Our little trail riding group (about 10 of us) is headed to Dale Hollow State Park this weekend.  We've never ridden there before, but "Rose" and I went down a few weeks ago and checked out the campground and it is beautiful!

Have any of you been there?  Would like to hear some first hand accounts.

We are SO excited!  I just hope the weather is decent.

I have not ridden the Dale Hollow Lake area in over 27 years! Back then, there was no horsecamp and the trails were not really horse trails. At that time, it was more challenging than riding Cordell Hull. But there were some spectacular views.

Please let us know how the trails and the horse camp are. I think we may plan a trip up there next year.

We went down a few weeks ago and looked over the campground.  It is beautiful.  It is set up in a series of little loops, each loop has 8 sites.  Loops "P", "Q" and "R" are designated for horse campers.  The sites are all blacktopped and each has a small fire ring, picnic table and a pole for hanging a light.  And the bath house is very nice, which is important to me as I have no plumbing in my trailer.

There is no barn, so horses must be picketed.  That was of some concern to a few in our group, but they have been practicing at home.

Their website is pretty cool.  There is a picture of each site you can click on and actually see what your site will look like.

http://kentuckystateparks.reserveamerica.com/camping/map_of_Horse_P007/r/campgroundMap.do?camparea=42964254&selectedSiteRb=1292&contractCode=KY&parkId=91916

You have to make reservations through reserveamerica.com.  They charge a service fee of $7.50  But it was worth it to me to be sure that everyone in our group would be together.

Wow!  What a load of fun!!!

I have to say we picked a great spot for our "end of season" ride.  The campground was terrific and the riding was very enjoyable...some flat, some hills, nice views.

The campsites are level and blacktopped.  Each site has a 50 amp, 30 amp and 110 plug in.  Water spigots between every other site.  There were plenty of trees to tie our picket lines up.  The bath house was very clean, although the ladies shower could have used new shower heads and the water was warm but not hot enough for my taste.

The camp site

Horses on the picket lines

The fall colors were really nice.  One trail took us to a beautiful overview of the lake.  Another trail took us right to the water's edge.

More coming...

Some of us took a day off from riding and decided to check out the rest of the park.  We played putt-putt and went down to the marina to see some of the fancy house boats.

Our friend Billy had a little trouble with the putt-putt course.

But he enjoyed the boats

We had brought a wagon for hauling the big water bucket down to the picket line.  Billy, being the clown he is, just couldn't resist taking a little ride.

What a blast!  It was a perfect weekend.

Ms. Dwight, I am always behind the camera, too!!! If it wasn't for me, there would be no family pictures at all!

Ya'll look like you had a blast.... Someday I hope to travel across country to different trails... I met some nice folks at Bandera this week. They were from New Mexico.. Very nice people....I was eyeing their LQs and thinking it must be nice to have a home on wheels that you could take your horses traveling.. All their "camping" gear already in place.. no unpacking and setting up camp or putting up a tent (although I enjoy tent camping... I'm just having a moment).. Oh well, I wouldn't want their notes!

!!! I guess its a good thing that Walter and Henry did'nt show up.!!!

Just kidding.  Its looks like you all had a great time.

KyQH - Yes the trails are marked and mapped.  Right now there are only about 20 miles of marked trails.  They are "spurs" where you ride out to the end and then backtrack.  We spoke with the park ranger, who is a horse guy, and he told us they are working on linking the spurs together so that they make loops.  They are multi-use trails so we did encounter several hikers and a few bikers, but all were curteous and friendly.

We rode two of the longer spurs and it took us 3-4 hours at a leisurely TWH pace.  There were some QH riders who took the same trail and they returned to camp about 45 minutes after we did.

The ranger told us that they have a big organized ride the first week of October.  The ride is led by the rangers and then they have a supper of beans, cornbread and cole slaw.  And a bluegrass band.  We just might have to go to that one next year!

Charlotte - You are so funny!  Hmmm...maybe we could trade Johnny in for Walter and Henry next time?  On second thought, maybe we'll just leave them all at home!