Best Dispersed Camping near Valley Head, AL

Prentice Cooper is an amazing place and offers two campgrounds and several backcountry camping spots. There is a campground not too far after pulling in the gravel road that has some really nice spots. The other campground requires you to drive down a gravel road for approximately 7 miles and then down some trails that require high clearance. This campground is nice and tooked into the woods with a pond nearby. There are several OHV trails in prentice Cooper and the place can get very crowded on the weekends. Definitely recommend going during the week.

Land pass required. No alcohol is permitted. This is a wildlife management area. The camp sites are first come, first serve. They are free. Only 2 sites with tables. If you like dispersed camping you'll probably enjoy it. If you prefer a campground, this is not for you.

It has a blue hole an caves no electricity or running water but the camp sites are pretty good. An the do have a handicap access area for rvs to do disperse camping also an parking for the bluehole ...no one to bother you!

My wife and I are getting into Overlanding and we heard this was a good place for OHV trails and dispersed camping. We came down for just the day to check the Forest out. It was really wet and Sulfur Branch/Braddison was very torn up. We got stuck but was lended a hand. Other than that the place was taken care of and there was plenty of folks out that Saturday. The over looks are beautiful!! If your going to hit the trails either have a winch or wait till it’s dry! Have FUN

The trailhead campsite is a short walk from the parking lot, but makes for a great basecamp for exploring the area. The campsite is level and large enough to accommodate many tents. There are also trees that would be suitable for hammock camping. The site is on the edge of an overlook of the canyon and has multiple fire rings if there are multiple groups there. This site and trailhead serves both the Walls of Jericho trail and the Bear Den Point Loop Trail. 

This is primitive camping so no bathhouse, but there is a porta-john in the trailhead parking lot. The site is a good distance from any convenient stores or grocery stores so plan accordingly. We found good cell phone service with Verizon at this site. Trash cans are located in the trailhead parking lot. Please pack out your trash from the campsite.

Prentice Cooper WMA is a great place if you’re looking to be in the wilderness. Keep in mind, this is a wildlife management area, so If you are not hunting, might want to avoid it during hunting season, you can find season dates on TWRA website.

There are only two campground areas in PC, but it looks like you can backcountry camp on the map. Davis Pond and Hunters Check Station Campground and the two campground areas. There aren’t any hookups at either site. Hunters Check is a heavily wooded area, near the big game check building. Davis Pond is more of an open field by the pond, and that’s where we stayed. Only one other then there while we were there! There’s plenty of room for multiple tents and great hammock spots. There’s a trailhead that goes to blowing wind falls from the campground too. My husband caught several large mouth bass in the pond too (catch and release). There a lot of ATV, UTV, dirt bikes, jeeps, etc. riding the area, but there’s no riding after dusk, so at Davis Pond it’s very quiet and peaceful with only the sounds of nature! DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT even think of entering the “restroom” at Davis Pond. They really should demolish it. Completely disgusting. And creepy. So be advised, there is no USABLE restroom, you are truly roughing it! Great area for peace and quiet!

This really wasn’t bad! Other than us not being sure where to go. We drove for what felt like 20 miles down a well kept unpaved road from the entrance but I think it reality was only 5.5 miles. There’s a gravel lot next to the pond which is where we set up our rooftop tent on surprisingly 0° incline on all sides so we had a very level set up. There grassy are is fenced off but has multiple fire pits for dispersed camping. Not much for a weekend trip unless you want to hike and the hikes are pretty mediocre. There’s an overlook somewhere but we were just testing our gear so didn’t go searching for it. Would camp again if we had to but won’t go out of our way to stay here.

A secluded spot in a protected forest not far from Chattanooga. You can camp at the ranger station, but your best bet is to drive out to the pond and camp in the middle of the forest

The Walls of Jehrico trail offers a handful of first-come/first-serve primitive campsites set adjacent to two separate water sources (streams).  Any equipment must be carried in and out which makes for a perfect backpacking experience.  

Your campsite offers little privacy due to trail proximity but that should not distract from a wonderful experience.

There are minimal places to stock up on necessities along the road so be sure and come equipped.  There is also no cell service so make sure you plan accordingly and have an emergency system in place.

We came here to camp among the turning trees one September. It is a huge area and I didn't see any camping other than primitive tent sites. Worked for us! I would like to go back when it's swimming season and jump in the sweet little falls. The fall colors were off the hook but might be even better in October. True to its name it is 'dispersed' with no 'main attraction' site- which is actually awesome if you're looking for seclusion, since people are spread out across the area.

Read that there was a drive-in camp site at this location. Upon arrival, we found a parking lot with a fence all around it. There were a few fire rings in the parking lot.

