Rock Bottom Horse Camp
8 RV Sites
Rock Bottom Horse Camp in Ewing, Virginia, offers a rare and specialized camping experience adjacent to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, providing dedicated equestrian facilities—horse pens, horse paddocks, and gated access—alongside traditional hiking and camping infrastructure at the doorstep of one of the most historically significant mountain passes in American history. Situated in Lee County at the convergence of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, the camp serves horse-camping enthusiasts who want to ride the national historical park's backcountry trail system with their own animals in the same landscape that Daniel Boone and the Wilderness Road's first American settlers passed through in the 1770s.
The camp's equestrian infrastructure is its defining distinction: horse pens and paddocks that allow riders to bring their own animals, a dump station for clean-up, and gated access that provides the security that horse campers with valuable animals need when leaving stock overnight. Walking trails on the property connect to the broader trail network, and the pet-friendly and open-access character of the facility suits the self-sufficient camping style typical of the equestrian camping community that travels with horses, trailers, and all necessary gear. The camp's primitive character relative to RV resorts is entirely appropriate for guests whose primary experience is horseback exploration of the mountain terrain.
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park preserves the natural mountain pass in the Cumberland Mountains where the Warrior's Path—the ancient migratory corridor used by elk, bison, and the Indigenous peoples who hunted them—became the Wilderness Road, the primary route of American westward expansion in the late eighteenth century. An estimated 300,000 settlers passed through the gap between 1775 and 1810, making it one of the most consequential geographic features in the story of the United States' territorial expansion. The park's 24,000 acres encompass the gap itself, Pinnacle Overlook's panoramic vista of three states, and the Hensley Settlement—a remarkably intact early twentieth-century mountain farm community restored to operating condition on the ridge above the gap.
The park's 85 miles of trails provide equestrian access through a landscape of Appalachian hardwood forest, ridge-crest meadows, and the historical features—road traces, fortification sites, and pioneer homestead foundations—that give the terrain historical depth alongside its natural beauty. The Cumberland Gap town of Middlesboro, Kentucky, just across the state line from Ewing, provides the nearest commercial services including fuel, grocery, and dining options for guests making supply runs during multi-day stays. The surrounding Powell Valley's agricultural character and the Lee County countryside's Appalachian heritage provide a rich cultural backdrop for guests exploring this corner of far southwestern Virginia.
Rock Bottom Horse Camp operates seasonally from spring through fall in the southern Appalachian climate that delivers comfortable trail riding temperatures through most of the outdoor season. The spring wildflower bloom in the national park's hardwood forests and the October foliage season represent the most visually rewarding windows for equestrian exploration, and these periods generate the highest demand among riders who time their visits to the landscape's seasonal highlights. Guests planning to bring horses should contact the camp well in advance to confirm paddock and pen availability, as equestrian camping facilities in the Cumberland Gap corridor are limited and in consistent demand from the horse-camping community.
from $30/night
