Whether you're an RVer or tent camper, Danville, AL is a great place to post up for the weekend—or longer. Danville is an adventure-filled destination for those who love the outdoorsy camper lifestyle. But it's also great for those who prefer to spend time near the city, exploring and sightseeing. Discover great camping spots near Danville, reviewed by campers like you.
"While staying in the area we stopped by and checked out this campground and associated trails. It is in a wonderful part of Bankhead and close to so many trail access points."
"Campground Review:
Sipsey is one of the real jewels of Alabama for backpacking and you really feel like you are in another world while wandering though these woods."
"Easily accessible to fresh water. Has nice logs around a campfire pit if you plan on having a nice campfire. Plenty of space to set up a tent, or a hammock."
"We loaded up all our gear into our hiking cooler and backpacking packs and trekked the 15-20 min downhill to this site. It is the 3rd campsite you pass after turning right at the bridge."
"This particular campsite is located at the intersect of several streams and is a beautiful spot with a large area to set up tents."
"It is a wonderful site and well worth claiming early since it is close to the parking area, has easy access to the river where you can pump water and swim, and best of all it has flat sandy tent spots"
"Check out my other reviews of the wilderness area for a general overview of the backpacking here.
This site, in particular, is one of my favorites to stay at."
"Each individual site has enough privacy while still providing group areas to congregate. On top of that, it is close to several water sources and has some of the most beautiful wildflowers."
"When we got to this campsite we were very excited and immediately began setting up in order to claim it early in the day."
"The site has plenty of space for several tents and a well-established firepit."
RangerCampground Review:
Tomahawk Primitive Campground is located near Cullman, AL right off of Highway 278. The campground is primitive, and has no electricity or water pumps or hookups at the individual sites, but there is a common room area attached to the back of the owner’s house that has a clean bathroom, a coffee maker, and electricity. There are 3 campsites with fire rings as well as a large, open field at the main campground area, and additional sites by the creek, about a 10 minute walk from the main area. The trail to the creek-side sites was partially cleared, but there were a few fallen trees blocking the path that could make it difficult to carry gear to those sites. My husband, puppy and I stayed at one of the tent sites in the main campground area. If you are staying in a tent, I highly recommend air mattresses for this camp. While the ground has been somewhat cleared, there are still large stocks sticking one or 2 inches out of the ground that would make sleeping without an air mattress very uncomfortable. However, the bigger issue making sleep difficult for us was the road noise from the highway, which stayed busy throughout the night. I assume that if you are in a camper you won’t notice it as much, but in a tent it made us feel like we were camping on the side of the highway and not at a camp. Another problem that we ran into, unfortunately after we set up camp, is that our site had a ton of fire ants. I’m not sure if this is a problem at all of the tent sites or if it was just ours, but I advise caution when choosing your site and where you set up your tent. Our favorite part of this campground was the creek. It was beautiful and clear, perfect for our dog to play in, and had good locations to set up a hammock and enjoy the peaceful creek sounds. If we were to stay at this camp again, we would bring gear that could be hauled to the creek-side campsites.
Gear Review: GCI Outdoor Pod Rocker with Sunshade
As a Ranger for the Dyrt, I sometimes get gear to review on my camping trips. For this trip I got the GCI Pod Rocker with Sunshade camp chair. I LOVE this chair, and so did my husband and dog. The chair comes in a durable carrying case, which is great because I’ve had many camp chair bags fall apart after just a few uses. The chair was a little confusing to set up/take down at first, until I realized that easy-to-follow instructions are attached to the bag. The chair is larger than most camp chairs and provides more support. The sunshade is adjustable and can be moved in several positions as well as completely collapsed. The only complaint that we had about the Pod Rocker is that the included cup holder is a pouch that doesn’t seem like it would actually prevent your drink from spilling. For me, the benefit of having a camp rocking chair far outweighs this one detractor. This chair was wonderful for camping but would also be perfect for outdoor sporting events and concerts. I highly recommend the GCI Pod Rocker with Sunshade! Here is the link for the GCI Pod Rocker with SunShade: https://www.gcioutdoor.com/rockers/pod-rocker-with-sunshade/
LegendThis is a very small campground- 13 improved sites (nine of these have 50 amp electric and can accommodate all sizes of rigs; four are designed for smaller units and have 30 amp electric) plus five primitive sites, which have communal water only (no electric). There is zero privacy/separation between the improved sites, which would make the unimproved sites possibly more appealing (but further from the restroom and it was pouring when we were there). Improved sites are gravel and include a BBQ, fire ring, and a very large picnic table. Rates are $16 for a primitive site/$29 for an improved site plus a $4.75 processing fee for the first night of your stay. Senior discounts are given.
