Best Tent Camping near Chattanooga, TN

We had 3 couples who spent the long weekend for 4th of July (2016) on two sites in the walk-in tent camping area. There are (non-flush) potties at the tent camping area, but if you're grossed out by those, it's a couple of minutes drive to the closest bath house. The bath house was very satisfactory and pretty clean, plus plenty of hot water. There's a (steep!) trail from the tent camping area down to the lake with some good places for swimming. It would probably be tough to walk a kayak down to the water from tent sites, though. We found the gravel tent pads well maintained and clean.

The location near Ellijay is great. We visited a couple of area wineries, and there's a fun mountain bike trail at Woodring Branch rec area (directly across the lake from Doll Mtn. Campground, but no direct route to get there, so it's about a 45 minute drive.)

This campground was super different from anywhere I've ever stayed. My family and I went a few years ago on a trip to Tennessee. It was a decent place to stay. We RV camped on this trip, but the campground had tent sites too. Ours was pretty spacious and right next to our friends' site. 

What was neat about this campground that it actually is right above a series of caverns, one of the biggest systems in the US I think. We got to go on a 4 hour caving trip led by a guide, which was really awesome. If you're every at this place, definitely book a trip to go around the caves. Also, right at the campground was a place where you could mine for gemstones. This was really great for the younger kids we had with us and pretty fun for me too. 

As always, there's some good hiking around. We checked out snoopers rock trail which was beautiful. Also a fun thing to do since the campground isn't too far from Chattanooga was going to watch the Lookouts at a minor league baseball game. This area has a ton of stuff to do and it was a great trip!

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I am occasionally compensated for staying at and reviewing campgrounds. I was given the opportunity to stay at Mountain Glen RV Park and Campground in order to test the new reservation system through The Dyrt. The reservation system works extremely well--it is fast and efficient, and save the trouble of using a third party reservation system after finding a campground you like on The Dyrt. I look forward to more campgrounds joining TD's network!

Mountain Glen is a new campground, located about an hour northwest of Chattanooga, and it is absolutely beautiful. There are a total of 8 tent sites and 41 RV sites, set next to a lake and a gorgeous view of a farm. Amenities include picnic tables, a playground, fishing, horseshoes, corn hole, a game room, a camp store, and laundry facilities, showers, and flush toilets with electricity (and heat!). It is also a short drive to Fall Creek Falls State Park, for anyone looking to enjoy the hiking near the falls without the overnight crowds the state park brings in. 

The RV sites occupy most of the campground, and accommodate trailers ranging from 60' to 90'. All sites have electric and water hookups, picnic tables, fire rings, and most have small grassy areas for dogs, kids, or even grown ups to stretch out and rest. RVs are also available to rent.

Tent sites 1-3 are listed as “primitive” sites and have no electricity or water, however it is a short walk to the office where water is available. The road is visible from these sites, however there is a grassy meadow both between the sites and the road, and the sites and the lake, with woods bordering site 3. 

Sites 4 and 5 are located closest to the picnic shelter, with a clear view of the lake. Sites 6-8 are next to the office/bathrooms. Site 6 is the smallest and 8 is the largest. All tent sites are fairly hilly, and accommodate small tents better than large based on limited flat space—though hammocks would work well!

There is a trail that winds around the lake, and passes a beautiful spillway on the end opposite the office which is great for getting some shade, and a chance for kids to splash in some water. This end also has a picnic table for day use. I would love to see this area eventually become a walk-in campsite as it is definitely the most beautiful area of the entire campground!

The owners here are extremely nice. We were greeted warmly on our arrival, and spent some time talking with them our second day. It is obvious they care about the campground and want campers to enjoy themselves and feel comfortable. We are tent campers and I was wary of staying somewhere more geared towards RVs, but what tent camping here lacks in privacy and wilderness, it more than makes up for in beauty, peace, and a feeling of home-away-from-home.

As exclusively tent campers, I have always steered away from KOAs. But given how close this one is to my home city of Chattanooga, and how beautiful the Lookout Mountain region is, I decided to do a drive-thru tour just to check out a campground within 30 minutes of home, and this is definitely a place I would love to camp, even in a tent! 

Convenient to I-59, this KOA is in an extremely rural part of northern Georgia, giving it a backcountry feel despite how easy it is to access. And while it is still primarily for RV campers, they do have a some designated tent-only sites that are on their own leg of the road, and spaced out to provide some privacy--site D in particular had more of a feel of a private campground to it.

There are two distinct sections to this campground; when you first enter, there is a turnoff to the right that takes you to lower elevation. These sites are more spaced out, have trees (or bamboo!) in between them, and are generally larger. This is also the side where the tent and group camping sites are. Group camp sites allow one tent per site, and RV sites are all 50A full service except for sites 60 and 61 which are 30A. Tent sites have water and electric available but are for one vehicle and tent only. 

To the left of the welcome center upon entering sites are closer together, with a combination of 30A and 50A full services hookups. There are still plenty of trees, particularly along the uppermost loop (sites 16, 18, 20, and 22). This side is also where the majority of the cabins are. 

The coolest aspect of this campground for me was the massive jumping pad they have, and I had to promise my kids we would take an overnight trip here just so they could use it! It is restricted to ages 16 and under (and appeared to be closed, along with the playground and saltwater pool, due to COVID-19), but looked like an amazing addition, especially for families who may be staying here long-term and need a way for their kids to get some energy out without leaving the campground! 

This would still not be my primary choice for tent camping as it is still largely geared towards RVs, however the group camping, the wooded feel, and the convenience to Chattanooga make this an amazing play to stay, whether it is folks in the city looking to get into nature without a long drive, fulltimers who want long-term accommodations while they take advantage of all the region has to offer, or travelers just looking for a quiet place to stay while passing through.

Adventures Unlimited is located in Ocoee, TN, just outside of Chattanooga, and is one of the coolest river towns I’ve been to. The Ocoee River was the site for the 1996 Olympics whitewater events. There are numerous outfitters for everything you can do on the river, and this place is the best we’ve visited. We did the Classic Middle Ocoee Rafting Adventure, with Leon as our guide. He was awesome! He wore a Viking helmet (which looks really cool in our pics!) and had vast knowledge of the river and area, and said he’s been guiding for 20 years, so yeah, the best! I would highly recommend Leon if you take a trip!

The campground is HUGE for tent camping. There are hundreds of great tent sites, and the whole place has a great vibe. I wouldn’t really recommend it for children, it feels more like a grown up place, as the area is filled with kayakers, guides, college kids, etc., and these people have FUN! And there’s the Bus Bar, which I’ll cover in a bit. We stayed in site 13 on the rv sites, and it was nice. All the sites are spacious, most have plenty of shade, except for 6,7,8, they are in the middle and not much shade there. The rv sites have water and electric, and they have a dump station. The bath house is at the front entrance, it was very clean, with 4 restrooms and showers. They also have bungalows, and they looked awesome.

This place has two restaurants, The Cafe was closed, I’m assuming due to covid, I believe they serve breakfast and lunch there. And The Bus Bar- this place is a must! They have literally converted two yellow school busses into a bar! The restrooms are in one of the busses and the other is where the actual bar is. They have live music on weekends, and there is a very eclectic vibe. Great people watching! You will hear music from your campsite until around midnight. We didn’t try the food, but they have pizza and wings on their menu, so what else do you need?!

The office is where you check in for rafting, they also sell ice, water shoes, t-shirts, etc. and the people in there were super friendly. This is one of my favorite “fun” places we’ve stayed, it truly was an adventure! We will definitely be returning!