Richmond, Kentucky: Fort Boonesborough State Park

May 2024, 2 nights, weekdays

Campsite 137 in Fort Boonesborough State Park

Reservations, arrival, campsite 137 and more

We made an online reservation at this campground. The cost for electric and water hookup was $33.30 a night after the 10% senior discount. There is also a $6 reservation fee.  I completed the pre-arrival email I received, and the check-in process at the camp store when we arrived, was very quick. I inquired about wifi during check-in, and the staff member told me not to buy it; she said it would only send text messages.

It had been difficult to choose a campsite online, as there are over 150 campsites in this park. In hindsight, we should have waited until we arrived, since we were staying mid-week in early May. When I viewed the campground map and photos online, I had thought site 138 would be a nice site; however, this campsite is not listed as one that can be reserved (at any time). Campsite 138 is a nice site, and the camper on it looked like it had been there for a while. There was nothing to indicate this is a host site, so I do not know why it is non-reservable.

Facing road from campsite 137 in Fort Boonesborough State Park

Campsite 137 is level and grassy. It is not too bad of a site, since there is a lot of space between sites 137 and 138, and there is a fair amount of room on the other side, next to site 136. During our stay, however, people arrived on site 136, and set up their tent with the door next to and facing our fire pit and trailer. 😳 This made it difficult to have a fire, and the view when sitting inside our trailer, was directly toward their tent door.

The section of the campground we stayed in was probably a bit quieter than the main middle area, as it is farther away from 627 with thick trees between the road and the campsites. We liked site 161, and would have chosen that site, if we had waited until we arrived to choose a site. When I looked at the campground online, it looked like that site would be close to the playground; however, it is not. It has trees along the sides, and is a good distance away from the play area. 

We were surprised that we had no TV reception in this campground, since it is pretty close to a few good-sized towns (Richmond, Lexington, and Winchester). I had Spectrum cell service, and my husband did not have any reception with Mint/ T-mobile. 

Fort Boonesborough State Park map

Recreation

We did not know the fort is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays when we made our reservation for those days. I realized this when I looked at the park again after completing our online check-in. Entrance to the fort is not included with the campground stay, and the folks in the camp store did not have much information. I was told they do not sell tickets, which they think cost $6, and that they think there is a senior discount. My husband had planned to visit the fort Wednesday morning before we departed, since I had some things to do; however, he did not end up doing that. We did view the fort from the outside, and we read the history placards posted outside the fort when we hiked the trails in the park. 

Site of Fort Boonesborough 

The original fort site is located next to the campground and boat ramp. There are several historical monuments and educational boards in this area. We spent almost an hour walking around this area before we hiked Fort Trail to the replica fort, which was not open. We then hiked Pioneer Forge Trail back to camp. Both trails were pretty easy, although Pioneer Forge Trail was extremely overgrown! It was open at the start, so we had already hiked a good portion of it before it started closing in on us. Fortunately, we did not have any encounters with ticks or other bugs.

View of Ohio River from boat ramp in Fort Boonesborough State Park

This park also has a boat ramp on the Ohio River, and a mini golf course (additional charge) in the campground. A sign posted at the pool building said it is closed indefinitely. 

Misc. and overall

This campground is located southeast of Lexington, and is easy to get to from I-64 or I-75. The wifi had a strong signal, so we decided to try it, even though we had been warned not to. The cost was $3.99 for 24 hours, and it was almost as unreliable as we had been told. Pages loaded very slowly, although we were able to read emails, and get a few things done.

Let me know if you have any questions, and feel free to share this post for others!