Best RV Parks & Resorts near Gaylesville, AL

Stayed at site 13, level gravel sites with picnic table on concrete pad, fire ring, FHU. Extended stays at the back of park and closer to hwy 20. There is a nice dog park, playground, covered pavilion, laundry room, dated bathroom, but clean. Shirley reserved our spot, and helped us pull through,and hook up, with our new RV! There is a little path/bridge, so We walked over to Camping World to get our bigger RV. The next morning, we had a few questions, so the Camping World service employee, came over (on a golf cart)to answer them. We decided to stay another night, and it was easy enough for Shirley to extend our reservation. If we were in the area again we would go back. There is a lot to do in the area….Talladega National Forest, Talladega SuperSpeedway and Cheaha State Park.T-Mobile was good, and paid about $30 night with Good Sam Discount. This Campground is also known as CWGS Campground of Oxford.

Desoto State Park is on top of Lookout Mountain about 8 miles northeast of Fort Payne, In Northeast Alabama. DeSoto Falls - also part of DeSoto State Park - is located about 7 miles north of the park near Mentone, Alabama. The Campground has 94 full-hookup tent and RV sites. Most are Back-In Sites, with a few Pull-Thru. All sites have water, & electric, and sewer. They are about 16 feet by 60 feet deep with 50/30 Amp Service, Cable TV.
There are picnic tables and Grills on each site. There are two large bathroom/shower buildings with coin-operated laundry. There is a Wi-fi hotspots at each bathhouse (wifi does not reach to every campsite) There are also Primitive Camping sites for tents as well as two back country campsites with shelters. Along with camping, Kayaking, fishing, hiking, biking, cycling, rappelling, bouldering and picnicking are popular.

Winding Waters is a new, huge, and beautiful RV resort. This is not a campground, but a resort-style RV park with no shortage of amenities and activities. Nightly rate is very reasonable for all the bells and whistles you get. If you are just looking for a cheap, relaxing overnight with no frills, this is not the place for you. If you are looking for a fun family vacation spot to bring the kids, look no further.

Just outside Atlanta, the location is prime and beautiful, along the Etowah river. You can fish, kayak, or just relax. There is no shortage of activities for children. The resort's pool is a huge beach-style pool with a hot tub and even a huge waterslide. There is a large playground and huge dog run. They have a large clubhouse and ball courts.

We booked one of their cheaper sites, a classic pull-thru site. To say the least, it was the TIGHTEST pull thru site we have ever booked. We have never had to adjust and shimmy around in a pull thru site before, the whole point is to pull in once and bam you're set up. We could barely even squeeze our tow vehicle (10ft bed dually) into the designated parking spot without sticking out. Even the back in sites would have been a little more roomy. But hey, for all the amenities (that we didn't even use since we were just stopping over for a night) the price isn't awful. For a bit more, you can get your own private dog run or patio furniture.

We were pretty overwhelmed with the sheer amount of RVs in this place. Mostly all big rigs too. It was packed and they have so many sites. So many kids running around, and our neighbor's dog was off leash and ran over to my dog when I tried to take him potty. There are no walking paths in the resort, so people (and kids) are forced to run around on the streets, which are pretty narrow, winding, and uncomfortable to drive a big rig on. Just in general A LOT going on, very busy place. Great place if you like resort style parks, but not fun for an overnight. Since it's new there's no shade at all, so I can't imagine how hot it is in the summer and with all the big rigs blasting their a/c, they may run into electrical issues. But they planted some trees which should alleviate that a bit.

The rules list is pretty strict and extensive, with a bunch of extra fees for weird things like early check-in and personal golf carts. Make sure you read through everything thoroughly before you book. Some rules might be deal breakers for some people. Staff was very kind to us and we wish them the best with their new RV resort!

We arrived one day early which was semi planned, but we were not in the spot we were staying for 11 days. Thank goodness because the pic on the site Vs reality was a pretty big difference. We have a big rig and no way we would fit. I figured I would have to finagle something in my own to get us a different site. NOPE! They guy at the gate helped us out and 5 min later we had a site! Store has a few things in it, including some Lake stickers/shirts/etc with Lake Guntersville on them. There is a little library box by the store with books people have put in after reading. There are sites for full hookup, water/electric, or primitive. There are long term sites as well. There is plenty to do! Beach, boat, water pad, basketball and tennis courts. Laundry available. Nice bathrooms and bathhouse. Dog park for bigs and Littles! The power went out once for a couple minutes and then again due to an accident on the mountain. There are neat things within the park to see and do. Hike/trails, golf, fish, zip line, horseback riding. A must stop is to see the donkeys, goats and emus. Towing to get here is interesting, but doable! We have a 42 ft RV with a 16 ft boat behind and we made it. Close enough to town but you have to go over the mountain. There are some neat stores down town and a farmers market.