I was not tempted to stay. There was nothing here but a place to park when you go hiking. The only thing here was disappointment and the realization that I needed to go somewhere else.

This is a great FREE spot right outside the hunters entrance of prentice cooper state forest. There are about 12 spots and it wasn’t crowded when we came on a Saturday. It is a bit muddy but it is manageable.

Camping here is a very unique experience and completely different than most other campgrounds so I will try and make sure to include enough details to repeat our trip. This"campsite" is really just a large embankment along the Tennessee River on land owned by the TVA. They have a policy that on certain parts of their land along the Tenessee River you are allowed to camp following leave no trace rules. Make sure to follow the link for the campsite to learn more. Although you can use any of their lands there are limited areas that are flat or large enough to comfortably set up a tent. This particular site(GPS coordinates above) is a great space and was perfect for a night along the river. We parked our car on the southern side of the Guntersville dam and put in our boats at the loading ramp. we then kayaked with our gear in dry bags up the river past the amazing views of the painted bluff. We parked our boats for a quick swim(with life vests, the current was really strong) and hiked around the shore where there is a cave. We continued on upriver and finally found this particular site where we set up for the night. The banks of the river are pretty steep so finding a large enough site can be challenging. Be prepared to have extra time to search for another site if the river level is high. On the whole, this was one of the most amazing camping experiences I have ever had and I highly recommend it.

The only decent spot for hammocks is the little campsite that is right in front of the parking lot. We went over to the clearing just north of the parking lot, but there were no good spots. The clearing was extremely overgrown, as was the tree line all around the clearing. At the site directly in front of the parking lot, you can really only get two hammocks, unless you want to stack your hammocks vertically. You'll have to tie both hammocks to the same tree at one end, and then use two trees on the other side. There is no water near this site. This site is OK if you need to be near the parking lot or don't want to hike your gear in and out. Otherwise, you're way better off going down to one of the other sites.

We stayed 3 days 2 nights here in our 21’ pop up camper with our generator. Road is pretty well maintained, spots are good size, some only large enough for tent/car camping. We were never bothered and it’s right down the road from blue hole and Ellison Cave trail.

The campground was beyond capacity. Went to the Ada site and it looked like it was a cruel joke? Unsure. But there's no way. The spring looked amazing but couldn't camp. Can't add pics atm. Also, stepped out just to see the clearance on a turn and got in with 4 ticks on me.

I loved it there. So peaceful! A couple of other people there and a little bit of trash, but I picked it up. Leave it better than you found it right? It rained, so no bugs, but that’s prob not true for the dry days…

We really enjoyed our night tent camping here. There is a parking lot right off the road after a fun ~30 minute drive through residential roads right on the water, then sites with fire pits are scattered throughout a small clearing. Plety of firewood to collect on site. There was another group of campers at a spot fairly close to us making some noise, but not too late into the night. With respectful campers nearby, this is a great spot to spend a relaxing night.

This site is 3 separate clearings near the trailhead and parking with small fire pits. They work in a pinch if you get here late and don’t want to hike in or if you want to car camp and hike to the falls without gear. Be aware that you will have to go a little ways down the trail to find water.

We stayed at the Davis Pond Campground which is about a 15min drive back into the park. If you want to stay here you have to be there before dark as they close the gates at dark. It's basically like having your own small park in the middle of the mountains on a small bass pond. There was one other couple staying there and it was Memorial Day weekend so I would be surprised if you run into many people out there. There are also tons of places to backpack in and camp. We were on the last leg of 3 campgrounds in 3 days so we had our rooftop tent but want to try packing in to one of the many hike in sites. Caught 4 largemouth bass in about 15 minutes of fishing on the pond, largest being about a 1lb. You will deal with some ATV/Jeep traffic during the weekends which can cause some dust to deal with and the pit bathrooms are about as disgusting as I've ever seen. They really should just bulldoze them down and it would make it even better but outside of that this campground is absolutely amazing if you are looking for seclusion. Expect about an hour and a half drive from Knoxville.

Review from the perspective of a motorcycle traveler tent camping. Tent sites are near a frog pond. Access was a bit rough. Easy on a motorcycle but could be difficult for a car. Saw a copperhead while strolling around pond.

Good hiking, hunting, etc.

The forest is beautiful but also huge. You can definitely get lost driving around or hiking. If you're looking for a quiet place to camp near Chattanooga this is it.

We loved exploring Prentice Cooper State Forest! What a gem! We actually stayed in one of the camping areas, but next time we'd like to backpack instead. We ran a bunch of the trails - enjoyed the views - wonderful spot.