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The park is situated in the middle of 14,000 plus acres of forest. We have a 56 acre lake with pedal boats and row boats. There are miles of hiking trails that meander through the forest. It is a great place to get back to nature. We also have an 18 hole golf course, tennis and basketball court, and a lodge with a full service dinning room. Equine Camping: Pennyrile Forest offers 8 pull-through campsites specifically designed for horse owners. These sites feature electric, water and sewer hook-ups. Each site has its own corresponding hitching posts for up to four horses, picnic table, lantern hanger & fire ring/grill combo. Horse campers have access to all campground amenities, which include bathhouses, laundry area and playgrounds. A new 1.25 mile horse trail near the campground connects horseback riders to the 40+ miles of horse trails on the adjacent Pennyrile State Forest.
$20 / night
Guide
For a State Park, Montgomery Bell is pretty great. We had a decent sized level site with large trees and a view to the creek. We walked a couple of the trails through the woods which were perfect after a long drive. The bathroom/showers were clean and the water was hot. A strong storm came up suddenly and the staff came by to check on every camper to make sure we were all inside and safe. After the storm passed, they came by again checking on every camper. The power went out for two hours, and the staff came by once more to keep us informed. The park is beautiful, but it's the super competent staff earned the excellent rating I gave this park.
ScoutCampground is well marked and super friendly people. Fire pits at every spot.
GuideSomething for everyone! Tent spots, RV spots, cabins, back country spots! Lots of recreation opportunities here too! The lakes are great!
GuideSite is level and by the creek. My GSD loved cooling off in the creek. I liked that our site had the fire pit in the gravel area of our site, some are outside. I wanted to touch on the to close reviews that had me worried. The sites are close but I didn’t feel that was an issue really. We didn’t feel cramped or like our neighbors were in our business. We will definitely come back.
LegendThe park’s website says to use Google Maps, which we did with no issues getting to the state park area. We had never been here before, and the signage coming into the park concerning the campground(CG) was a little confusing, but we made it to the check-in office. Check-in was quick and the narrow passage into the CG where we were directed to go looked more like a wide walking path, but we were assured:“people drive big rigs in every day.” We made it on the narrow road through the trees, through the tent area, and around a somewhat sharp curve to get to back-in site 93 with 50/30/20 AMP and water. The back-in was a little interesting as we had to pull forward on the road to the left that goes to the bathhouse to get straight on our site and then back in. We tried the traditional back-in, but because of the immediate curve to the right after site 93, there was no way to pull forward on the main road and back-in. Plus there were too many trees, etc., to swing, and there was a tent site in the way. As with other State Parks we’ve stayed in, the pad length was a little shorter than advertised, but we got our 39’ 5th wheel and F450 on the site. A creek runs through the backside of the CG which made for a nice view off the back of our site. We were at the transition point to the mix of electric/water and FHU sites that also back up to the creek. We got 3 bars on Verizon and 2 bars on T-mobile. Satellite would not be a viable option with all the trees in this CG. There were three bathhouses with one having laundry. We decided to stay here as this state park has a golf course. Montgomery Bell is a large state park, and we did not make it to the golf course due to the weather plus we were only staying one night. With this CG being on the edge of big rig-friendly and windy roads to get here, it would be questionable whether we’d stay here again.
LegendPROS
Beautiful park
Site backed right up to small creek
Super friendly squirrels who ate from our hand
Clean toilet/shower facility with ample supply of TP
Gravel site with wooden picnic table and small metal campfire ring with cooking grate Campfire wood for sale by camp host
Nice restaurant at Park Lodge
2 bar signal T-MOBILE Free 200 MB or 3 days( whichever comes first) WIFI with login from park visitor center
Dickson is closest Kroger, Lowe’s, Tractor Supply, Walmart
CONS
$5 fee assessed to make my own on-line reservation
NO senior discount
Campsites are Extremely packed together. Some sites have the neighbor's trailer slide out against their picnic table. Just doesn't make sense that the campground is slammed together when there are acres and acres of land here
Very narrow roadway through campground.
Very tight maneuvering to back into site.
No privacy from any other campsite
Not dark sky friendly due to huge street lights at all 3 toilet/shower facilities
Site 116 not level side to side
Most campsite trees bare by Halloween
Guide
This is such a beautiful park. The rooms are dated but very clean. The views here are breathtaking. Hiking trails, paddle boating, canoeing and kayaking and geocaching.
RangerWe stayed in a full hookup site, with a creek behind us. Bathhouse was clean. Enjoyed the on site golf course and hiking trails.