We stayed at Bucks Pocket State Park recently for five nights and had a wonderful time. This park was recently reopened after being closed for a few years, lots of work has been completed to the campground and facilities. The sites are very nice with full concrete pads, 50/30 amp electrical, water, picnic table, fire ring and grill. There are a few sites that are on the bank of Sauty Creek that also have sewer hook ups. This is a very small campground with only 23 RV sites, 4 of them are pull through. There are also about 8 tent only sites. There are clean and well stocked bathrooms located at the park office and also includes a laundry facility. The office also sells firewood and ice if needed.

There are a few hiking trails that range in levels of difficulty, we hiked the trail to the overlook that I would classify as pretty arduous, the pay off was the Little Sauty Creek waterfall near the top and the beautiful vista of Point Lookout. The trail ascends 800 feet in elevation from the pocket floor to the summit so plan accordingly. There is also an off road vehicle (ORV) trail here so the park attracts these vehicles to the campground on the weekends.

The park host (Jesse and his wife) are very friendly and involved, he is visible throughout the day ensuring the park is maintained and orderly.

There will be little to no cell service or over the air TV reception due to the park being in the valley floor. The park does provide good WIFI that could be received throughout the campground.

A huge thank you to the State of Alabama for providing the resources to restore this great facility to the state park system. Also, an extra recognition to the A Year to Volunteer (https://www.youtube.com/c/AYeartoVolunteer) organization for the extraordinary effort and contribution to this park's rebirth.

Desoto State Park is one of our favorite Alabama places to visit, located in Northeastern Alabama and the southern end of Lookout Mountain. We try to camp here in the spring and fall each year when available, the closest towns are Fort Payne and Mentone. There are ample shopping areas and restaurants in Fort Payne which is about 10 miles from the campground if you need to make the trip down. The park has so much to offer and the staff there goes the extra effort to ensure your stays are pleasant and enjoyable. The hiking trails are abundant throughout the park, the Scout Trail is our favorite as it winds next to the river banks and over numerous rocks and scenic water features. This trail can be physically challenging and be sure to verify the river levels beforehand.

The campground is well maintained and the sites are level for the most part, our favorite site is 25 but we’ve stayed in several others end enjoyed those as well. The sites in the upper and lower loops are mostly back in sites with a couple of pull through and buddy sites also. The middle section is all pull through sites for the large coaches and 5th wheel RV’s. All sites at Desoto are equipped with water, electric, sewer, cable TV, table, fire ring and grills. The bath houses are some of the cleanest we’ve seen, relatively new with excellent amenities including laundry. There is also WIFI broadcast at each of the bath houses.

There is a great lodge restaurant, cabins old and new, swimming pool, tennis courts, Zip Line and a CCC museum. Put this one on your list as it’s never disappointed our family. The Little River Canyon Preserve is nearby with additional hiking and fantastic Canyon vistas you will have to go see.

Quiet RV park close to Ft Payne and surrounding parks such as Desoto state Park. Close to Little River Canyon waterfall among others. (A must see). Sites at park very close together and our dually truck had to be parked sideways in front or back of site. One side of park is for long term stays while the other side is for up to two week stays. Other than that friendly check in and was able to have ups delivery. Available Sites are able to be chosen when get there.  Internet using Verizon (nomad) for work is only ok. My husband was able to work on conference calls ect but had one dropped call and while he was working I wasn’t able to use our internet. Evening hours when trying to stream sling was difficult to non existent the second week of our stay. Gave it 4 stars due to friendliness and ups delivery.

General: Small (36-site) campground in two loops; only the upper has a bathhouse. It is about a ¼ mile walk from the lower to the bathhouse. 

Site Quality: Sites are gravel and vary; some are back-in, some are pull-through and some are parallel. Site 32 was very generous in size although not completely level. There was one picnic table, one set of water/electric utilities, and two fire rings (not sure why there were two). This site could easily fit a large Class A or two smaller campers. 

Bath/Shower House: Clean and heated. The toilets and showers have a curtain for privacy which IMO feels less private. When I was in the shower, someone opened the curtain not realizing (!) that someone was in there. Warm water at the sinks and showers was appreciated on a damp and chilly day. There is also a clean laundry facility - $3/wash and $2 to dry. The laundry room also has a microwave oven. 

Activities: There are daily cave tours; we have been in many caves and this one is very nice. By the lower loop is a small climbing wall. There are also hiking trails and gemstone mining, although we did not take advantage of either of these. We were there for the Cave Run - a 10km or half marathon where the last 1.2 miles AND finish are INSIDE the cave, which was very cool! 

Mason, the camp host, was great. Upon our arrival, he escorted us to our site in his golf cart (entirely not necessary but welcomed) and went over what we needed to know including the WiFi password (otherwise we had no service on Verizon). Be sure to go to the office (up a very steep hill or you can drive) and ask for your 15% senior discount if applicable (you need to show proof you are old!).