Blue Heron Campground

About

Blue Heron Campground sits on the Kentucky side of Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, combining traditional wooded camping with modern conveniences. All 45 sites feature water and electric hookups (20 and 30 amp standard, some sites with 50 amp service), picnic tables, and fire rings. The campground includes flush toilets, hot showers, and a dump station for RV campers. The Big South Fork encompasses roughly 125,000 acres of rugged Cumberland Plateau terrain, where pristine streams have carved dramatic sandstone cliffs, arches, and rock chimneys over millennia. Campers can explore numerous trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. The main river channel offers fishing opportunities. Just a few miles away, the Blue Heron Mine (Mine 18) has been reconstructed as an outdoor museum where visitors hear audio presentations from former residents who lived in this coal mining community during the 1950s. The Big South Fork Scenic Railway in nearby Stearns offers train rides through the gorge. Black bears are active in the area, so proper food storage is required. Alcohol is prohibited in the Kentucky section of the park.

Directions

Exit I-75 at Williamsburg (Exit 11) onto Highway 92. Travel approximately 20 miles, continue straight across Highway 27 at the 4-way stoplight onto Highway 1651. Watch for signs to Blue Heron and turn left on Mine 18 Road (Highway 742). The campground is on the right before reaching Blue Heron Interpretive Center at the end of the road.