The restrooms are functional and clean but basic. There was a leak in the roof from the pouring rain that could pose a slipping hazard.
There are a large picnic pavilion and two short hiking trails of about a mile each. We hiked the Fossil Mountain trail, which is very rocky. The main draw to this park is the cave. Tours are offered four times daily, January through November. If you camp, you receive a discount on the tour. The tour is worth doing.
GuideI stayed at site number 063, which was an RV site with electric and water, and it was adjacent to the primitive sites. This campsite had a gravel pad, and setting a tent up outside of the pad was impossible as all of the surrounding area was a steep slope. The pad was plenty big for my one person tent, but I can't imagine anything bigger than a 4 person tent fitting in the area. I definitely recommend the primitive campsites if you're tent camping. The sites in this part of the camp were pretty far apart, and there was plenty of privacy. The park was riddled with trails (22 miles of them), many of which were also open to bikes. The bathhouse was pretty far from site 063, but they were clean.
ScoutI'm a local and tent camping saves my sanity from a high preassured daily life. When I cant leave to camp I'll set up at a primitive site here for a week at a time. It's a simple space. No picnic tables at primitive sites. It's clean...beautiful....loads of hiking trails...and great food is a 10 min ride down the mountain to Huntsville.
LegendAlthough we have been to Monte Sano many times to hike and attend events, this was our first time camping here. Monte State Park Campground is a large campground with 15 full hookup sites, 59 water& electric sites, and 21 primitive tent sites. All the sites are gravel, most sites are wooded with lots of shade, and most site are mainly level. All style sites include a picnic table and fire ring.
Check-in is at the camp store if you arrive during store hours or with camp host if you arrive after hours. We stayed on site 24, which had complete shade throughout the day. This site backs up to a draw and each evening just before dust we could watch the deer walk up through.
The bathhouse is centrally located, newer, and cleaned daily. There are also laundry machines available between the men’s and women’s area.
Firewood, ice, limited grocery items, and souvenirs were available at the camp store. There is a full grocery store about 15 minutes away.
We found ok to limited cell phone service with Verizon throughout the property. The state park did have wi-fi near the camp store.
The park has many trails for hiking and mountain biking, as well as host the North Alabama Japanese Garden. The North Alabama Land Trust also connects to the state park and adds many more miles of trails. We hiked about 15 miles this weekend and there are many more miles to explore on another visit.
The state park is located 5 minutes from Huntsville where you can find many restaurants, breweries, and the Space& Rocket Center. Check the Huntsville visitor’s center website for all that is offered in the area. In addition, the Burritt on the Mountain located just minutes from the park entrance and has an open air museum and an amazing overlook of Huntsville.
We are very excited that this gem is located so close to use and are proud to call this our home camp!
GuideDuring my time in Alabama, I kept hearing wonderful things about Sipsey Wilderness, and its many waterfalls, rocky landscapes, and great hikes. Since it's "wilderness," there are no established campsites, and there is a strict "leave no trace" policy. That being said, the opportunity to pick your own home away from home on your backpacking trip leaves you with a plethora of gorgeous options! Be sure to check the water levels before your trip, because while Sipsey is always beautiful, it isn't abnormal for many of the waterfalls to be dried up after a hot summer. Also, if you park at the Sipsey River Picnic Area Trailhead, be sure to pay the $3/day parking fee. They will give you a steep ticket otherwise! I had read about the fee, but upon arriving didn't see where to pay and figured it must have been an outdated post. Turns out, there was just a car blocking the pay station, which is near the chemical toilet when you turn into the parking lot. It's a dated deposit system, where you put your payment in an envelope, drop it in a dropbox, and put the perforated proof of payment tag on your dashboard. So be sure to bring exact change!! I was expecting something a little more modern, so even if I had seen the deposit box, I wouldn't have had exact change on me.
The trails can get a little complicated, as there aren't really any trail markers, so be sure to buy a map of the area and bring it along with your compass. I found a map at mountain high outfitters at the Summit in Birmingham, AL, and it served us well. The 209 trail follows the river and is known as one of the more scenic routes. Nearby sites within the Sipsey Wilderness include Big Tree (the biggest tree in AL), Eye of the Needle, Ship Rock, numerous waterfalls, and several scattered cemeteries. All of these will be marked on a good map.
