Best Glamping near Chattanooga, TN

I’ve been to Cloudland several times. It’s always a wonderful camping experience with great hiking. There are 2 camping loops, the East Loop has 30 mostly RV sites. They have 30 & 50 amp service, and water. Bathroom and shower are centralized. This loop is closer to the trail heads. The West loop is larger, with 42 sites. These are more wooded and offer better privacy. The west loop is water & electric only as well, with 2 shower/bath houses. There are 2 dump stations in the park. There are also 20 yurts, a pioneer camping area, 30 walk-in camp sites, and cabins. The bathrooms are showing some wear. They are not the most modern, but there was plenty of hot water and the water pressure was adequate. The park offers a catch & release pond, disk golf and caving with a guide. There is a security gate that automatically closes at 10 pm, so be sure to get the gate code if you are planning to be out of the park in the evening. The park is only 20 miles from Chattanooga, TN, and the Chickamauga National Battlefield, and an easy drive to Russell Cave National Monument & Little River Canyon.

My first experience with Cloudland Canyon State Park was on a day hike, and my second was photographing a wedding here--which should set the stage for what type of place this is! 

The park can be spoken of in two separate sections; the East Rim and the West Rim. The East Rim is home to several cabins, the group lodge, one of the full service campgrounds, and the main trailhead, as well as the ADA accessible overlook trail which is where many of the iconic photographs of this park come from. This side is very popular for day use as the one mile out and back hike to Cherokee Falls draws in campers and people from Chattanooga coming in to enjoy the towering waterfall and the swimming hole below. The campground here is smaller, and less private than the west rim loop, offering 24 tent/RV sites that have 30A electrical hookup, gravel tent pads, picnic tables, and fire rings, along with a bathhouse and playground. The main road to the trailheads and day use area runs past this loop and while there are trees for shade they do not offer any privacy. 

The West Rim side houses the pioneer camping, west rim loop, the yurt village, and the remaining cabins. We have not been able to see the inside of the yurts, but they are spaced away from each other and off the road, and offer a lot of privacy; the loop that serves the yurts it not connected to any other road, and has a shelter, playground, and bathhouse. 

The West Rim camping loop has a total of 48 tent/RV sites with 30 or 50A hookups, water, gravel tent pads, picnic tables, and fire rings. This loop is far more wooded and offers a greater variety of site size and privacy, and has an extremely quiet and peaceful vibe to it. If the east rim is good for those using their campsite as a home base for exploring, the west rim is perfect for campers who want the convenience of a bathhouse with running water and/or the ability to run electric in their RVs, but without giving up the feeling of being immersed in nature. Sites 4-9 are well spaced from each other and great for tent campers and families who want their kids to have room to play, and while site 37 does not have as much privacy being in the center of the loop, it does have one of the most perfect climbing trees I have ever seen in a public campground. 

There are 16 cottages/cabins, and Georgia State Park cabins really cannot be overstated; they are well appointed, well maintained, and absolutely beautiful, and are spaced out to offer a feeling of seclusion: perfect for winter getaways, or for people who enjoy total creature comforts at night with nearby adventure during the day. Word of advice; cabins 1-5 are on the east rim and the waterfall trail runs almost directly behind them, so there is a loss of privacy there, especially on busy weekends. 

Finally, the park offers 4 pioneer sites and 30 walk-in backcountry sites. I have not seen these in person yet, but it is worth noting this park has accommodations for every type of camper out there.

There is not enough good I can say about Cloudland Canyon. About 45 minutes from Chattanooga, it is a must-see for anyone traveling from out of state who want to add adventure to their tour of the city, a home base for the many hiking and climbing opportunities within the park, or just a beautiful and peaceful place to spend a few nights out in nature.

We are here on our Honeymoon. It was a last minute lets roll the dice and see where God leads us. It was late And we called at 9:30pm to see if we could book a reservation and pay with cash. It was a 2 hour drive from where we got married. Got here close to midnight and they had a yurt ready for us. They where more than happy to accommodate us! The Yurt was so nice had 2 foam pads for us to sleep on with sleeping bags. A lantern and charger for the lantern. And a fan. And chairs to sit on. Fire pit, picnic table.electricity and wifi. Its so peaceful here. Nice bath houses. Beautiful Property. It is newly built . Just a short distance to Greeter Waterfall.. A Real 💎 for rvs, tents, or glamping in a yurt. They have a small store on sight. Offer ice for 3$ a bag and small wood bundles for the fire pit for 5$ and they will deliver to your site! How cool is that! Im sold on this place. Definitely coming back.

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.

We recently visited Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tn while enroute to Georgia. The Tennessee countryside is an enjoyable backdrop to this meandering road trip and you are very close to several other excellent Tennessee SPs.

I noticed a sign on the way in to Fall Creek Falls advertising a yearly festival, the “Mountaineer Folk Festival” the weekend after Labor Day. http://www.mountainglenonline.com/thingstodo/events/mountaineer-folk-festival-at-fall-creek-falls-state-park.html

The park also has a nice looking golf course, the Tree Top Canopy Challenge and an extensive facility area including the visitors center, gift shop, general store, swimming pool, laundromat and grill.

When I visited last year it was extremely busy and the attractions were crowded. This year I visited on a week day after school was back in session so it was mostly retirees who haven’t started their migration south yet ;) at the campground. Fall Creek has a large spread out campground with several choices , primitive walk-ins, glamping or something in between. There are gravel sites and paved. A picnic table, fire ring and grill as well as electric and water hookups. The facilities are centrally located in each area.

We stopped at Fall Creek Falls first and made the trek down to the base of the falls after first visiting the overlook. Moderate, technical,( rocky, slippery, wear hiking shoes, carry your flip flops for the wade in the pool below) 1.6ish mile round trip hike. When you leave the Fall Creek area there is a one way road you can take to Piney Falls it has some picturesque views of the area.

Piney Falls is worth a look too. I love suspension bridges, my dogs not so much. Piney has a .4ish mile round trip hike that includes a long suspension bridge with a short scramble down to the river.

I also noticed some bike trail trailheads within the park, something else to enjoy while visiting.

Fall Creek Falls is definitely a place you can spend a week or more at and do something different everyday.

If you are looking for options this State Park has a little bit of everything. This is an extremely large campground spread out all over the park. We stayed in the west rim campground and the sites were giant and secluded. Bathrooms were nothing special but clean and accessible. There is plenty of canopy cover in this west rim whereas the east rim was far more wide open, without much cover. They have Pioneer/walk-in sites, a Yurt loop as well as cottages. The sight seeing and hiking is awesome in this area. There is a day use area for those who just want to checkout the main overlook and or waterfall. We are most certainly looking forward to coming back to this campground and state park to explore. If needing a campsite near Chattanooga it is close enough even though it’s located in north Georgia. Be sure to do some exploring and at least check out the overlook!