Best Cabin Camping near Dickson, TN

This KOA is in a really convenient location near downtown Nashville! They have tons of amenities (shower, hot tub, pool, etc) so it’s not exactly backcountry camping if that’s more your thing. But they have a shuttle for $10 that runs round trip every hour to downtown Nashville, which is a must have if you want to save money on Ubers!

Used to be a KOA park turned independent. The campground is introducing "Glamping sites" along with their cabin rentals and RV sites. The manager and staff have been great with accommodations. The campground is family-oriented, quiet at night, and offers activities on the weekends and holidays. Though stated in Goodlettsville, it is in Millersville proper. For restaurants and grocery runs, take I-65 South to exit 97. Of course, you have the Nashville scene, but check out Mansker’s Station for some rich history of true pioneer spirit. Opryland and Downtown Nashville are about 20 minutes away, respectively.

The campground has a variety of sites from deluxe paved pull through with patios to back-in full hookups to tent sites. We stayed in the back-in sites side of the campground. The sites were close together(but not on-top of each other) and many were long enough to handle most average sized rigs. These sites were gravel with grass between, which was well maintained. 50& 30 amp service available. Very flat with minimal leveling needed. The wifi was spotty when the campground was full on the weekends. 

The bathhouses have individual shower access with separate toilet facilities. These were clean and well maintained. The entire campground was very well maintained and landscaped beautifully, which created a welcoming feeling. 

There are numerous amenities: pool, hot tub, playground, pickle ball, corn hole, etc. Live music is offered at the pool area a couple nights a week in addition to movies. The camp store is small, with limited selection, but it is attached to a nice size indoor rec room and restaurant/snack bar. A Camping World Store is also right next door to the campground, which is very convenient. 

A shuttle service is offered daily from 10:00AM-1:30AM between the KOA and downtown Nashville at the Country Music Hall of Fame. The cost is$10 round trip per person. The staff were very friendly and willing to help with any issues and questions. We enjoyed our stay and found the price($68) reasonable for the great location and amenities offered.

First of all, clearly there are many great reviews listed for this business on Google, but it seems to be the majority are simply reviews on the kayak rental and floating experience or camping in tents and RVs. My review is specifically in regards to renting a cabin with them and the customer service(or lack there of) they portrayed when faced with my complaint. DO NOT STAY IN THEIR CABINS! Upon our arrival on Friday night, I pulled back the covers to replace with the blanket we brought and immediately noticed what appeared to be a dead bug. I began looking closer and pulling back the sheets. I found several different casings of a bug that per google could be bedbugs but could be another bug. I tried to not be paranoid. I decided to take photos along the way just in case. Keep in mind, there were 5 fitted sheets, and 2 mattress covers on this ONE bed. Why? It seemed like they were trying to cover up an issue in my opinion. I put a fitted sheet we brought over theirs and we used our blanket that night. We spent the next day on the river, and I will be clear and honest, the experience on the river is great and we have zero complaints. Upon returning to the cabin(this was cabin#1 by the way) I decided to lay down in the bed under our blanket. At this point, I already had a couple bumps on my upper arm that were itching terribly. I have a tattoo right there so I couldn’t really see the irritation, but it did itch really badly. I tried to tell myself it was mosquitoes from being on the river. Then, I saw another couple of bugs and the end result was we just could not sleep there another night with what we had seen and feared. We cleaned everything up and drove home late that night. I purposely left our luggage and the sheet and blanket in the vehicle that night. The next day(Sunday) I brought it all into the house and washed it and dried it on high heat. By Tuesday evening, I had several more bumps trickling down my arm in a line and by Saturday morning I woke up with bumps all the way down my hand, and a few sporadic ones on my leg, neck, and face. I went to the doctors that next Monday and they confirmed IT WAS BEDBUG BITES. They put me on a weeks worth of steroids after giving me a steroid shot in the office and gave me a medicated cream for the intense itching I was experiencing. I immediately called a pest control company and had 2 out within 3 days. Both companies confirmed the pictures I have are 100% BEDBUGS AND MY BITES ARE ABSOLUTELY BEDBUG BITES. I know these situations can get out of control quickly and the last thing I wanted was for my kids to go through this discomfort so I decided to reach out to Carol at Buffalo River Resort by email and very respectfully explain what happened and what’s come of it. I included pictures and followed up with the estimates I had gotten as well as the report from my doctor. We have 4 children in our home and just lost my mother-in-law unexpectedly and have faced unexpected financial challenges, so we are in no position to financially cover this issue, however, this is not something to be ignored. I received a response the next day(Tuesday) saying they are sorry and they will get this to the owner. I have followed up 3x since then and have not heard a word from them. We did, however, get the cost of our cabin refunded back to our credit card yesterday. I sent one last email this morning giving them until 2 PM to reach out to me and resolve this issue in the right way, which is to rid our home and family of this issue, not return what we paid for the cabin. There is a substantial price difference-$500 vs$2,000- which we can’t afford. We also cannot afford for this to trickle through our whole home and affect all 4 of our kids. One is already affected. The level of discomfort, irritation and lack of sleep I have had since this has been extreme. But the disappointment I feel from a“family owned” company handling theirselves this way is even more triggering to me. DO NOT TRUST THESE PEOPLE& DO NOT SLEEP IN THESE CABINS!! There are plenty of other places to float the Buffalo.

