Tennessee Campground Reviews
Of course you're welcome to look around. But the campground reviews on these pages are not highly refined. It's a rough collection of notes primarily intended for my own future reference. You'll notice I like pet-friendly activities, pinball and trains. By 2020 we had transitioned almost exclusively to state parks. The parks rarely have full-hookups, but the space, seclusion and quiet are so worth it. Click any link within the text for corresponding picture.
Cherokee Trails Campground & Stables at Bluff City. Last visited October 2015. Cherokee Trails is a tiny campground with stable facilities but less than two dozen sites near Bristol and South Holston Lake. Nearly half the sites were occupied by seasonals or full-time residents. In 2015 we stayed in site 11 and would take it again. In 2013 we stayed in site 2. Sites 1-7 weren't level side-to-side and were along a busier road (not that there's a lot of traffic around here). Sites 9-12 weren't level front-to back and were along a less busy road. I'd pick 9-12. All the sites were big and everything was well manicured with some great views. All the upper sites 1-12 shared a central fire ring in the middle of the circle. The lower four sites 19-22 were neat and had individual fire rings, but were electric and water only. There's a washer and dryer available in one of the sheds. I like this place. It has an isolated feel to it, but is close to a lot a activities. It's in a narrow mountainous hollow accessed by a 1.4 mile one-lane road. Traffic is light, but I'm not sure what happens when two rigs meet. Maybe it's not the place for fainthearted big-riggers. Looks like there's a lot of great local hiking, but we didn't have the time or weather to check it out. We did do some hiking around both the South Holston and Watauga dams. The TVA does a nice job of maintaining a few miles of trails at each dam site. There's also some good hiking (and a miniature train) at Steel Creek Park. Map. The orange triangle trail along the east side of the lake was a good walk. All the other trails look more involved. During our 2013 visit Bristol was essentially closed thanks to a "Rhythm & Roots" event (no dogs). So we checked out Elizabethton instead. The town has a neat historic business district with covered sidewalks which went great with the rainy day we had. We found some good pork BBQ takeout at Bristol BBQ (drive-through only). The next day was clear and sunny and we got a dog-friendly pontoon boat rental from the Friendship Marina on South Holston Lake. Fantastic day! Bristol Caverns was well worth the visit as well as the Bristol Motor Speedway guided tour. There's no way I'd go anywhere near the Bristol area on an actual race weekend.
Norris Dam State Park. Last visited October 2015. We stayed in the east campground at site 3. The site was on the edge of a forest view and nicely isolated from the rest of the campsites. The immobile concrete picnic table was nothing but in the way. It was a tight site and a little awkward for our truck and 24' trailer, but well worth the view. Site 16 might be another good choice with trees on one side and a meadow on the other with great curbside sunrises. We checked out the west campground and decided we prefer the east which seemed more peaceful (at least at site 3). We'd stay here again! There's good local hiking in the park as well as at the TVA dam site. And I liked the Grist Mill and Threshing Barn museums. Oddly there was no onsite firewood. The rangers told us to go into the woods and grab whatever deadfall we could find. The Museum of Appalachia was well worth a visit. We got a dog-friendly pontoon boat rental from Sequoyah Marina. We explored portions of Cove Creek, Mill Creek and Big Ridge State Park. It would take a multiday boat rental to cover the whole lake. Clinton, TN Article.
Pine Mountain at Pigeon Forge. Last visited September 2013. We stayed in site 46 for a week. Site 61 may be the best, but any creekside site would be good. Everything was neatly maintained with all full-hookup sites on concrete pads. Nice campground, but staying in Pigeon Forge was more trouble than it was worth. If I had to do it again, I'd pick a campground convenient to Gatlinburg without the hassle of driving through Pigeon Forge to get anywhere. In Pigeon Forge we did the Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster, the Titanic Museum and the Dixie Stampede (which was great). We also walked along the Riverwalk Greenway connecting the Old Mill area with The Island. We went to the Little River Railroad & Lumber Company Museum in Townsend. It happened to be closed, but fortunately most of the exhibits were outside. Howard's Restaurant in Gatlinburg had a great dog-friendly outdoor patio area overlooking a creek. The second-floor Wild Boar Saloon had three modern Sterns, but was closed during the day. I did the Hollywood Star Cars Museum and the Gatlinburg Sky Lift. As for Ober Gatlinburg, I did the Aerial Tramway, Alpine Slide and Wildlife Encounter. The Ober Arcade had a nice Lord of the Rings and T2. There was a dog-friendly scenic trail connecting Gatlinburg and the Sugarlands Visitors Center. Otherwise dogs are not welcome on National Park trails. We drove to and Cades Cove and Newfound Gap.