As avid campers and new Camper trailer owners, we've set out on a journey to enjoy as many parks as possible.
Signage and entrance is well lit, easy to find and navigate. There's a welcome center, camp store, sells firewood and ice (no propane LPG) and great sites.
One of the best parts of this park is the views. If you're able to go/get to camp during the day, you'll see spectacular views of the lake/dam and river.
The RV campsites are all in great shape, and are like a camping on a side pier. Bathroom was nice, hot water and clean. Dump station was in nice shape and overall was a beautiful place.
Overall, we're seeing that TN stateparks tend to be nicer and better kept up than Army Corp of Engineer parks which all typically close at Oct 31st.
We'll be back Edgar!
The campground was clean and quiet. Our campsite backed up to the Cumberland River. There were several spots for hiking and fishing. We will definitely be back!
Large camping area. Mostly RV campers. We were the only ones in a tent but that might have been because it was cold at night in November. Very pretty lake and beach area. The campsites are not secluded so tent campers should be aware. Staff was fantastic and bathrooms very clean. No litter/trash to be seen anywhere. Comfortable and good for new campers but if you are looking for something rougher and secluded like we were look elsewhere.
Even though it rained the entire time we were there, we still had fun at the campsite. Here are some details:
- The wooden platform kept our area from getting messy and muddy. We didn't have to worry about rocks and sticks making the tent bumpy
- Use ten-penny nails to nail down your tent and canopy
- The firepit and grill are beside the platform
- Parking is on the platform
- Bathrooms were small but updated
- The views of the water are nice!
We stayed here for three nights in Mid-October 2019. The site we had was in the Annex portion and the parking pad was long, wide and level. Plenty of room to park a large RV and car or boat. In addition the site offered plenty of space for chairs to socialize and faces into the surrounding foliage versus the RV next door.
The site was set at an angle that made backing into a breeze and level to the paved road. The site included a picnic table, 2 posts to hang lanterns, etc and a fire ring.
While fairly full the campground was quiet and all the other other campers were very respectful of each other.
The campground is ideal for riding bicycles around as you can ride from the Annex to the main campground, the snack bar, and the trout fish hatchery without encountering a lot of vehicle traffic. While there are some hills the grades are long and not too steep.
The hatchery is open every day but Christmas, is free, and is very educational. You can walk though the whole operation and see the trout in different stages of growth. In addition there is a man made trout stream that take the water from the hatchery to the Cumberland River and it is a beautiful stroll along the banks to see the different habitats that make trout stream. Catch and release fishing is allowed.
The snack bar offers pretty good fare at a reasonable price and sells firewood and ice on the honor system when closed at night.
If you need supplies or a dinner out Jamestown is not too far and offers most of the "Generica" you would expect.
While I didn't use the bathhouses the buildings suggested newer construction and they offer washer and dryers.
Expect to see deer in abundance as well as ducks and blue heron.
Great camp close to the water. Convenient water and electricity. Very clean restroom and showers. Park is pretty with lake but also trails for hiking. Saw lots of wildlife.
The second and third weekends in October is Boo Fest. Great time for the kids (adults too)!
This is one of the better places for peace. The grounds are good as well as the scenery the river access is great. This is a great place for your family!
Site D-11 couldn’t get much better view. The walk down to the lake is short, kind of steep and rocky but easily manageable. The site is decent sized and not far from the bath house through the woods.
We camped here in September and this campsite is one of the nicest and friendliest sites we've camped at. The General Store was wonderful!
The campgrounds are okay at the park . There was not much of water . The park is nice park , the trails are nice here . The staff are friendly and helpful here.
If you weren't aware, the fall is the perfect time to camp. Which means almost every recreation.gov campsite is full to the brim.
We tried this location again (after having a negative experience with their staff) and have some more concrete thoughts.
If you're loading in for tent camping, this cap.has some great views, up in the 70-100s, be sure to check elevation on the map. The pictures don't show you how difficult to access.
Spots 104-118 are up a horrific incline, not suitable for small RVs or trailers. There's also no lights here.
The main bathrooms near the front are pretty nice, but bring flops flops and expect it to be a tad gross on the floor. There was excrement in the large handicapped shower.
There's a fish cleaning station just past the main bathrooms and dumpsters, perfect if you bring your boat too.
The front lake spots are nice, but no shade. Be sure you have a 10x10 canopy or RV awning.
Overall the campground is built around the lake, but incredibly tight, hard to navigate (especially at night) and unless you're a pro, know to look at your spaces/map and calculate your turn radius and which spots you can back into, don't go if you have a truck + trailer over 17' or a large 5th wheel.
While nice scenery, the difficulty to navigate, small roads labeled two way (impassable if another vehicle approaching) make this ok-maintained came a poorly-accesible 3 stars.
The sites are pretty private and mostly wooded. There were acorns everywhere that our littles kept getting ahold of, and most of the trails are much longer than 2 miles, so there wasn't much to do with our two toddlers.
That being said, the hiking that we did do was amazing. This is beautiful country and the campground was nice.
The sites were a bit short and we couldn't park our tow vehicle in front of our 17' camper. So large campers beware. There are limited parking spots near the shower house.
The tent pads were huge, lots of space to play at each site.
We were really hoping to see a black bear but had no luck.
Stayed 3 nights with my granddaughter and we had a wonderful time. Perfect size for our Range Runner mini camper.
