If you float the Upper, Middle or Lower with Ocoee Outdoors ask if you can stay on a tent site or in a lean to. The campground was the former bunk house for the season raft guides until “that guy” ruined it for everyone. Now it’s selectively available for clients upon request and has a full bath house on site. You may end up having the place to yourself which can be a plus.
Excellent sites, small outfitter store with food, drink, sundries. Breakfast & Lunch Diner. Multiple Float Rental types including sit in, sit on and inflatable kayaks. Shuttle to top for put in and take out at camp ground on the river. Clean bath house and hot showers. This is a popular location for the regional university students so expect a bit of a hootenanny to surround and welcome you. If you’re not down with everyone having a good time, choose the Forest Service Primitive sites just up the road a piece
We love camping here! We usually camp in the 3rd site when you enter at the ranger station. It is usually nice and quiet. Last yr we decided to try the out side loop across from the nature trail this site provided alot more excitement as someone fell on the nature trail. Then we had 3 unexpected visitors for dinner (mom an her 2 cubs). The next morning we saw a deer and her fawn across the street. Just love the nature and feeling of camp everyone is friendly. We can leave camp during the day and not worry about it. (Great spot to camp and walk the cove when closed to traffic!)
During winter campground is very quiet, no power at sites, it does have hot showers.
This is the most well kept campground you will ever find! Very friendly and helpful staff will bend over backwards to help with any issue you may have. Store, game room, playground, mini golf, pool, basketball court, fishing, shuffleboard, and large event building. Something for everyone to enjoy!
We have stayed at Elkmont on several occasions. It is operated by the National Park Service. Amenities are limited but the restrooms and camp store are very good. You can run a generator during the day to charge batteries but not at night. The river is amazing and there are hiking trails there. Synchronous Fireflys in late May / Early June. Wonderful campground. Highly recommended. You can reserve 6 months in advance. Fills up quickly in the summer.
It was a great place we went fishing swimming and hiking loved it
If you love twisty roads and beautiful views This is the place. We went in December and the weather was a little cool and damp but the views were great when the fog lifted. They're great scenic hikes in the park. Bathrooms were clean with very hot water
Really enjoyed camping here with my family. Took our 19, 11, and 4 year old. Tested the trails and enjoyed plenty of scenic views. Will definitely be going back.
Available by watercraft. Remote Island in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
Check - In is available at the Fontana Boat Ramp.
This is two Islands at high water. One at low pond after Labor Day. There are a couple of places to setup tents or hammocks. There are no services
Double Island Remote Campground Fontana Lake in the Smoky Mountain National Park is available by watercraft only. There are boat ramps in the surrounding area that provide access.
Campground use is via the Check-in Stations, there is one at Fontana Dam Boat ramp.
I have camped there on three occasions. More fun while boating when the water level is up prior to Labor Day. We did see more wildlife including bear when the level was down as they had to travel down to the low level shore.
There is plenty of downed driftwood firewood in the area you have to leave the Island though and forage the shore.
This is a pack it in, pack it out type location. The Rangers typically stop by in the Summer to check your papers. Make sure you have plenty of ice. It's a long way back to Fontana Dam or a local Marina…unless you are in a power boat.
Unicoi State Park is a large Park in north Georgia. The Park has a Lake, rope courses, a restaurant, lounge and beautiful Lodge. It's 2 miles from Helen Georgia, an Alpine gem nestled in the mountains.
Hiking trails of all levels abound including many with falls destinations.
Private Campground that is professionally managed. Great family location with dry camping for tents, travel trailors and places for RVs. Some are on the Tellico Lake Reservoir.
Many of the sites are occupied by seasonal residents. All the sites are well kept.
There is a small marina if you want to bring your boat. Fishing is good on the Reservoir with access to over 80 miles of woods, trails, coves galore, with a few restaurants accessible by water.
There are small restrooms with showers.
Reservations are recommended.
We camped at Riverbend Campground November 19 – 24, 2018 on site C-17. Our site was next to the roadway but this wasn’t a problem because there was very little traffic. We did not have sewer on our site but every other day the staff would come by on a tractor to pump the sewer from RV. The park had gravel roads, gravel sites, picnic tables, fire ring, 20/30/50amp, cable and water; most sites had sewer. There are around 40 sites backed up to river bank (nice), a small store, firewood, a pavilion, pool, laundry room and clean bathrooms. The park is well maintain and the personnel were nice.
