OLIVE HILL — The campground at Carter Caves Resort State Park is full almost every weekend of the summer.

It is no wonder. The scenery is beautiful and there are countless recreational opportunities for the entire family.

Park Naturalist Coy Ainsley says families can spend a week at Carter Caves and not come close to doing everything. There are cave tours and hiking trails. The lake and the swimming pool. Miniature golf and a 9-hole golf course. But there is also a slate of free or low-cost activities offered every day of the week.

“Mid-June through Mid-July, we have something going on every day besides the cave tours,” said Ainsley. From mid-July to mid-August, the park scales down the events, but only slightly with special recreational activities planned Thursday through Sunday.

A glance at the park’s three page weekly recreation schedule reveals an activity for almost every age and interest group. “There is a lot of families that come to the park. The campground is always full of families with young kids or kids that are turning into teenagers. Between the tours and the activities we can usually find a niche for something that they can enjoy,” said Ainsley.

For example, on Thursday afternoon the park hosted its first Pinewood Derby Construction activity. For $5, children got a kit and got an opportunity to spend a few hours constructing and painting a pinewood derby car. The Carter Caves Pinewood Derby Race was slated for later in the evening at the park’s amphitheatre. “We’re going to try to do this every week,” said Ainsley. Prizes for winners included a free cave tour, a game of mini-golf, or a trip to the pool.

Down the hill from the Lewis Caveland Lodge in the shadow of the park’s Natural Bridge, Frank Kilgallin, a park interpreter, handed out skimming nets to about a dozen kids on the banks of Cave Branch just after 4 p.m..

For the next half an hour, the kids ranging in age from 7 to 13, waded in the creek overturning rocks searching for crawdads and other critters.

Gail Lacy and her cousin, Elizabeth Wooten, both of Wayne County, W.Va., brought their combined five children to the park to camp for several days. All five, Sydney, Savannah and Shannon Lacy, and their cousins, Nathan and Aaron Wooten, were enjoying a late afternoon in the creek.

The families visit and camp at the park at least a couple of times a year, said Gail Lacy, noting the creek is always a highlight. “They love the creek, they love putt-putt golf. She loves horseback riding,” said Lacy, pointing to her oldest daughter, Savannah, 12. “They just love everything.”

On the families’ agenda for the next couple of days are more activities including swimming, bike riding, mini-golf, Friday’s coil pottery class and a trip through the cardboard corrugated cave at the lodge.

“There is a lot of good family, outdoor fun things to do to get away from the computers and the TV,” said Gail Lacy. “It’s just fun to get out. It’s clean and its beautiful,” she added.

Angie Willis and her husband Chris, of Greenup County, were mid-way through their a week of vacation at the park with their three children, Shelby, 13, Emma, 7, and Brandon, 9. All three were busy wading in the creek, while their parents chatted on the bank.  

Angie Willis said she grew up taking family vacations to the park, and now her kids get to spend time there too. “It’s great. We’re having a good time,” she said.

John and Vanessa Bruce, of Urbana, Ohio, were wrapping up their week at the park. They found Carter Caves last year, during a trip to Grayson Lake State Park and decided to return for week this summer. “It’s been great,” said Vanessa Bruce, “I love the activities they plan for the kids.”

Their son, Emerson, 10, had caught a good size crawdad, he’d deposited into a tub for the other kids to examine and was on the hunt for another one in Cave Branch. “I catch those all the time,” he said, adding swimming has been his favorite thing to do at the park. The corrugated cave, which his mother also ventured into was another highlight.

The Bruce family said it would absolutely recommend the park to other families looking for a safe and fun retreat for the whole family. “We enjoy sitting around the camper and reading while he goes out and does the activities and rides his bike. He can do them on his own. I feel comfortable with it,” said Vanessa Bruce. “It’s a nice relaxing time for us.”

For a complete schedule of weekly activities, stop by the park’s visitor’s center near the entrance.

Scheduled upcoming special events include Cave in Movies, Pioneer Week and the Smoky Bridge High Line Adventure.

Campground and lodge reservations can be made online at Parks.ky.gov or by calling (800) 325-0059.

CARRIE STAMBAUGH can be reached at cstambaugh@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2653.