Best RV Parks & Resorts near Sylvania, AL

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.

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.

The campground(CG) was easy to find for our mid-October stay. We exited off on 14A to gate 9 where we went through the gate and then did a u-turn to take us back down past the golf course to the CG. We had no problem doing the u-turn with our 40' fifth wheel. We followed the signage to the CG and then into pull-through site 21 with FHUs. There was no formal check-in, but our name and stay dates were on the site post. The pads here are huge and the utilities including 50 AMP worked well. We got 3 bars on Verizon and 2 bars on T-Mobile along with a large selection of OTA channels. We could have used satellite as there are no trees near the RV sites. They have a nice fenced dog park plus a shower and laundry facility with 4 machines each costing$1. The WiFi worked well for a CG this size. Use Gate 8 near the commissary and BX versus 9. Gate 8 gives you an easier drive to the campground. Overall we enjoyed our overnight stay.

Battlefield Campground is an extremely convenient RV park located right of I-75 about 20 minutes south of Chattanooga. It is very easy to get to, but part of that convenience comes with an absence of quiet; the interstate runs directly beside the campground, and is visible from the storage sites across from sites 11-24.

This is an excellent place for long-term campers, and it includes a nice playground, a pool, and a camp store/clubhouse. We could not get close to the pool or playground as they were closed due to COVID-19, which was comforting that they are taking public safety seriously. Sites include 50 and 30 amp full service, and seven tent sites in the middle of the campground that also include electric. There are seven camping cabins spaced throughout the campground that have outside picnic tables and grills, and beds inside as well as electricity.

Most of the sites here are nicely wooded, and as the area is slightly hilly there are elevation changes between several rows of sites which allows for a little more privacy than many RV parks offer. 

Downsides to this park are the highway noise, and the campground roads are paved but in need of maintenance; the road is eroded in a lot of places. 

Upsides are the sites are shady and well landscaped, and there are great amenities for families looking to stay here for extended periods of time, as well as the proximity to Chattanooga, Chickamauga Battlefield, and Ringold/Ft. Oglethorpe.