Something for everyone! Tent spots, RV spots, cabins, back country spots! Lots of recreation opportunities here too! The lakes are great!

All day scheduled events for kids. Park is immaculate & safe. Have stayed in RV and cabin at this park before and would recommend both.

Excellent campsite. We stay at the primitive campsites but they do have small cabins that you can stay in. They have restrooms and showers if you need them. The staff is super friendly and we always have a great time.

This property has seen better days. The cabins are very rustic and very close together. The RV sites are taken by full time residents and it has more of a trailer park vibe. I would not stay there again as there are better choices right down the road.

I live too close to this State Park to camp here but I do play the golf course. Very nice and expect to see deer and turkey.

In addition there are some good places in nearby Dickson to eat. Tony B’s for burgers, Back Alley for BBQ, Zander’s for Pizza and Katie’s for ice cream.

The bonus is that it is an easy drive to Nashville.

Paris Landing State Park has about 70 campsites, most with water and electric hookups, but it is not easy to fine a level site. (There are 18 “primitive campsites” with no service. My brother stayed at one of their cabins.) The campground is in a hardwood forest, so there is lots of shade. Plus, it is right on Kentucky Lake, so there is swimming, fishing and boating. There is a pool and golf course. There is canoeing nearby.

Henry Horton State Park has that back country lived in feel. Probably has something to do with the multitude of kinfolk wandering about:)

South of Nashville, Tn 31A runs right through the middle of the actual park.

Duck River runs through the park and is a main focus of the entertainment with rental places picking up tubers from on the road into the tent area. (Yes, I received several dirty looks for driving on the road toward the tent area.) I parked in the restroom area as the road was completely blocked with children, inner tubes and adults.

The tent area had BIG sites that would easily fit several tents and trees for hammocks. There are 10 sites. The river was at the rear of the tent area as well as a trail Adeline Wilhoite River trail that followed the river. There are also primitive campsites available if your backpacking through located near the observation deck on the Adeline Wilhoite River trail loop.

The bathhouse is newer and well kept. There is a playground in the middle of the campground area, in front of the visitors office. ( pretty awesome looking sandpit)

The RV area is adjacent through the woods it has 56 sites. The sites looked adequate, but from what I saw they were close together. There may have been more space further in.

There is an Inn and cabins available also on the other side of the park/river.

We enjoyed the trails , just gotta say BUG SPRAY :) Keep your eyes open for critters and there are bikers using several of the trails.Wilhoite Mill Trail is one of the features of the park, which leads to a historic mill.

So pack your banjo and yak and git on out to Henry Horton State Park for a good ole time !

For several months while living in TN, we spent almost every weekend at Henry Horton State Park. It’s not quite an hour from Nashville. We always got a primitive site, shady site. I was never disappointed by any of our sites and never felt cramped or too close to other campers.

HH has RV sites, cabins, “hammock sites,” and a large group site. They also have a camp store, firewood, and restrooms. Rates are pretty standard. Backcountry primitive hike-in sites are $8.

Interactive heritage festivals and other activities frequently came to the center across the street. I don’t really recall if this is part of the park or not.

I've grown up going to Montgomery Bell State Park and have been camping there for 23 years. The campground has water and electric hookups, space for RVs, and bathrooms with showers.

The campground is adjacent to a creek and a baseball diamond. In addition to these features, the park offers a lake for boating as well as a roped off swimming area and man-made beach. Next to the lake is the park lodge which includes a restaurant, meeting rooms, and a swimming pool. The lake also has a picnic pavilion with restrooms.

The park was built on an historic home site so there is an old chapel (which still has services) and an old log home as well as a small family cemetery. There are also a number of hiking trails, a suspension bridge, and very nice, modern cabins available to rent.

PROS 

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