$15 / night

Camper submitted image from Thunder Rock Campground - 1

Camper submitted image from Thunder Rock Campground - 2

Nature

Camper submitted image from Thunder Rock Campground - 3

Facilities

Camper submitted image from Thunder Rock Campground - 4

Roads

Camper submitted image from Thunder Rock Campground - 5

Activities

Established Camping

Thunder Rock Campground

19 Reviews

About

National Forest

Cherokee National Forest

Overview

Thunder Rock Campground is located 1.8 miles northwest of the Ocoee Whitewater Center, just behind TVA Ocoee Powerhouse Number 3. Nestled alongside the Ocoee River, this facility provides 37 regular campsites for popups and RVs less than 20 feet with no elctricity , ONLY site 9 is an electric site for less than 20 feet at 30 amp, and one group campsite. Thunder Rock is a popular destination for both whitewater and trail enthusiasts.__

Recreation

Trailhead parking is available for the nearby Tanasi trail system, which includes approximately 30 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails. This system can be reached via Thunder Rock Express, Dry Pond Lead, or the Rhododendron Trail. Thunder Rock also provides access to the Benton-McKaye Trail.

Facilities

Natural Features

The Cherokee National Forest is located in eastern Tennessee and stretches from Chattanooga to Bristol along the North Carolina border. The 650,000-acre swath of land is Tennessee's only national forest. It lies in the heart of the Southern Appalachians and is home to more than 20,000 species of plants and animals, as well as many rivers, creeks and lakes.

Nearby Attractions

The nearby Ocoee River put-in and Ocoee Whitewater Center, home of the 1996 Olympic Canoe/Kayak-Slalom Competition, makes this an ideal location for rafters and kayakers alike.

Charges & Cancellations

All sites have a $18.00 cancellation and reservation fee.____

Fee Info

Standard Electric site fee = $20 per night (or $15 per night with a discount pass)

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Location

Thunder Rock Campground is located in Tennessee

Directions

From the Ocoee Ranger Station, turn left onto Highway 64 eastbound and travel 10.9 miles to the TVA Ocoee Powerhouse Number 3. Turn right and cross the bridge to reach the campground on the right.

Address

3171 Hwy 64
Benton, TN 37307

Coordinates

35.0761111 N
84.4855556 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.
Hike-In
Backcountry sites.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Poor
AT&T
Unknown
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Group

Features

For Campers

Trash
Picnic Table
Phone Service
Drinking Water
Electric Hookups
Toilets
Pets
Fires

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$15

/ night

First Come - First Served

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Contact

General Info

Nate B.

Traveler

Reviewed Sep. 1, 2023

Gorgeous trails, friendly community, national treasure

The campsites are spread out a decent amount, some more than others. More trails than you know what to do with. The main bathhouse is the cleanest. Was a little confusing when pulling up, as it was our first time camping in a national forrest but we enjoyed our time. You are near enough the main Forrest road so you will hear traffic but it didn't bother us much at all. Super easy to find. When you pull into the campground rean the main board for instructions on how to pay, I recommend driving around the campsite once to figure out which one you would like to use.

Site21

Month of VisitSeptember

(5) View All

michelle J.

Guide

Reviewed May. 18, 2022

First campsite I ever went to!

My husband's family took me here for my first camping trip, and I loved it! It was a quiet spot right on the water, in late fall when all the leaves where so beautiful. Mind you, I did wear every piece of clothing I packed, to the point that I couldn't even fold my arms. I've been on many camping trips since, and my cold tolerance has improved, but Thunder Rock remains one of my favorite spots to this day. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a place to spend a night under the stars!

Month of VisitDecember

(19) View All

Doreen M.

Traveler

Reviewed Apr. 24, 2022

River site

Right next to pump house which added to excitement. Short hike to Olympic kayak course. Beautiful. Clean.

Site2

Month of VisitNovember

(4) View All

Steve V.

Legend

Reviewed Apr. 19, 2022

Convenient Campground for all Outdoor Activities

We used this campground as a staging point for our Overlanding trip on the Big Frog Loop. Nice campground serving kayakers, white water rafters, hikers, mountain bikers, and trail riders/overlanders. Friendly camp host that regularly checks the grounds and bathrooms. Camp sites are level and and shaded, and include at least one lantern pole, table, and a fire ring. Water points and multiple Bear safe trash receptacles located around the campground. See our video review at https://youtu.be/rrmt3FDzlX8

SiteT37

Month of VisitMay

(16) View All

Lisa S.

Scout

Reviewed Mar. 16, 2022

Love the view!

We have stayed in this campsite twice. Being on the river is awesome. Yes, the highway is close, but it didn't bother us. The shower house/bathrooms are well-maintained and clean.

Site12

Month of VisitApril

sailcaptain

Traveler

Reviewed Nov. 18, 2021

Wish I could say some great things,,,

While a convenient place to base many outdoor activities (whitewater, MTB, hiking), this place has a enough detractions that you best be prepared for otherwise you could be disappointed. It’s noisy, really noisy, think camping next to the interstate noisy. If you have been riding or paddling or hiking all day, you might sleep though it. Don’t expect the river to drown out the highway noise. Speaking of drowning, this is really not a good place for families with small children, the campground is on the river and all of the sites on the north side have access to it. This is not a lazy river, this is serious fast moving water. Be very careful with your kids.