The area is very buggy, and the trails can get cramped/overgrown in parts, so I'd recommend wearing long pants and lots of bug spray!
GuideWe pulled in with no plans and drove through the whole campground. There are 60 RV spots, pull thru and not, some parking lot style and some a along a creek. There are no trees or bushes between spots, but the whole campground is situated with forest and creek on one side and the Tuscumbia River on the other. We weren't positive what the deal was so we checked in with the host and paid $14 for one night.
Primitive tent spots are right on the river. There are fire pits, trees, and picnic tables sporadically placed. We pitched our tent facing the bluffs along the river and our hammock between two trees. It wasn't crowded and it was pretty quiet (no generators, no music, very family friendly and chill). The grass was cut, and though there were small ant piles everywhere, they really weren't in the way or aggressive. The bath-house is...not awesome. It's exactly what you'd expect for an older, gov-run park, with some spiders and leaky toilets, but toilets and showers are there.
It is a three minute drive into downtown Florence. Most of that is through the park, which is home to a good-sized marina, disc golf course, and (defunct?) driving range. It's super convenient, cheap, and kept up well enough. The view of the water and bluffs is A++, and it's fun to watch the speed boats and river cruises.
TravelerRickwood Caverns was the first car camping experience I ever had. My husband and I went sans kids to see if we liked tent camping and test out our gear. We are total beginners.
We got there at 5:15 and the shop/office closes at 5pm. There was a sign with a phone number for assistance in late check in. No one answered and our VM was never returned. No big deal. We didn’t have a pass in our car and no one cared or checked.
The campground is small. Each of the primitive campsites has a fire pit and picnic table. Our table had seen better days and was missing one bench. Somewhere in the vicinity, there was a faucet for washing dishes, etc., but it was surrounded by a giant mud puddle. There’s another faucet area in the parking lot near the bathroom/shower building.
We reserved site #17 and there were two other tents pitched nearby. I reserved the site on Alaparks’ website and I think I paid $14/night. The park is gated and locked each evening. It is an old state park and a bit run down. The bathroom/shower building is very old, but it was tidy and I did see someone clean it on Saturday morning.
We toured the caverns on Saturday at 10am with a small group and enjoyed the tour. Tours are discounted for campers. The tour didn’t include so much geological information as it was about rocks shaped as animals, etc. It would have been cool to learn more about the history and sciency stuff. Something really interesting about the history to me was that the caverns were basically blasted out and excavated by Boy Scouts in the 50s. Seriously. With dynamite.
The caverns have steep stairs that can be muddy and wet. Lots and lots of steps, so definitely not an activity for folks with mobility issues. Children might struggle too.
The park is kind of near a highway and I could hear cars in the evening and at night.
Cell phone reception was fine.
Temps were low 50s in overnight and bugs were only an issue around dusk. (This was in late April).
Because the campground is so small, primitive camping area is close to camper parking lot, so there was a little camper community close by but that didn’t bother us.
Rickwood Caverns is a low frills place for tent camping for beginner campers. The caverns might be fun to tour again in December when they have their Christmas lights up.
GuideOur site was massive, but was situated right next to park entrance and major hiking thoroughfare.
Our site had a place to park and a fire ring that was full to the rim of coals and half burnt logs. It didn't take long to clear it out, but the pit was extremely muddy and lighting a fire meant a ton of smoke. No picnic table here.
The best sites were along the ridge, but are divided into AB sites. So you are sharing basics amenities with a neighbor. This site design seems to be suited for families or groups, but if you are wanting a site with a view you are kinda stuck. Not all of the improved sites are suitable for tents.
Their staff is A+ if you have never been, call ahead and book over the phone. The staff know this campground well and can steer you in the right direction every time.
The lower score comes from the park being rough around some of the edges. The CCC museum is a small shack, not really worth your time. The Northern Alabama Japanese Tea Garden is a bit of a head scratcher to say the least. There is a disc golf course the plows through the middle of it and the trails (while peaceful) lead you off to the main road.
We had booked two nights here, but decided to move on after only one night.
(Sadly didn't have time to take pictures, but the leaves were beautiful.)
Leaves were in peak color, the temperature was 65 all day and night due to wind and was a really pleasant
Tent camping near Danville, Alabama offers a chance to immerse yourself in the natural beauty of the region, with options ranging from primitive sites to more developed campgrounds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Danville, AL?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Danville, AL is Owl Creek Horse Camp with a 3.5-star rating from 2 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 27 tent camping locations near Danville, AL, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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