We stayed at Tannehill Ironworks Campground for a long weekend and had a great experience. We arrived late on a Thursday night and appreciated that the ranger is on-site 24/7, since the campground doesn’t take reservations. The process is easy—you just pull in, find a site, and register/pay the next morning. It was a little hard to find a spot in the dark, but that was on us.
There are three main campground areas.
• Campgrounds 1 and 2 offer full hook-ups, with many outer sites backing up to a scenic creek.
• Campground 3 has water and electric only.
We stayed in site 122 in Campground 1, right on the creek. The sites are all gravel with picnic tables (a little worn—we brought our own table setup). Ours was pretty spacious, and since it wasn’t full, we had empty sites in front of and behind us, which made it feel even more open.
The creek is peaceful and adds great ambiance, but there’s no designated access area for wading or swimming. That said, lots of kids were playing in the water right near their sites.
T-Mobile service was decent—we were able to use our hotspot to stream TV at night. There’s no public Wi-Fi, but we didn’t miss it. We didn’t use the dump stations, but they looked clean and easy to access.
Check-out time is 1:00 PM, and we didn’t see an official check-in time or posted quiet hours. The campground was fairly calm and relaxed, especially at night.
The best part of Tannehill is everything there is to do. We brought bikes and explored miles of trails, all clearly marked by difficulty level. The park is also full of historical buildings like an old mill, furnace, blacksmith shop, and restored cabins (some are available to rent). There’s a Sunday church service at 9AM, playgrounds, picnic pavilions, a general store, a miniature train ride, and even an ice cream shop.
If you visit during one of their Trade Days weekends, you’re in for a treat—it’s like a huge flea market with over 400 vendors, food stands, and all kinds of local treasures.
Tannehill is a unique blend of history, nature, and activities for all ages. We’ll definitely be back and would recommend it to anyone looking for a laid-back getaway with lots to explore!