Mammoth Cave National Park & Diamond Caverns RV Resort; Park City, KY

Diamond Caverns RV Resort, a Thousand Trails campground, is located about 15 minutes from the visitor center of Mammoth Cave National Park. Its proximity to the National Park makes it a great base camp from which to explore the area.

Our drive from Michigan to Diamond Caverns was the longest drive we’ve had in a while at 365 miles, but it was not as stressful as some of the shorter drives we’ve done recently. The campground was easy to find, and upon our arrival shortly after 5pm local time we were greeted by a member of the campground staff. He checked us in, found us a site, and had us follow him there. He was kind enough to give us a pull-through site with full hookups on a concrete pad, which turned out to be nice with the bit of rain we got during our stay.

This campground was arranged better than the last two Thousand Trails Campgrounds we’ve been to. It was much easier to navigate, and there were plenty of pull-through, full-hookups sites to choose from. Some had concrete pads, others were just gravel. The grass was well kept, the bathrooms were clean (although a little dated), and the campground was quiet.

The one major downside we saw here was the playground. The wood was ripe with splinters and our youngest child caught a leg on a bolt that was sticking out. They were only allowed to play on the swings after that.

How to get there

Diamond Caverns is located on Mammoth Cave Parkway, just off I-85 in Park City, KY. Mammoth Cave National Park is a short 15 minutes drive from the campground.

Amenities

The campground boasts full-hookup sites, as well as water/electric sites, an RV dump station, clubhouse with a quiet room, a pool, laundry facilities, restroom/shower facilities, playground, mini golf, and more. We used the laundry, which suited our needs just fine, and had a full-hookup site so we didn’t check out the showers. Overall, plenty to keep you busy if you choose to stay in the campground.

What to do

Outside the campground, there is plenty to explore. Mammoth Cave National Park Visitor Center is just 15 minutes away. We visited the park on a fee-free Saturday, where we got to explore one of the caves and explore the many hiking trails around the main visitor area. My son and I ended up completing 9 miles of hikes that day!

Remains of the Mammoth Cave Saltpetre Works. Saltpetre, when mixed with charcoal and sulfur, makes gunpowder. This mine operated from 1811 until 1814.
"This cemetery, known as 'Old Guide's Cemetery,' probably began as a slave cemetery. Others buried here were early visitors to Mammoth Cave. They share this resting place with cave guide Stephen Bishop, who died in 1857 and is the only known Mammoth Cave guide buried here. Bishop was owned by Dr. John Croghan, a physician and the proprietor of the Mammoth Cave Estate. A nineteenth-century tourist enterprise, the Mammoth Cave Estate was forerunner to what became Mammoth Cave National Park."
"This site marks the end of the cave passage. If the large pile of rocks at the end were excavated away, you would see the small valley on the other side. Originally, this large section of cave was much longer, but the weathering and erosion that formed the valley outside cut into the body of the cave, resulting in the passageway's collapse."
"Sloan's Crossing Pond represents something unusual in this land of sinkholes - a surface pond."

Because it was the Sabbath, we chose not to purchase the Junior Ranger booklets. Maybe the kids will get their badges here another time, or we might go online and print the booklets (which you can do for free) and mail them in for their badges.

We especially enjoyed having full-hookups at our campsite for the first time in many months. With its proximity to the National Park and plenty of other places to explore, we/ll definitely stay here again if we are in the area.

Have you visited Diamond Caverns RV Resort or Mammoth Cave National Park? We’d love to hear about it! Please leave us a comment below, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest @simplejoyfuljourney, or email me at alicia@simplejoyfuljourney.com. And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of the page before you go. Have a great week!

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