Camp Carlson Recreation Area

Featured
 
4.3 (79)
125094 3 53 0 67

Location

Installation
Fort Knox, Elizabethtown, KY
GPS Coordinates
37.90373, -86.025638
Location Information
Fort Knox, Elizabethtown, KY
RV Gate Coordinates
37.902497, -86.024407

Directions

Directions
FROM I-65 HEADING NORTH, take exit-91 heading west on the KY Parkway. In a very short distance, take exit-136 heading north onto US-31W bypass. In about 3.5 miles, turn left onto US-31. Go about 15 miles north on US-31W and turn left onto US-60. There is no gate. At the turn in, stay to the right. The office is the first building you will see with RV parking directly next to the building on the left. ---- FROM I-65 HEADING SOUTH, take exit-125 heading west on SR-841. Go about 10 miles and turn left (south) on US-31W. Go about 15 miles and turn right onto US-60 heading west. Go about 2.75 miles and campground is on your right. There is no gate. At the turn in, stay to the right. The office is the first building you will see with RV parking directly next to the building on the left.

Map

Google Map (Click on the map to enlarge)
Map of Camp Carlson Recreation Area

Contact Information

Phone Number
(502) 624-4836
Mailing Address
Camp Carlson Army Recreational Area, 9210 US Route 60, Muldraugh, KY 40155

Campground Information

Authorized Users
Active Duty, National Guard, Reservists, Retired Military, 0-100% DAV, Purple Heart Recipients, Former POW, Veteran Caregivers, DoD Civilians. Read this Article on Authorized Users
Season
Year round
Reservations
Reservations for water/electric RV sites can be made no more than 3 months out and no less than 72 hours of arrival. Cancellations must be made at least 1 month in advance for cabins for a full refund. Cancellations for RV Site must be made at least 48 hours in advance to receive a full refund.
Internet Access
No Wifi available.
Mail Forwarding
This facility now accepts forwarded mail or packages, USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc. at the campground main address: Your name and site # @ Camp Carlson Army Recreational Area, 9210 US Route 60, Muldraugh, KY 40155
Pet Information
2 pet limit with usual leash and clean-up rules. There are two dog run areas.
Campground Information
90 day stay limit, then out for 72 hours. Higher rates are from Apr 1 - Oct 31. Lower rates are for Nov 1 - Mar 31. Lodging rates vary on dates and accommodation size. Dump station available at campground ($2 for guests). Tent sites are for up to 6 people. $1 additional per person, per night for tent sites. There are NO tours to the gold vault.
Big Rig Friendly?
Yes
Amenities
  • Dump, Sewer
  • Water
  • Electric
  • Tent Area
  • Laundry
  • Showers
  • Playground
  • Picinic Area
  • Fishing

Site Information

Type of site
Spaces
Hook-ups
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Back-in
53
W/30,50A/S
$25 - $30
N/A
N/A
Pull-thru
9
W/30,50A/S
$30 - $35
N/A
N/A
Tent
Unlimited
None
$8
N/A
N/A
Cabins
10
Full
$55 - $80
??
N/A

Other Information

Firearms Policy
Keep all firearms locked in vehicles. Technically, they are not allowed, but there's no entry gate.
DoD Interactive Comment Evaluation

The Department of Defense (DoD) Interactive Customer Evaluation (ICE) system is a web-based tool that collects feedback on services provided by various organizations throughout the Department of Defense (DoD). Click the ICE logo to submit your evaluation on this campground directly to the responsible department.

Weather Information

When you want to escape the hustle and bustle world of military life, and you don’t want to take a long trip, just drive down the road a bit, for the peace only nature can bring………… Camp Carlson.

Located just five minutes from the heart of Fort Knox, Camp Carlson Army Recreational Area spans 65 acres of natural beauty, with a 25 acre lake that Catfish, Bluegill, Crappie and Bass call home. Camp Carlson is the perfect setting for an escape week, weekend or day and is ideal for Unit, family and extended family outings.