RangerLoved the area, the campground and the local hikes available I gave it 4 stars because our site was soooo close to the one next to us. We stayed in. 118. I would definitely go back….to a different site
RangerSuch a big park with lots to do. Really cool villas that you can rent out too. Golf course on the property too. We really enjoyed our stay here.
TravelerGreat camping. The park is very well taken care of. Sites and we'll sized and level. Very clean bathrooms and they are heated as well. The staff we talked to were all very friendly and nice.
Alot of hiking in the area. You can drive down the road and visit the lodge and lake as well.
ScoutA beautiful campground. I had a packed gravel site with 30a hookups for one night. Very clean and nice showers with ADA accommodations.
GuideWe did an overnight stay. The sites are close together but has electric/water/sewer. There was garbage left in the fire pit when we arrived and that was disappointing to see.
TravelerNo issues with t-mobile or at&t service. Park is super shady and has a little river running through the back which is nice. Spaces are pretty close and the entrance looks a bit uninviting for a big class A but was totally manageable. The park beyond the campground is really beautiful and well taken care of. It rained for almost the whole week we were there but never had issues with power. Park does flood pretty significantly but not a lot of mud.
TravelerNice
TravelerPros: They offer disability/handicap and senior discounts which is nice, not a lot of places offer that. Decent price. Receptionist was friendly. Had a lot of hiking trails around, cool park area. Everything else was mediocre or disappointing.
Cons: The power went out in the entire park in the middle of the night and didn’t come back on for a while. They had a laundry room, but the two dryers they had were out of service. Showers were dirty, smelled like an old moldy basement, didn’t like them at all. A lot of the sites were not very even or taken well care of. Pretty narrow, and some hard to back into. Not much privacy if that’s what you look for. Some sites are pretty close together. Septic dump was really narrow and you’d have a hard time with a big camper/rv.
ScoutThe Pennyrile state park campground is in need of a makeover. I didn’t see any sites suitable for a tent. I was car camping and slept in my SUV so no tent but I’m glad I didn’t have to rely on the sites being level. There were roots and rocks on all the sites. It is quite and relaxing. Electric and water was adequate. The shower house only had one working shower in the women’s bathroom. The entire thing could use a good cleaning and maintenance.
RangerMy favorite thing about this campground was it’s proximity to Narrows of the Harper, which I wanted to hike. Tent site, a little close in the campground, but not so bad it affected the experience negatively. Facilities well-maintained.
TravelerThis place was laid out and built by someone who hates RVs. Seriously steep compound slopes, tight 90 degree turns, and hookups 100’ away on the wrong side of the site all make this place horrible for anything but a pop up. I saw at least four people worth reservations leave because they couldn’t get into their site. The bath house has one working shower and it wasn’t very clean. The dump station was 15’ from a site so I totally ruined someone’s peaceful breakfast. The hiking trail was a dead end on an unidentifiable paved road. The beach and boat access are gated until 10am. No early morning paddling for me.
Now the good stuff:
ScoutThis place I can't even begin . I have lived in KY ALOT OF MY LIFE .I HAD NO IDEA THIS EXISTED. AND I STILL HAVE A HARD TIME I FEEL LIKE I HAVE OPENED THE DOORS OF A STORY BOOK AND THERE IT IS THIS PLACE IVE BEEN LOOKING FOR BUT ALWAYS THOUGHT I HAD TO GO FAR AWAY TO SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS OR .JUST KEEP DREAMING ABOUT IT . BUT ITS VERY WELL KEPT NOT TO CROWDED . NOW IF UR A SWIMMER GET UP AND GET UR SPOT EARLY CUZ IF NOT WELL THAT SHUD BE SELF EXPLANITORY LOL. BUT ITS A GREAT PLACE TO JUST GO RELAX MEET NEW PEOPLE OR NOT SOME LIKE THERE PRIVACY . SOME PLACES U GO DOGS ACTING CRAZY,KIDS EVERYWERE..LOUD MUSIC .OR PEOPLE ITS REALLY A GREAT PLACE .STAFF IS GREAT .CLEAN BATHROOMS .NICE CAMP SITES . NICE HIKING ,SITE SEEING ALL TOGETHER .U WONT WANT TO LEAVE ..I REALLY FELT LIKE I HAD A vacation. HERE IVE BEEN ALOT DIFFERENT PLACED S AND ALOT.I IVE NEEDED A VACATION AFTER CUZ IT JUST STRESSED OUT SITUATION. BUT THIS PLACE IS ON MY FORSURE RETURN FOR MANY YEARS ..THANK U ..FOR GIVEN ME AND MY FAMILY GREAT MEMORIES FOR LIFE..
