Best Glamping near Bankhead National Forest

This particular creek is one of my favorite canoeing destinations, as I grew up paddling along this river at summer camp. As an adult, it's been fun to return and spend time actually camping in the Bankhead National Forest. While I don't enjoy the heat and humidity the south has to offer in the summer months, this area provides well shaded sights and the cool water to keep the heat at bay.

This isn't a terribly busy camping area (I've never felt crowded here) and there are 102 sites ranging anywhere from $19-$38/night. Another highlight, unlike many USFS camping facilities this one has flush toilets! Not that there's anything wrong with vault toilets but flushing ones are nice!

If you find yourself in or around the Jasper area, take a moment to explore this national forest and why not spend a night or two in the woods while you're at it!

This campground is not open year round. It's season is early March-late October.

**Corinth Recreation Area– USFS **

Corinth Recreation area is located near the town of Double Springs, Alabama. The area is operated and maintained by the United State Forest Service (USFS) and can be reserved through www.recreation.gov. There are 52 total sites here and most reserved on line, there are a few sites only available as walk ins. This area is very clean and really quiet at night, the campgrounds are near the lakes edge but not lakeside. The sites are very well maintained, paved and gravel with full services including sewer. There are two RV campgrounds, Firefly and Yellowhammer. We stayed at Yellowhammer as this had more shaded sites than Firefly. There’s also a few tent only sites between the two loops. The bathrooms were clean and the staff was pleasant during our visit, we stayed five days and found so much to see near by the campground. There is very nice boat ramp on the park for easy access to Smith Lake, the beach area is also a great asset. Clean with a well-marked swimming area with bathrooms near the beach area. 

The Houston Jail (http://soloso.com/houston/) was a few miles away, this is the only surviving jail constructed from logs in 1818. It’s a historical landmark and worth the short drive to go and see. 

Natural Bridge Park (https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/alabama/natural-bridge-al/) is located in Natural Bridge, Alabama is also nearby. This rock formation is the longest sandstone natural rock bridge east of the Rocky Mountains. It’s a good hike through well marked trails and there is a small gift shop that also sells refreshments.

Dismals Canyon (https://www.dismalscanyon.com/) is thirty miles from the campground near the town of Phil Campbell, Alabama. This natural formation will make you question if you are really in Alabama. The hike is a good way to spend the day in a shaded but humid natural wonder. You can also attend a night hike to see the dismalites that only reside in a few places in the world. 

The Bankhead National Forest surrounds the entire area. The forest is huge and trying to visit the area waterfalls and trails without a plan is not recommended. Take the time to study the area maps and map the accessible roads before heading out. We actually stopped by the NSFS Office to ask for information, there was also a large map of the area there you can take a picture of that will help you with your planning. 

We had a wonderful time here at Corinth, we especially liked the campground and the deer that would come out to graze every evening. This coupled with the fireflies really made this stay memorable, we’ll be back.

This is a great campground which puts you near all the magic of the Sipsey Wilderness Area in the Bankhead National Forest. We last camped here in May 2020 on Yellowhammer 21 and there was a bit of a sewer smell in that area when it’s hot, so beware of that, but otherwise the campground is great. The trails in the nearby Sipsey are just amazing. If you go hiking, make sure you have AllTrails with a downloadable trail map before you leave the campsite, because there is not great cell service on most trails, and it’s easy to get turned around in some places. They also sell a waterproof Cart-o-Craft map in the stores nearby that can be super helpful.

The campground was clean and stayed quiet. About 40 feet between sites. Trees but no underbrush, so no real privacy between sites. The campground is geared towards RV's. It's not bad. There is water and electric at all the sites. Dont plan on playing in the lake unless you get the outer side of the loop. It's good that the waterfront sites are not reservable in that you have a chance at something. I've never been one to plan out my camping weekends 42 years in advance like everyone else seems to. Its on the far south side of bankhead national forest. We went to hike some trails in the Sispey wilderness and it was about an hour drive to get up there. Our neighbors, which I think are camp hosts are friendly enough, but they left there dozen strands of led lights on all night. It looked like the Vegas strip not the woods. I prefer the woods. But if you like the big RV culture you will probably love this place. I'll keep looking for a quiet place in the woods.

We stayed in early August for 2 nights in the Sleeping Waters campground.

We got there pretty late (after dark) for setting up camp, and I do not recommend doing that. It's about a quarter of a mile walk to the campsite, but the site is absolutely gorgeous! Very secluded and very roomy! The waterfall at the campsite is not large, but it still makes noise.

After we got everything set up and got all the lights out, we noticed the glowing dismalites along the Canyon wall behind our tent!! It was super cool. We also had a creek flowing with crawdads, minnows, and bull frogs. Plenty of wildlife!!

The canyon was pretty cool! The waterfalls were awesome and I loved all the spur trails. Disclaimer: be prepared to get your feet wet!!

The Canyon and campsite were pet friendly. Dogs were even welcome in the country store!! Just not in the seating area for the Soda Fountain.

I have few, minor complaints.. 1) I booked this campsite earlier in the year (early spring, I believe). I specifically wanted a night tour. They did not tell me that they wouldn't have night tours at that time of year. I wish I would've known, as I would've planned the trip for spring or fall. 2) the gate to get into the Canyon after hours for the bath house was difficult to operate. I'd pinch the code in and it wouldn't open. It would take several tries. The gate for the campsite area worked great! 3) The gate leading to the campsites was not marked. At night, it was challenging to determine where to park. 4) In the Canyon itself, not all of the landmarks were marked!! We had a map, but we had never been there before, so we weren't able to find everything easily.

I arrived without a reservation trying to get one of the first come first serve spots. There is a gate without intercom, so you can’t just drive up. I called the phone number listed and the woman on the phone gave me the gate code and told me which sites were available. Worked out pretty well. Stayed in 22. One bathhouse is open. Another one I tried was locked due to Covid. Clean. Yellohammer sites have full hookup. Then there are tent sites. I was contemplating getting a tent site with my van, but they were pretty unlevel and small. There is a public boat ramp and one specifically for the campground. Water level was still very high in the lake after recent rains and storms.