Best Dispersed Camping near Bell Buckle, TN

The trailhead campsite is a short walk from the parking lot, but makes for a great basecamp for exploring the area. The campsite is level and large enough to accommodate many tents. There are also trees that would be suitable for hammock camping. The site is on the edge of an overlook of the canyon and has multiple fire rings if there are multiple groups there. This site and trailhead serves both the Walls of Jericho trail and the Bear Den Point Loop Trail. 

This is primitive camping so no bathhouse, but there is a porta-john in the trailhead parking lot. The site is a good distance from any convenient stores or grocery stores so plan accordingly. We found good cell phone service with Verizon at this site. Trash cans are located in the trailhead parking lot. Please pack out your trash from the campsite.

The Walls of Jehrico trail offers a handful of first-come/first-serve primitive campsites set adjacent to two separate water sources (streams).  Any equipment must be carried in and out which makes for a perfect backpacking experience.  

Your campsite offers little privacy due to trail proximity but that should not distract from a wonderful experience.

There are minimal places to stock up on necessities along the road so be sure and come equipped.  There is also no cell service so make sure you plan accordingly and have an emergency system in place.

Read that there was a drive-in camp site at this location. Upon arrival, we found a parking lot with a fence all around it. There were a few fire rings in the parking lot.

I was not tempted to stay. There was nothing here but a place to park when you go hiking. The only thing here was disappointment and the realization that I needed to go somewhere else.

The only decent spot for hammocks is the little campsite that is right in front of the parking lot. We went over to the clearing just north of the parking lot, but there were no good spots. The clearing was extremely overgrown, as was the tree line all around the clearing. At the site directly in front of the parking lot, you can really only get two hammocks, unless you want to stack your hammocks vertically. You'll have to tie both hammocks to the same tree at one end, and then use two trees on the other side. There is no water near this site. This site is OK if you need to be near the parking lot or don't want to hike your gear in and out. Otherwise, you're way better off going down to one of the other sites.

This is a really great place to camp if you have a way to boat out to the island. We use a canoe since it’s only a quarter mile or so paddle. The only down side (at least when we were there) is the raccoons. They will come up really close at night begging for food. They’re harmless though.

This site is 3 separate clearings near the trailhead and parking with small fire pits. They work in a pinch if you get here late and don’t want to hike in or if you want to car camp and hike to the falls without gear. Be aware that you will have to go a little ways down the trail to find water.