100+ miles; trail difficulty – beginner to advanced
Address: 5100 Laura Furnace Rd Golden Pond, KY 42211
Phone: 270-924-2201
Email:[email protected]
Website: https://www.landbetweenthelakes.us/seendo/camping/wranglers-campground/
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/WranglersLBL
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Getting here – mostly wide rural highways.
2. Parking & Trailers – ample parking on gravel pull through lots big enough for large trailers, sun and shade.
3. Family Friendly – yes
4. Trail Difficulty – beginners to advanced.
5. Trail Info – 100 miles on 12 trails from campground, boots or shoes recommended.
6. Amenities – showerhouses, restrooms, hay, ice, shavings, riding stables, onsite store and office.
7. Events & entertainment – organized rides, rodeo, clinics, etc.
8. Lodging – 12 furnished cabins (bring linens).
9. Hookups – 236 sites with hookups.
10. Stalls – 6 barns with 150 8×10 covered stalls equipped with lights and water.
Other/notable:
See chimney on trail 9, blue hole on trail 8, tobacco barn on trail 7 and buffalo herd.
Wranglers Campground near Cadiz, Kentucky is one of my favorite places to camp and ride. It’s
located just over the Northwest Tennessee state line in the heart of a 170,000 acre peninsula known as
Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.
The land was designated as a national recreation area in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy. Originally
managed by the Tennessee Valley Authority, dams were constructed along the Cumberland and
Tennessee rivers to create Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. In 1991 the land was then transferred to the
U.S. Forest Service and remains in its care today.
Wranglers Horse Campground is quite large, offering its campers over 230 pull through and back in sites
of all sizes complete with hookups. For riders without living quarters, take your pick of 12 rustic cabins
(be sure to bring linens). Heated shower-houses and restrooms are centrally located throughout the
campground and many of the necessities campers need such as hay, ice, and shavings as well as food,
toiletries, and apparel can be found at the camp store. For the horses, there are 6 covered barns
dispersed throughout the campground for easy access regardless of campsite location. There are 150
8’x10’ stalls and are equipped with lights and water access. The campground offers events throughout
the year like rodeos, organized trail rides and clinics. Also located on site is a wrangler guided trail ride
stable for non-horse owners.
My family has enjoyed over 100 miles of 12 different trails that connect through the landscape of the
area. The landscape varies from woodland hills to grassy fields and meadows, offering something for any
level of rider. Though I do recommend shoes or boots as some areas are rocky, many of the trails are
wide with easy footing. Be sure to grab a trail map at the office when you arrive at the campground then
take time to ride out to some of the great trail destinations they have to offer. Some of our favorite
sights on the trail are: “the chimney” on trail 9, “blue hole” on trail 8, and the barn on trail 7 as well as
riding alongside the perimeter fence of the nearby buffalo herd.
If you get your fill of riding, jump in your truck, and explore the park. Land Between the Lakes boasts of
many historical sites. “The Great Western Furnace” still stands in its pyramid structure near “blue hole”.
Originally built to create iron, the giant furnace is a sight to behold, and the blue hematite rocks (a
byproduct of the iron-making process) litter the trails and streams throughout the area. Just down the
road from the furnace is “The Homeplace”, an 1850s farm that offers reenactments of the life of
subsistence farming in that era. There are other opportunities for tourists as well. Our favorites were
the Elk and Bison prairie, a 3.5-mile paid, drive through loop in the middle of elk and bison herds and the
planetarium.
Our trips to Wranglers have always been fun and adventurous and we look forward to going again soon.