Campgrounds and RV parks near Van Lear, KY

Van Lear sits in Johnson County in the Big Sandy region of eastern Kentucky, within easy reach of two Kentucky State Parks that anchor the local RV scene. Paintsville Lake State Park Campground sits along the shores of the 1,139-acre Paintsville Lake in Johnson County, roughly a short drive north of town, while Yatesville Lake State Park occupies a peninsula on Yatesville Lake, an impoundment of Blaine Creek that covers 2,300 acres, has three islands, and averages 40 feet in depth to the northeast near Louisa. Both state park campgrounds cater to RVs and accept reservations through the Kentucky State Parks system. Paintsville Lake Campground offers 32 full-service sites with electricity, water and sewer hookups plus ten primitive sites, along with hike-in tent access via a maintained gravel path. The Yatesville campground also has the park system's first double RV campsites, in which two recreational vehicles may park side by side. Private options fill in around the lakes. Creekside Cabins and RV Park sits near Louisa with full-hookup RV sites, The Falls Campground is set along Blaine Creek at Fallsburg with a small waterfall on the property, and Little Sandy Lodge near Sandy Hook provides a lodge-and-RV base for exploring the Grayson Lake and Laurel Gorge area.

The two state park campgrounds share a single reservation system. Reservations must be made 1 day ahead of arrival and can be made up to 12 months in advance through the Kentucky State Parks portal on ReserveAmerica, or by phone. Sites at Paintsville Lake in particular tend to sell out well in advance for summer weekends, so booking as early as the 12-month window opens is the safest strategy. Private parks handle their own bookings. Creekside Cabins and RV Park, The Falls Campground at Fallsburg, and Little Sandy Lodge near Sandy Hook each take reservations directly by phone or through their own websites. A few state-park rules are worth planning around. Kentucky campground sites can be occupied by a maximum of 8 occupants, four adults and children 16 and under are included in the base rate, and additional adults are charged a per-night fee collected at the park. Golf carts are allowed in the campground by purchasing a permit at check-in.