BIg South Fork is like a breath of fresh air . It's one of our favorite places . It doesn't which side you arrive on everything is full of beauty .
East Fork Stables is a HUGE equestrian campground that , guess what….you don’t have to have a horse to stay at! They have a whole loop complete with a pavilion cookhouse and annoying triangle bell that’s perfect for campers, tents and hammocks.
The showerhouse is nice and clean. The sites plenty big and mostly shaded.
Of course you can use any of the loops but the rest will have some really big animals hanging out.
There are miles and miles of trails. Waterfalls , overlooks and scenery. A nice gift shop/camp office and cabins.
I stayed here for the Cumberland Plateau Stage Race. The race director actually reserved the whole campground for his event.
One step up from a parking lot style campground. BUT it has some character. There are cabins, a showerhouse and pavilion in addition to the row of campsites.
Jamestown, Tn is right outside Pickett SP, Big South Fork and Daniel Boone NF so this would be a good base camp in town near amenities.
Nice small , historical campground/state park. One of the CCC built areas. Small circle campground with several pull through sites and electric or primitive to choose from. Quiet, at least when we visited. Water to kayak or swim in. A swing bridge across the water to the upper trail. The ladder trailhead is in the upper campground. Very technical, and challenging trail. This would be a good State Park to visit with younger children.
The tent sites were really nice. I love how close you are to the water. It also includes two swim areas which is nice. Bathrooms are good in campground standards! The hiking trail is ok. Canoe the Caney is a few minute drive from the campground which is great if you like canoeing. We really enjoyed it!
Bandy Creek is one of the most beautiful places . There is a wonderful peace there that gives your mind a new refreshing perspective on life.
BEYOND RUDE, INDECENT HUMAN WORKS HERE.
My partner works maintenance/HVAC and had an emergency, requiring us to break camp, leaving at 1am, returning at 6am. We had to 7-point turn, moving the picnic table and lantern stand to simply back out way out. At 8am someone banged on our door beyond hard enough 7-10times.
With only two hours of sleep, I open our door only to find a cantankerous old man be who immediately began to bitch us out (no conversation, no listening nor explanation) or empathy or even basic human respect for parking in another campsite (which we also have a permit for, as we reserved two for friends arriving later. He instructed us to move it, without asking if we had a permit. He returned an hour and a half later and threatened to tow our vehicle, ban us from camp and call the ranger to come ticket us. I could barely interrupt him to assert we were the other party and had a permit for twice as many vehicles, and our vehicle was registered for that spot.
Whether you have only 2 hours of sleep and your door beaten on or not, this old.mans behavior is unacceptable.
Come to find out, he drove round the night before antagonizing guests nearby unloading caping gear from their boats, and was simply downright nasty.
Unacceptable behavior from any human. Our first time here and also our last. As a differentially-enabled person on the autism spectrum, this was horrific. There are no words to justify this man's behavior to us and other guests. Even if kindness and respect aren't this thing, his inability to actually do his job and check permits before harassing campers is unacceptable. We'll never camp at this place again.
The parking decks overlooking the water was really neat! Clean bathrooms/showers. Just spent one night there in our way somewhere else. Made a memory that is still talked about though!
Stopped off during a road trip/move. Had a nice big open site, felt very private. Lots of wooded spaces. I want to say we had a site near a trail that took you to a water overlook. Easy check-in, friendly staff. Arriving late was no issue.
This campground is amazing! Great sites, and lots of things to do for the kids. Lake access too.
Bandy Creek Campground is located in The Big South Fork National River and Recreation area on The Cumberland Plateau. Big South Fork is a great place for outdoor adventure. Some activities include hiking, horseback riding, rick climbing, tubing, kayaking, swimming, fishing, mountain biking, and just about anything else! The area is never overcrowded, even in the middle of summer. There are many scenic views throughout the area, so bring a camera!
Campground review: Bandy Creek Campground is a great place! The sites are all spacious, and wooded for the most part, so you have plenty of space and some privacy. The campground seemed quite large, and was fairly empty for a Weekend in August. Some sites have food storage lockers (not sure if all do) as the area is a bear habitat. We saw some deer and turkeys, so there’s wildlife around for sure!
There is tent loop, and a group camp area, and I believe the campground hosts several retreats.
There’s riding stables at the camp store too. The campground also has a large swimming pool, with lifeguards.
The restrooms were immaculate! Seriously the cleanest campground restrooms I believe I’ve seen. Ours had a filtered water bottle fill up fountain too.
This campground is really nice, and quiet, but also has so much to do, I highly recommend it!
Product Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to try out products sometimes, and today I’m trying out the GCI Freestyle Rocket Pro! https://www.gcioutdoor.com/camping-chairs/freestyle-rocker-pro/
The Freestyle Rocker Pro is one of the best chairs I’ve used! It is actually much lighter than I expected, and is still extremely sturdy. Lightweight gear is a must when camping, or attending events!
It has a carry handle so you don’t need to try to fit it in a case to have a strap like other chairs I’ve used. The Rocker was smooth on natural surface, pea gravel, and concrete. It is very comfortable, quiet, and relaxing.
It folds up super easy with just a pull of the handle. One feature that I especially love is the cup holder and side pocket. It will actually hold a drink without spilling, and you can fit a phone, keys or other small items in the pocket.
This chair is awesome! Two thumbs up!!