Photos

Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
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Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
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Camp Carlson Recreation Area
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Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area

Videos

A GOLDEN MILITARY CAMPGROUND?  Check out Fort Knox's Camp Carlson!
Driving tour of Camp Carlson Recreation Area, Fort Knox, KY
RV'ing: Camp Carlson (Fort Knox) KY 40155

Map

Swap Start/End

User reviews

79 reviews
 
59%
 
24%
 
14%
 
3%
1 star
 
0%
Overall rating
 
4.3
Location
 
4.3(79)
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
4.7(79)
Amenities/Facilities
 
4.2(79)
Value
 
4.3(79)
Overall Experience
 
4.3(79)
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View all user reviews View most helpful
Nov 7-13, 2023
Overall rating
 
4.7
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
3.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
5.0
Value
 
5.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
Great location. Facility is well maintained with a great staff. Bath house is cleaned a couple of times a week by private contractors. Laundry is $1 ea for washer or dryer.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
16 - 18 July 2023
Overall rating
 
4.0
Location
 
4.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
4.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
4.0
Value
 
4.0
Overall Experience
 
4.0
We had a very nice two night stay. The park is rustic, but we’re fine with that. We thought the price was fair in today’s market. Our thoughts were, “gee this is a nice, quiet park and we could really spend a week or two here”. The nearby lake and picnic grounds are quite nice. During our day visiting Ft. Knox, we discovered Cheryl’s ID would expire within the month. Although the pass & ID office normally works only from appointments, they fit us in and got her renewed. It was a step beyond what we’d expect from a pretty busy office.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
July 28, 2023
Overall rating
 
3.2
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
3.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
3.0
Value
 
2.0
Overall Experience
 
3.0
This was our 1st Fam Camp stay on the RV site. We have at&t cell service and had 4g most the time. This location is off the grid for sure so don't expect wifi or TV. We had a starlink satellite that we were able to watch some TV and use our phones. I could not work on the slow speeds however. This place offers everything but internet/cable. A busy hwy is next for so you can hear that when outside. The women's showers only have 2 stalls and one of those the shower head was broken and stall was full of grass in the drain. The other stall worked just fine but had to wait to use it. Cleanliness wasn't the best. They only have one dog park right in the sun with no shade. The dog park grass was way over grown. The dog poop bin was overflowing and probably hadn't been emptied in a month. Very upsetting to see this since they are strict with picking up after your dogs. If they'd clean and fix the bathrooms, toss the trash, and cut the grass I would of given a better review. Would only stay here again if I needed to do something on Fort Knox.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
May 15-20 2022
Overall rating
 
3.3
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
2.0
Value
 
2.0
Overall Experience
 
3.0
Beautiful, well maintained park, with picnic tables and BBQs at each site. Great Camp Hosts--Chris and his wife. Laundry was terrific, and the restrooms were fine. We were on site E-3, which is a concrete pull through. Water, sewer, electric, all top notch. However, there is no Wi-Fi, extremely weak cell coverage (between 0 and 2 bars on Verizon), and no over-the-air TV channels.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 4
Jan 16, 2022
Overall rating
 
5.0
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
5.0
Value
 
5.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
This is a diamond in the rough. The camp hosts are very friendly & helpful and go out of their way to help. Arrived in rain & our host came out, running ahead of us, to guide us to our site. The shower area is about 5 x 10, half is the shower itself & has locking doors, nicest shower I've seen for a campground. Everything is very clean & they also have a fenced dog park area which is pretty good sized. There is a small lake & park area which is nice too. This is one to come back to stay again.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 9 0
November 2021 to January 2022
Overall rating
 
4.9
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
4.0
Value
 
5.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
Very Nice park. It is under new management and they working on improving the amenities. Nice shower and laundry.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 2 0
October 2021
Overall rating
 
