outdated and the shower was disturbingly discolored. An inn that had once been the quality of a higher-end economy hotel was now on par with the lowest economy hotels -- the ones with $19 nightly rates. But most disturbing of all was the fact that the air conditioning in every room on our floor and the floor below ours leaked some sort of fluid (water? coolant?) and as a result, it appeared to us that mold was growing on the patios and balconies. We didn't go into any rooms but ours but in our room the carpet beneath the air conditioner was moist as well, making us wonder if we were being exposed to mold as we slept. I'm well aware the state is on a limited budget and cannot afford to regularly renovate its inns, but if this particular state park's "state of affairs" is how the State of TN is now handling its State parks, we will not be staying at another one again. read more