Best Glamping near Athens, TN

The Tiny House is one of several rental options on this property. (Others include a huge glamping tent and a farmhouse). This review focuses on the tiny house where we stayed for two nights but I have included a few photos of the glamping tent, which was not open when we were there (opens in April). 

A lot is packed into a small space with so many creative touches. There is a full-size loft bed and a pull-out couch so while you could sleep four people, it would be a bit crowded inside. There is also a screened-in porch with two swing seats, and a table so you could eat outside. 

Lyn (the owner)’s hospitality is second to none. The tiny house is stocked with a microwave, toaster oven, electric kettle, Keurig, and an induction burner plus dishes, flatware, and just about everything else you would expect in a fully stocked kitchen. There is also a table grill that can be set up on the table on the screened porch. There is a great selection of tea and hot chocolate plus pancake mix, and syrup. 

There is a full bath with a flush toilet, sink, and shower with fluffy towels. 

There is a fire pit available to use. 

This would make a wonderful couples retreat, a mother-daughter getaway, or a place for solo reflection. Chattanooga is located just 25 minutes away and there is a fully stocked gourmet grocery store just down the road.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here. Go to the website for more information on this and other options at this property.

This campground is great! It has clean bathrooms with showers, fire rings with grill grates, lots of hiking, hike to a beautiful waterfall, huge lake to swim or float on a raft, and the lightning bugs were breath taking!!

We stayed at site #39. Next to the trail that leads to the lake. Next to rest room, trash bin, and water spout. This specific site has the driveway and then stairs to the fire/table/tent pad. We set our large tent on the tent pad and a smaller tent on the driveway next to the stairs.

Pros: No reservation needed. Warmish showers. Hiking. Lake to swim in. Beautiful waterfall. Perfect to see millions of lightning bugs. Easy payment (put money in slip and put in bin, and yes they do check). Pets allowed.

Cons: we had the WORST neighbors I’ve ever experienced while camping! The staff warned them about quiet hours but never came back to in force it. Fire ring grill topper was broke off.

DON’T drive up the dirt path, we made that mistake. Take the regular rode. GPS sends you automatically to the dirt road.

Over all I’m defiantly going to camp there again. Well kept and overall has a lot to offer

Our first time here at the Hiwassee Outfitter camping area in Reliance, Tennessee. Most campsites have river view or stream view. One large circle, mostly tent camping. No electric hookup. Water spigots throughout the campground but not directly at each site. Each campsite has a picnic table and fire ring. Very spacious camping on level dirt or grass ground. We had 2 tents and could have fit 3 more. No lights, so it’s pretty dark after 10pm. Campground is next to the outfitters where you can rent kayaks, floats and rafts. We used the Webb Brothers rental company 0.5 miles down the road from the campground because they had same day availability without reservations. The bathhouse has hot showers and flush toilets but it’s rather rustic due to all people using it coming off the river. There is no charge to use the showers. The bathhouse is shared with the daily rafters. Camp-store on site. No phone signal which is ok with us because we like to unplug. There is free WiFi available at the rafting Outfitter store. There is a small restaurant about a mile away “FlipFlop Burger place”; which was a nice surprise. We overlooked the Hiwassee on campsite 43. The river is smooth until 11am. We went fly fishing right from the campsite. The water gets released at 11am, so the current picks up and water levels will rise quickly. A nice place to camp if you come for water fun. If you don’t mind the muddy bathrooms then this is the place for you. We will be back for sure.

This park is amazing. There is a lot to do, from golfing to some hiking. Looks like it’s great for kids and families, but I’m a single traveler. For me, the campgrounds were crowded and tight, though everyone around me respected the quiet hours. I’m a tent camper, so I appreciate running water and clean facilities if I’m going to come in from the woods and camp in a civilized space. These facilities were not very clean, two of three toilets were missing seats and I really didn’t want to touch anything (with or without COVID being a consideration). I camped on a Monday, so I understand that it was a busy weekend and the facilities likely weren’t yet cleaned, but in addition to camper use, the facilities were buggy, cobwebby and in need of a deep clean and significant refreshing. So ... four stars because of the beautiful setting. From a camping perspective it left me wanting and I’ve enjoyed better overall experiences and facilities for 1/3 the price.

My family of three stayed here for one night in late June. We got in a little late, around 7:30 pm, after we met up with some friends for dinner in Murphy.  My one regret is that we did not get here earlier to allow more time for play during daylight hours. If you are not entertained at this site, you are not trying hard enough. There is an amazing amount to do in this small space. First is the treehouse itself. You can get up into it by climbing up a spiral staircase or up rungs on one of the support logs. To get down you can go down one of two slides or shimmy down a firepole. Inside the treehouse are two twin bunk beds and one fold out cot. The space inside is rather small. With the cot folded out there was barely any room to move. However, since you will only be inside to sleep, it works. The beds were fairly comfortable, though the top bunk is quite close to the roof. I slept in the top bunk and my husband slept on the bottom. Every time I would turn over in the night I would hit my knee on the roof and wake him up.  :)  There is also a small table, first aid kit, candles, and a composting toilet with a curtain in the corner.  The toliet was a bucket with a seat, and not being used to such a small, low potty, it was a little uncomfortable, but doable. The treehouse is not sealed - the roof is sound but there are spaces between the planks on the sides (screen has been placed over the sides to help control bugs). The windows have cloth hangings, and one of the entries has a closing door. The other is wide open. Being summer, I was worried about heat and bugs, but I didn't have a problem with either. We were provided two battery-powered fans to keep us cool. By the time they died it as late enough that heat wasn't a problem. 

Now that's I've described the treehouse, let's talk about the rest of the site. Underneath the sleeping platform is a ground floor platform with a hammock and small propane stove with pots. A water cooler and trash can are also here. A few steps away is a firepit, and a few chairs, with provided firewood and marshmellow-roasting utensils. For play, there are hula hoops, a half-buried tire to climb on, a slack line, and a tremendously cool rope swing. This swing is about 30 feet high, and to start to climb up to a platform 5 feet above the ground. When you swing, it is a huge pendulum. What a thrill! Next to the treehouse is a homemade sled slide (see pics) that is also a blast. Down next to another rented space (the Hollar House) is a small zipline. Up the hill are blackberry bushes. So like I said, lots to keep you happy and entertained. 

The lows: There's always got to be a couple things about a place that I wish could be better. For us, it was the Hollar House. The folks staying there came in at 9:30 pm and their headlights showed right into the treehouse. When they spent a minute or two turning around their car in front of the house, the lights blinded us at the campfire. And when they turned on the string lights on the porch and went inside, it was too bright to enjoy being around the campfire. I went over and kindly asked them to turn the lights off, since they weren't outside anyway, and they graciously obliged, but other campers may not be able to or want to approach strangers to ask them to turn off lights. 

The highs: Besides the cool swings and slides, the owners were most definitely the best. Emilie and her two sons were very friendly and helpful in greeting us and getting us squared away. Her youngest son was the same age as my daughter and they had a great time playing together. She gave us bowls to collect blackberries and showed us how the swings and zip line worked. Awesome folks. 

Overall, would recommend. Don't come here expecting a 5-star suite. It is tight and rustic. But it is a lot of fun!