This was our first time and we found it to be very relaxing. We stayed through Thanksgiving and the park had a Thanksgiving dinner gathering for the whole park. The park supplied the meat and the campers supplied two sides. This was a big gathering; I guess about 225 people. Standing in line was enjoyable because it gave us a chance to talk with other campers that we did not know.
I only gave it a 4 rating because of gravel sites and road. We will be going back and I encourage others to go.
Great camp although we had the pioneer site which is a walk in. And it wasn't posted anywhere. Tough showing up at 9 at night without a view or a way into camp. But besides a walk up a hill it was a great get away. Bobcats, bears, and all kinds of wild life
Good and spacious. Depending of what sites you choose some have water and electricity.. there is a store that sells wood and a diversity of items in case you forgot something (opens until 8). Good trails and views! Well marked so you don’t get lost.
Better places to visit on the weekends. this place gets a lot of traffic. Lots of black bears in the summer, though!
Dog friendly area, but not dog friendly trail. This place gets a lot of traffic. It's beautiful, but there are better places to go on the weekends.
I will say that when I was looking into this camp I was really impressed with its great peace that came over me when I was there. Unlike many of the sites it does not seem to be as crowded and it seemed a bit more relaxed. For this reason I found it to be a great place for a day use area or perhaps you can camp as well.
I personally was in the area for the day, but I did manage to check out the camping options which offered both flush toilets and drinking water. There were no connections at the camp but no one seemed to mind. There were more than enough hammocks relaxing in the area.
My favorite thing about this are was the access it had to numerous trails which were just moments away from where you would lay your head for the evening making it a great place, that until this trip I didn't know was here!!
I wanted to visit MaryVille Kentucky because they have what was known to be the Largest Elmtree. I was very excited to see this. However there is no camping directly in Maryville so I doubled back and went to Poland Creek campgrounds which came highly recommended by someone in town.
This is a medium size campground which offers both RV and tent camping. There is a recreational facility which can be used for day use as well. Overall everything is grassy green and beautiful.
Sites are well shaded and even. There is a playground as well as a water area where you can launch a boat. I really enjoyed the campground as a whole because even if it was highly occupied it didn’t seem as though you were right on top of your neighbor.
The location wasn't far from Louisville which made it a great escape from the city yet close enough to get back easily. I can see this being a perfect spot for a day cation as well with a swimming area perfect for families.
My site was not located right on the water, those sites are reserved for those wanting electricity. Instead I was a short distance from, still very doable. I paid $18 for the site and it was great. I had full access to all the amenities at a fraction of the $30 charged for electricity.
TIPS:
- The camping season here is April through October so if you are trying to stay during off season you will need to contact the City of Louisville to make arrangements.
*If you would like to bring a boat, it must have inspection and tags for the state of Kentucky.
This site is a manufactured housing site and is not available to short or long term rv campers or tent campers. It appears on all major listings as a campground however it is not!! Don't make the mistake of driving here like I did :(
First off this is really just a campground for RVs and you wouldn’t want to drive in and stay in a tent here. However, for that purpose it is a nice site and located in a great area. Right along the Cullasaja rive you have easy access to swimming and boating or you can drive a mile or two up the road and get to some amazing swimming holes with cliff jumping and natural water slides. The area is really beautiful year round though best in the summer when you can cool off from the hot days by getting in the water. The campground itself has many of the amenities you would want while RV camping such as full hook up and picnic benches for hanging out at. They also promote a family friendly environment that seemed to be very welcoming. Overall, their location right along the river and only a few minutes downstream of the amazing swimming makes this a place well worth checking out.
Update: Im adding some new photos from a recent visit up to the campground. Since last time I was there the area experienced some pretty terrible fires and some of the trees surrounding the bald have burned down. Just reminds you to be careful with fires in these types of wilderness areas where things can spread quickly. Otherwise site is still an amazing place to stay and the views are just as incredible!