The sites on the south side away from the river tend to be wet or even quite muddy, choose your site carefully if booking online.

While there is a nice clean central boathouse along with pit toilets, don’t expect much if any hot water. The pit toilets and the boathouse were clean but there was an overall slight sewage smell to the entire place during both of our visits.

Finally, don’t drink or have ANY alcohol visible at your site. We were warned by other campers and rangers patrolled the park several times everyday during our visits.

Month of VisitNovember

Charles H.

Guide

Reviewed Nov. 4, 2021

Very Good campground

Easy access off Hwy 64, so close to stores for food and firewood. Well maintained campsite with clean bathrooms and very clean, nice showers. Alcohol prohibited as think county is dry. There seems to be an attendant and if so, they do an excellent job maintaining the campsite. This is a popular site and you need to check availability online ahead of time, reserve and book. Low periods are first come first served but check first. Cell coverage very poor with Verizon and non existent with T mobile. Bring ear plugs as highway very close

Site16

Month of VisitDecember

Asher K.

Legend

Reviewed Aug. 1, 2021

Great location

This is a really great car camping campground along the Ocoee River. The space is divided up into a campground and a day-use area. The campground has bathrooms that are kept clean and a pay station to deposit your fee. From the campground, you can actually walk to the river and can also access several other hiking trails. Each site has space for several tents along with a picnic bench and fire ring. They also have a mountain bike cleaning station since there are several trails accessible from the campground. Overall, this is a great option if you are looking for easy car camping along the Ocoee.

(16) View All

nicole D.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 27, 2021

Busy but Comfortable

Very busy campsite. Get here early if you want to get a spot. There are showers on site and very clean bathrooms. Would recommend if your coming down to go rafting. No cell service with ATT. Make sure to bring your own firewood in with you. Lot of families and felt very safe.

Site26

Month of VisitJuly

Melody S.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 22, 2021

Great Camping Experience

Spectacular views and lots of places to explore in the Cherokee National Forest.

We checked out the Ocoee Whitewater Center, Mac Point Beach, Clemmers Trailhead, went whitewater rafting and floated down the river behind the campsite.

Would love to visit again and check out more of the many trails in the area.

Site1

Month of VisitJuly

(7) View All

GoWhereYouAreDraw N.

Legend

Reviewed Jun. 9, 2020

I recommend site 10!

Campsites are close to one another. If you camp at a site near the water, it is really nice, but everyone will walk by your campsite so they can go down the path to the river.

There are two trailheads in the surrounding area - Thunder Rock Express and Dry Pond Lead with parking available at the Campground entrance (no fee for hikers). Great waters for whitewater rafters and kayakers to enjoy. For the hiking and biking enthusiasts the Tanasi Trail system that adjoins at the Ocoee Whitewater Center, just a short hike or drive from the campground.

Tyler J.

Ranger

Reviewed Mar. 19, 2020

Wonderful river spot

Right next to the ocoee river. Wonderful spot

Moriah G.

Scout

Reviewed Aug. 31, 2018

Beautiful riverside campground

I was able to easily camp here in my van for the night. Right off of the Upper Ocoee River near the Olympic Section, so it was a little noisy with highway 64 traffic.

Brittney W.

Traveler

Reviewed Jun. 10, 2018

This is a smaller tent only campground located along the Ocoee River

The campground was very clean and well maintained. There is a bath house with showers and an area to hose off bikes as well. There's no approved place to wash dishes, the bath house and water pump both specifically say not to clean dishes in the area. My guess is this is due to the possibility of attracting black bears, there are several bear proof trash cans available for use. The campground backs up to the river and a really great hiking trail. There's no ranger station or check in, it's self filled envelopes or registering online.

Month of VisitJuly

Jennifer S.

Guide

Reviewed May. 19, 2018

Great Campsite

I took my son camping, river rafting, and ziplining last Labor Day weekend. We had a great time! The bathrooms got a tad dirty but there was a ton of people there that weekend. Other than that it was amazing.

(10) View All

Ben B.

Scout

Reviewed Jul. 3, 2017

Great kayaker campground

One of my favorite campgrounds when paddling the Ocoee River. Nice clean bathrooms and campsites right along the water.

SiteAll of them.

Month of VisitJune

Austin R.

Ranger

Reviewed May. 12, 2017

Riverside... but busy road

The campground was alright. The majority of the sights were right on the riverside, but the neighboring road has heavy traffic. The camp host was also not at the campground when I "checked in" either...

Chelsie N.

Guide

Reviewed Apr. 17, 2017

Thunder Rock

This campground is right on the road, which is a shame because it is central to mountain biking, hiking, and rafting on the Ocoee River. Semi trucks brake down the mountain ALL night long, and even though the river is loud and beautiful, the cars and trucks are louder. We tent camp, so this might not be as helpful of a review for RV people. Other than the road, it was great to mountain bike straight from the campsite to the Tanasi trail system. Hiking trail heads were also directly from the campground. We used the group site, and there was plenty of room, but super close to other campers. Not very primitive here.

Henry F.

Scout

Reviewed Aug. 6, 2016

This is a National Forest campground

Alcohol is not permitted. Overall a great place to stay, economical, clean, good facilities. Right on the Ocoee River - whitewater kayakers can put on the river right from their campsite.