4.9
Location
 
4.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
5.0
Value
 
5.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
This is a great campground. Not on post at Ft Knox, but just down the road. We spent a couple of weeks and used Camp Carlson as our home base. We visited number of the distilleries on the Bourbon Trail and spent some time in Louisville including a baseball game. The staff were extremely friendly and did a get job maintaining the campground. The sites are spacious and level with fire rings and picnic tables. We will definitely be back in the future.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
March 2021
Overall rating
 
4.0
Location
 
4.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
4.0
Value
 
3.0
Overall Experience
 
4.0
This is a pretty decent campground but if you need/want Internet or cell service then you may want to pass on this.
A GOLDEN MILITARY CAMPGROUND?  Check out Fort Knox's Camp Carlson!
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March 18-22, 2020
(Updated: March 22, 2020)
Overall rating
 
4.6
Location
 
3.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
4.0
Value
 
5.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
We stayed in a "sleeper" cabin our first night here. It was crowded, with a double bed, very small bathroom, MW, under counter fridge, and tv. Very small table. So we upgraded to a one bedroom cabins that was much more comfortable. Both cabins were wonderfully clean; the entire campground was clean, for that matter. The mattresses are encased in plastic - maybe for cleanliness? But that made for noisy sleeping. The shower stalls were small; my dh and I are not heavy people, but those stalls were difficult for us to use. The campground is terrific - lots of open space around the cabins and in the trailer area. The laundry room was large and clean, so was the attached lounge. There are picnic tables/fire pits, and porch swings for each unit. The office ladies were friendly and helpful. It is a little strange that the tent spots have to use porta potties - couldn't they let tent campers put up tents closer to the bathrooms? The campground location isn't great, unless you are staying to visit someone at Fort Knox, maybe? We did stop at the PX; it is large and busy. I recommend this place; it is a good value - far better than what I have seen at many other military campgrounds and KOAs.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 4 2
March 9, 2019
Overall rating
 
2.2
Location
 
4.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
3.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
1.0
Value
 
1.0
Overall Experience
 
2.0
Too expensive for what you get. No cell service, no WiFi, no shade. Facilities weren’t very clean either. We will not stay here again.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 3 6
13 - 16 October 2019
Overall rating
 
2.3
Location
 
3.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
3.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
2.0
Value
 
2.0
Overall Experience
 
2.0
We have stayed here on numerous occasions and are hesitant to stop on our way south because of the location and the lack of services. The price is way too expensive for the amenities. There is little to no television reception and no wifi. There was no cell service. We had to go about five miles to use our phones. We have always commented on the cleanliness of the laundry and bath facilities but this time it appeared to be nonexistent. We will find another place to stay.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 4 2
Oct 11-15, 2019
Overall rating
 
3.7
Location
 
4.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
4.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
3.0
Value
 
3.0
Overall Experience
 
4.0
We enjoyed our visit to Camp Carlson Recreation area. The campground isn't a fancy RV park, but it's clean and quiet. Laundry s $1 a load and $1 to dry. The campground was less than 80% occupied during our late season visit. No problems with Verizon or satellite. We enjoyed visiting many of the local attractions, including Mammoth Cave. I felt $30 a night (FHU back-in) was a little high, but many military campgrounds are getting this way. The office staff was friendly and helpful. Making a reservation was easy. The nearby Fort Knox base has a decent sized commissary and exchange, including a well stocked class VI.
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Camp Carlson Recreation Area
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 4 1
24 Sep - 8 Oct 2019
Overall rating
 
5.0
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
5.0
Value
 
5.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
I don't know where the previous 3 remarks were coming from 1) Cell service is good here on Verizon, 2) satellite is possible from about 80% of the sites 3) $35 a night is not above the usual for a lot of family camps, I've paid as much as $50 a night 4) there is a ton of things to do around here unless you think driving up to Louisville is too far to drive, there's Churchill Downs, the Jim Beam distillery, n numerous Louisville waterfront activities, etc every weekend 5) campground can't be more then 20 miles from I-65 (guess that's too far for some). This campground is GREAT compared to some we've been in, and would not hesitate to come back here again. Elect, water and sewer are all above average too. 
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 10 0
July 27-28 2019
Overall rating
 