LegendWe like state parks because they offer lots to do and sites are usually a little spread out. That is not the case there! These sites are packed in like sardines!! We were lucky to have a site that backed up to the creek, so that made the stay a little more enjoyable. We are at the lodge for dinner one night and it was very nice with the renovations that have taken place. The park did have lots of trails and the old church was beautiful to explore in and around that area. Unfortunately, this will be a one time visit for us.
GuideThis was our first stay here, and we had heard great things about it. It is a beautiful state park known as the"Queen of Tennessee's State Parks". There are 4,000 acres with mountain biking, fishing, hiking, picnic areas, kayaking/canoeing, and a golf course. Nashville is only 45 minutes away. The campground was nice. Our site was tight, and we didn't have a lot of room for our truck. We had to move to a different site for the 3rd night and the water connection was quite a reach. The sites were mostly level and some were shaded. The bathhouse was clean and there was a laundry area with 2 washers/dryers. We did have a picnic table and fire ring. We had 2-3 bars of Verizon 4G. There was a playground for the kids. There is a small creek that runs along the western edge of the campground. We did spot some snakes(copperheads maybe?) near the creek. There is a small camp store that had a few supplies, ice cream, ice& firewood. The employees were very nice. We would definitely stay here again.
GuideWe’ve been tent camping for years and try to find places somewhat close to home because we bring our bulldogs with us. This campground is absolutely one of our favorites.
It is relatively small, but the bathhouses are super clean, and the staff are amazing. I’m hesitant to let our secret out, but we just bought a camper so we won’t be using this campsite anymore. Campsite 78 is the best! One of the scout troops built a platform there years ago, and its perfect to pitch your tent off the ground. In addition, the site is in the back corner, so it’s private and huge! We’ve camped there for their big Halloween shindig for the past three years.
I hope someone else will enjoy it as much as we have!
GuideWe were not very impressed with the park when we first drove in to our campsite. The roads were not in the best condition, the sites were very close together, and the bathrooms were not very clean. But after two nights here, we really fell in love with the park and all it has to offer!
Though the sites are close together, it is all very scenic alongside the creek. We were in site 100 and would stay there again in a heartbeat.
The bathrooms are just a bit older (though, one of the bathrooms within the campground was pretty new, we discovered), they had hot water for showers with great water pressure.
Our neighbor next to us recommended we do the Ore trail as a short morning hike. You gain some slight elevation and you are above the campgrounds for a little bit, resulting in a pretty view. And then it goes by The Old Log House, a replica log house from the 1800s, and a replica church that is still in use today and is open all day.
We also walked to the Lodge and WOW, I highly recommend a visit there. It was a beautiful, big building with a view of the lake. It had a large bar area with outdoor seating and a restaurant. We went on a Sunday so we did not participate in the bar fun but I would love to go back for a sunset beverage!
Last thing I will mention is our phone service was excellent here. We use Google Fi.
GuideThis place is OK when it's not a busy weekend. We stayed on Memorial Day Weekend and it's was completely full. When it's full, it's just TOO full. Too many people, dogs and kids that are too close together. It's a shame because it's in a beautiful park, they just need more room between the sites.
If it's not a long weekend and they're not full, I would highly recommend the location for the hiking and the remoteness. When it's full, it's just too crowded.
GuideA fantastic family-friendly state campground. Mostly quiet after dark. Neighbors are friendly and welcoming (you’ll find that many visit in groups).
Amenities: Trails are pleasant. Playground is great. Bathrooms are clean but need an update. Not much in terms of wifi or tv if you are looking for that but att and verizon were usable.
Roads feel narrow but we had no problem maneuvering in our 36’ 5er. River sites look great but we booked last minute. Wound up with a corner interior spot (107) that backs to a tent camping area so was fantastic for views, too and this spot was quite spacious.
Location is lovely but is not that close to Nashville if that’s your goal.
ScoutThe only thing outstanding about this campground was the wifi - it's the first state park c/g I've been to where the wifi was actually usable. I'm surprised to see others say that the sites were well spaced. The c/g was pretty much full this past weekend when we were there and it was mostly shoulder to shoulder except for the tent area. Like a WalMart parking lot with trees. We were lucky to have a site with some privacy (#62) but it was not level (about a foot off level for our 21' van). The paving for the sites is quite narrow and I don't see how you'd get a big rig on them. But the c/g was quiet considering the crowd and it is a pretty park.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Adams, TN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Adams, TN is Montgomery Bell State Park Campground with a 4.3-star rating from 64 reviews.
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