Hanging at Mammoth Caves Camping Area?

[Strapped-4-Cache]

Hi All,

Been quite a while since I've been on the forum. Life has kept me pretty busy lately.

We're going to Mammoth Caves with another family in a few weeks. I've searched here on the forum and the 'net in general, but can't find much information about hanging in this park.

Does anyone have information about trees or hanging options in the family camping area? I can build a pair of Turtle Dog stands if I have to, but don't want to add to the already growing list of stuff to bring if I can avoid it. Kids, and maybe even my wife, plan to sleep in a tent, but I don't want to give up the comfort of my Blackbird.

Thanks!

[kurteous]

Was there two years ago. This was before I was a hanger, but I remember that it would have been difficult to get a site with good trees, especially for more than one rig. Go with the stands so you don't have to worry about it.

[The Old Boot]

What I've found generally through camping in at least 4 states and Ontario since I started hanging is that the front country campgrounds have been cleared of sooooo many trees to make room for the bigger RV's that there's little chance of finding two trees useful for hanging.

For example, Ontario leaves lots of trees around the perimeter of a campsite to provide separation from the next campsite but then makes a rule that ALL your equipment must be confined to the open area of the campsite. Good thing I have olive drab and that the ranger didn't notice the tarp set up in the bush area...sigh.

Take the stands, it will give you freedom to hang where you want to and ensure that you don't end up in the tent.

[Strapped-4-Cache]

Well, I've verifies with the campground that hanging *is* allowed, as long as the hammock is suspended with rope or straps and not nailed or screwed to the tree. No problem there. Finding a site with trees worth hanging from may be another matter.

I've already begun working on a pair of Turtle Dog stands for my wife and me, just in case.

[Strapped-4-Cache]

Just a quick follow up to this thread. While attempting to get information about the campground, condition of the sites, etc., I stumbled across the following webiste:

CampSitePhotos.com/

This site has collections of photos of campsites in campgrounds across the country, many of them devoted to showing a picture of each campsite in any given camping area. I managed to find pics of the sites we'll be using, and was pleased to see that we won't need to bring the stands after all.

I hope this resource might come in handy for others.