I visited this area while on a day off from staffing a sleep away camp in the area. We spent the day doing sport climbing on some of the many amazing rocks in the park and then trekked up to the viewpoint to get a beautiful look at the nearby area. The park is really wonderful and has a whole lot of trails and different areas where you can either set up top rope or lead climbing routes. The campground itself is slightly down the road from where the hiking and climbing is but has amazing amenities and is really well taken care of. The tent sites are large and spaced out though not so private but great if you have a group staying at several different ones. They also have volleyball courts and other fields you can use if you are staying there.
After continuing on the trail heading east leaving from Wayah Bald you pass several large open fields which could work for setting up camp and eventually you get to this site which is a little more of an established campsite and is less exposed than the other options. It has a few flat areas that could be used to set up a tent and a small fire pit to keep you warm at night. Like most of the other backpacking sites in the area you wont find any amenities or organized setups but this is really what most people want while doing this kind of trip. There really isn’t any water available near this site so make sure to fill up earlier when you pass some of the smaller seasonal creeks running down the mountain. The trail around her does a lot of winding up and down hills so be prepared for a serious leg workout.
I stayed at this site while backpacking the Bartram Trail so check out some of my other reviews along the route to get a better idea of how to plan a trip here. In terms of this specific campground it is a primitive backpacking site located along a creek that feeds into Nantahala lake so has easy access to water. When we stayed here we had already been hiking for two full days so I was happy to get the rest and cool my worn out feet off in the river. The area to set up a tent is a little rocky but it works ok if you have a pad and can set up before it gets dark. The views over the lake are well worth it though since you get a beautiful sunset.
If you are planning on doing parts of the Bartram trail starting from Franklin and getting a late start on the trail this is a perfect secondary option for you. Its a little further than the one right near the trailhead and a little smaller but it works as an option if necessary. It is a decently large site and has access to water if you climb down a small hill. On top of that it has a nice little firepit and flat ground for setting up your tent. Make sure to trek up the trail to see the viewpoint from Williams pulpit and if your really feeling like a challenge you can get all the way to Wayah Bald. Just be aware that the trail can get overgrown in the summer time and then covered in leaves through the fall in winter but well worth it for the views.
I wasn't really a huge fan of this campground, but the hiking and outdoor nature was great. We saw tons of chipmunks around, they were definitely after our food both at our campsite and hiking. Wish I would have got some pictures of them! We also really enjoyed doing some bird watching and trying to figure out what birds were which. My grandpa brought his bird book, so we were able to look in there and find what birds we were seeing. The experience of doing it was worth it! There were definitely lots of different beautiful colored birds. Really enjoyed the hiking and nature walks. The paths were so beautiful, I couldn't help but take pictures of it all. Felt like we were the only ones on the paths, because they were bare and we hardly saw anyone. People used on of the trails for trail running, which looked like a ton of fun. We passed a few runners on our way up and back. The views from the top were amazing. The campground was a bit small and dirty. There was garbage everywhere it seemed, and the bathrooms were a mess. Not sure if people using the trails also use the bathrooms, BUT it was gross and smelly. Bring your own toilet paper would be my suggestion and plug your nose! We probably wouldn't come back and stay here again, but would come back to go hiking on the trails.!
I stayed at Elkmont on the regular camping side designed for smaller families, solo travelers and such, but while there I wanted to see just what the big differences were in the solo camp and the group camp. I was so impressed with the amenities, the feel and the layout of the camp I was staying at, and it quickly became one of my favorite campgrounds in the Smoky Mountains.
The group site did not disappoint! Same vibe just bigger spaces. The spaces are about 3 times as large as the single sites and are available for larger groups of around 20 people. You can set up multiple tents int his space or one of those mega tents. While there are not a lot of these sites available, they are sectioned off from the other sites and perfect for groups. I could see this being really fun for a trip with friends.
The tree coverage in this area is great for keeping the early morning rays from beaming in so strongly and makes for a great peaceful feel when there is a slight breeze blowing through.
I loved the amenities of the campground which included well maintained bathhouses that were large and supplied showers, flush toilets and warm water which was great, especially considering it can be a bit chilly in the mornings in the mountains.
Also, this site was located very close to one of the many visitor stops which had an interpretive center, a National Park Information Video, interpretive programs for all ages and of course hiking.
TIPS:
- Book in advance, this location stays booked more than any others I found!!
- Stop in town to get supplies, there are no stores in the campground itself which offer all the things you need.
- Remember to use common sense when it comes to animals. There are bears in this area so keep all food items locked away.
