Spacious Skies Belle Ridge

I seek off the beaten path places, and this campground is a gem. Located in a quiet forest near the small mountain town of Monterey, Belle Ridge is a wonderful destination stop when touring the Upper Cumberland regions of Tennessee. Within ten minutes of Monterey, this mountain town has two wonderful coffee places, an amazing Amish bakery, nice specialty stores in the historic downtown, good restaurants and a wonderful museum. There was a lot to do at the campground, but also many interesting sights within a 30-minute drive.

This campground has some exceptional features, but it also has some kinks to work out.

First, one advantage/disadvantage is it is located right off 40. If you are placed in one of the sites in the front it’s going to be very noisy. We were in the middle of the campground and it was occasionally loud, but not terrible. Being able to pop off 40 to sleep for the night and get right back on the next morning with gas two minutes away was great for us.

I wasn’t pleased with my check-in because I waited nearly 20 minutes to be helped as a group in front of me arrived with 1,000 questions and booked their campground in person. When it was my turn, I was given four seconds of attention. When my friend checked in there was three people at the desk and she had a good experience. Online registration was easy and we just had to drop off keys in a drop-box before leaving.

Then, the next morning we wanted to buy the bag of gems for the mining and the office wasn’t even open (12PM) before check-out (11AM). My husband felt it was the best camp store we had encountered on this trip, but how does that even help if it’s not open in the morning? My kids were so disappointed.

We were all disappointed because we had looked forward to the themed activity (tie-dye), but it was cancelled with no explanation given and there weren’t any other activities/programs even though it is presented like they have theme weekends.

I thought the layout of the campground and sites was kind of haphazard looking. The sites were gravel and there was plenty of grass and trees. The tables and fire pits all looked oldish. Hook-ups and WIFI were good.

The cabins were spaced really nicely. There was only one bathhouse, which looked absolutely great and was super clean. If you were camped at the front it would be a long walk. My friend stayed in the “primitive” cabin and she said the mattress was fantastic and she appreciated the Keurig. It was close to the bathroom and the loft space would easily accommodate a couple of kids.

What really shined about this campground was the woodsy landscape - the sandy playground (though it was older and the volleyball net was down), the fishing lake, and the really cool swimming lake, which was surrounded by rock, were all appreciated by our group and my friend said she was definitely coming back in the summer so her kids could swim. The hike to the waterfall was really lovely. We were hoping to see the cave, but the office was closed so we couldn’t inquire about its location (it wasn’t on the map).

All in all, we had a nice time and it was definitely more of a camping experience than many of the parking lot like camps we’ve stayed at. It seemed like a lot of guests were there specifically to dirt bike or off-road. I think it would be a nice campground to enjoy in the summer, but do wonder how much of an expansion is coming (their map indicates one is happening soon) and how that would impact the amenities.

Two other things worth noting - I appreciate that the campground prices don’t seem like they skyrocket in the summer. We looked at some summer dates and the prices were pretty similar to the price we paid for April. I also was impressed with the two people who were working - they seemed like they were all over cleaning and fixing things.

The tent sites are park and walk. The furthest tent site is about a 1/4 mile from where you park. Just an FYI.

Really frustrating experience with this campground. We booked our stay for the tent sites and were excited to stay here. When we arrived, we found out it was Walk-In ONLY which was not noted anywhere. Another family had the same issue that night. We had to stay somewhere else. I spoke to their office on site who directed me to customer service. It took 4 separate calls to customer to get an answer who refused to give me a refund even though we physically could not stay there and didn’t. Will not attempt to stay at Spacious Skies again based on this experience.

Very nice campground with well-maintained campsites and great amenities. Accessible to nearby state parks and hosts its own hiking trails, waterfalls, and even a beach. Would recommend and would definitely stay again if in the area!

Great campground with outstanding facilities. The overlook has a "Wow" view. It rained the whole weekend we were there, so not the best weekend, but the campground was great. Very quiet despite being not far from the main road.

Staff is very friendly. Quiet but im here in the off season.

So easy to get to off i40. Beautiful place with spacious lots and many trees for shade. Gated campground for safety and Hannah to us right to our spot and get all hook up. We e are here only one night g ht but awesome place. Wifi works great.

Took my kids swimming here last weekend. We got a day use pass pass $5 per adult. Kids under 6 are free to get in so all my kids were free. The kids had the best time. Thinking about going back this weekend!

We had a very large area. The spots were large, and easy to maneuver. The hiking trails are great. They had areas to sit, and enjoy the view. My only complaint was, it’s closeness to I-40. You can hear the traffic. Now it is not overbearing by any means. It is just in the background slightly. Everything was clean. They are adding more sites on the south side of the park. We have already booked our next stay.

We loved our stay at Belle Ridge! We had a concrete site in E-loop that allowed us to level with no trouble! The dogs enjoyed the huge field next to the sites and we enjoyed hiking the trails (and taking in the spectacular views of the Plateau)!

We will be back!

Nice Campground, would return.

We only stayed one night passing through. But wished we had more time! The sites were level, large, gravel with picnic tables and fire rings.spaced far enough apart you didn’t feel crowded at all. We didn’t use the laundry or bathhouse so I can’t comment on those. The campground was very nice with what seems to be lots to do, as far as hiking and sightseeing. Will definitely keep this one in mind on another trip!

Excellent full hookup campground, convenient to the interstate. Tons of hiking and outdoors. Mostly gravel sites but all paved roads.