3.0
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
1.0
Value
 
1.0
Overall Experience
 
3.0
For the amenities it cost too much. There is no local TV stations, satellite is only available from just a few spot in the CG, there is no phone signal, and there is no WIFI. If you like a secluded camp with no contact with the outside world then this is the place for you otherwise find another CG. The camp itself is well maintained everything was clean and the campers friendly. I would stay here again but only long enough to go the Patton museum, then I would have to go where I can get satellite and WIFI. I NEED MY TV! 
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 3 0
May 24-26, 2019
Overall rating
 
3.0
Location
 
2.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
4.0
Value
 
1.0
Overall Experience
 
3.0
It cost $35.00 per night, which is more than I have ever paid at a military CG. There is absolutely no WIFI, even in the community center or office, there are no AIR TV channels to receive, and NO phone signal. We are FT and this is important to us... We had to go on base (CG is off base) to the PX to get WIFI, but you can get a signal for your phone a few miles away from the CG. The CG is quite a ways off of I-65, but not too bad. However, other than the Patton museum (awesome) there is NOTHING around there, but a few fast food joints; nothing! The sites, layout, office personnel, and CG were excellent. Very family camping friendly. Water pressure was GREAT! Overall, I highly doubt I would stay here again. 
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 1
May 12 thru 14, 2019
(Updated: May 22, 2019)
Overall rating
 
4.4
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
3.0
Value
 
3.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
Called the day before and they had an open slot for two nights. Very nice area, quite and clean. $35 a night was pretty high considering no WIFI and not much TV. Otter Creek was very nice and appeared to be stocked with some rainbow trout. Unfortunately no fly rode. The staff was very nice. Unfortunately was not able to go the Patton Museum on Monday (closed), but perhaps next time.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
May 30-June2 2018
Overall rating
 
4.2
Location
 
3.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
4.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
5.0
Value
 
5.0
Overall Experience
 
4.0
Good little campground! Quite clean, new bathhouses/laundry facility is very nice. Ft Knox is close by, with all the usual amenities. I wish the Gen. Patton museum was finished, but for a two night stay, it was very good.
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13 - 16 Sept 2017
Overall rating
 
4.7
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
4.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
5.0
Value
 
4.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
A nice quiet milcamp. Be aware there was no TV reception and limited cell service during our stay there is no longer any wifi offered by the campground. The camp managers were on top of our stay and had a nice check in process.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
28-31 May 2017
Overall rating
 
3.2
Location
 
3.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
4.0
Value
 
4.0
Overall Experience
 
2.0
This is a peaceful, quiet campground located not far from the main Ft Knox base. Grounds and bathhouse were beautifully and meticulously maintained. There is a lovely hiking trail to the nearby lake where one can fish as well. There appeared to be many long-term campers, with semi-permanent fixtures, but no visible sign of occupancy. Such "homesteaders" make it difficult for those who simply wish to visit the area for a few days. The free WiFi was poor at best, and there was NO AT&T wireless coverage, which we understand is not the campground's fault. In our situation, we expect to be connected 24x7, so were grateful when we moved out of the gully after four days. Considering the wireless and Internet situation, we will likely not stay here again.
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 8 0
May 19-20 & May 25, 2017
Overall rating
 
5.0
Location
 
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
 
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
 
5.0
Value
 
5.0
Overall Experience
 
5.0
Great place with very friendly staff. Cabins are awesome! All amenities needed including cable tv. Shaded around cabins with picnic table, grill, fire pit, large front porch with glider and chair. Very clean and well maintained. Price is great, alot cheaper than a hotel and more family friendly atmosphere. Thanks Carlson staff and Fort Knox!
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