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82,000 acres of wild land on the upper Cumberland Plateau in both Morgan and Cumberland counties. This area offers some of the best hunting in East Tennessee! This area is home to deer, wild turkey, wild boar, fox squirrels, gray squirrels, ruffed grouse, raccoons, quail, rabbits, and mourning doves. For your fishermen, the game include smallmouth bass, rock bass, bluegill, and muskellunge. Although the area is funded by hunters and fishermen, it is popular with all outdoor enthusiasts! Backpacking is very popular in the area, as well as whitewater rafting! The area has many deep cut canyons created by the rivers and streams, and offers access to beautiful scenery unlike anywhere else. The many trails allow access to the back country, but perhaps the best known path is the Cumberland Trail which passes through the area.
Overnight camping is allowed on designated areas. The area is closed to entry between sunset and sunrise.
Bicolor Entrance N 35.993 W -84.678
Guide
There are three dispersed camp sites along this road. We stayed at the first and largest of the three. This first site has room for two groups. It also has a small swimming hole with a rope swing.
Guide
One picnic table and fire pit. Dispersed camping. We took our portable firepit and sat by the creek for a beautiful evening.
Scout
I rode all the way over here from Greeneville to check out the area in order to bring a group of friends camping next weekend.
BUT the entire campground is closed. When I pulled up to the iron gate and saw the sign, it read "CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC DUE TO VANDALISM AND UNAUTHORIZED ACTIVITY"
ScoutI drove over an hour to get here to find that it is “closed to public for vandalism”. I was very upset by this but obviously nothing I could do. Just wish I knew how to check before driving all the way. But the drive! Woah! So beautiful, I wish there was a way I could find out when it opens back up because I was very much looking forward to camping here.
ScoutGreat location. Not crowded. But could use a cleaning. PortaJons are nasty.
GuideLots of lil cozy pull offs on an easy gravel road. Lots of longer term people staying it seemed like (or just really full send camping friends lol). Many fire rings and spots by the lake. Unfortunately the other reviews are right - A decent amount of trash. There are trash cans and porta potties. I’ve seen worse porta potties at festivals but there were a few stinky ones.
Traveler
The GPS coordinates will get you directly to where you want to go there's probably about 10 to 15 campsites there was trash on a few of them. Overall it was a nice place to just go and get away. It is a hunter's Camp first and foremost so there were quite a few people setting up for this week's opening day but the ones I did talk to were all friendly even went and had a couple beers with one of them.
My dog snd I stayed for 2 nights and 2 days. Lots of wildlife sounds at night.
Also a random heard of cattle strols through every now and again.
I'd definitely come back around this time of year!
TravelerSo we weren't sure what we would end up finding here. I will say that there are a lot of places to camp, many many many options away from the porta potties. If you get within about 20-30 feet of those they are a bit stinky. The one camp site we chose was a great place, tons of space and well manicured. A lot of options for pull up to your campsite or park and walk to campsite spots.
My only complaints are about the campers that stay there. The litter isn't horrible, but it's not great. It is a leave no trace place. Apparently some people have difficulty with throwing away their trash.
When we stayed last night there was a person that kept peeling out up and down the gravel road (3/4 times) in a diesel truck at 10:00 at night. Not very courteous to all of us at the campground.
And I was awakened at 2:00 a.m. by our camping neighbors when they were playing loud music. Also not cool, thankfully they stopped shortly after
Overall we were very pleased with this campground, beautiful views, it was hard choosing one spot. We will be coming back, and hopefully we won't have loud campers next time.
TravelerWe arrived at this dispersed campground at around 7:30 on a Saturday evening in July. It was pretty packed but since we were planning on leaving early the next morning, we took a family’s offer of taking over their spot as they left.
We use a roof top tent so unfortunately we weren’t able to camp at the actual site, instead we set up on an almost level gravel parking area that had a private trail to the actual camp site. There were garbage cans and a port-a-potty set up right there, which is why this site lost some stars. Even though these facilities were provided, people didn’t use the garbages and there was a lot of garbage on the ground, including broken glass that made us worry about our pup’s paws. Also, the port-a-potty was pretty yucky..neither my husband nor I were willing to use it.
Now, I want to reiterate that this is a geographically beautiful spot! Humans just need to take better care of it 💚
Scout
Not able to camp in open field. 1000$ fine for doing so. Camping at trailhead or on road side is fine.
TravelerIt was wonderfully secluded, we used the car to “mow” the grass down, and set up fine. But we did have ticks EVERYWHERE and poison ivy along the edges of the pasture. We had a ball we were playing with roll in there. Outside for normal outside life inconvenience; it was a beautiful, quiet pasture. We were even blessed with see several bats fly around at night. There was no light pollution so we had a great time star gazing!
LegendDidn’t stay. To far out for me. Lots of knats. Dirt rd I , washboard out was north to Rock Creek campground steep downhill grade narrow. My opinion not for 5th wheel. No cell for miles
GuideI’d like to say this spot is beautiful, but I’ve seen better. Rifle season starts Nov 20. I’m 10 days early, and was a bit surprised just how many hunters are already here. I feel like I’m the only solo woman here, also seem to be the only Van lifer. Lots of RVs. The camp was pretty easy to find. There are fire pits, mine is full of garbage. The spots are pretty spacious but there’s no privacy. I won’t be staying here long.
GuideThis area is beautiful almost all times of the year! Plenty of wildlife and lots of shady areas. Alcohol is allowed in designated camping areas. Only saw one other camper on our trip this weekend so it was very peaceful. There was no accessible water near by so make sure you bring your own provisions. Haven’t got to explore much around the area by hiking. Found a nice creek a few miles on down the road. Other then that, great area and will most definitely be back soon!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Whitley City, KY?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Whitley City, KY is Trace Branch Dispersed - Rock Creek Road with a 5-star rating from 1 review.
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TheDyrt.com has all 5 dispersed camping locations near Whitley City, KY, with real photos and reviews from campers.
