The best EQUESTRIAN camping near
Estill Springs , TENNESSEE

I’m a mom and aunt to 4 kiddos and decided to go camping with them but they are 10, 8, 6 and 3 so I knew I would struggle to get the tent up for all of us, and it was a bit chilly for the littles. So, I opted for the yurt option at Cloudland Canyon! It was a beautiful spot! Had everything we needed within the state park. Snacks/drinks at check in. Felt secluded but had other yurts nearby and a very clean bathroom and shower area! I’ve tent camped a lot and this was a very memorable experience for all the kids! We made breakfast on the campfire, watched Hocus Pocus late inside the yurt (using my computer and Hot spot from my phone) and hiked during the day! The views were spectacular (but whoa if you are afraid of heights) 😬 I will go back!

Great park. Nicely maintained, friendly staff, spacious and spread out sites. We stayed in walk-in 19. It's a half mile from parking and the comfort building, and the trail is covered in tree routes, so wheeled items (coolers, wagons) may not do very well. But what a great place to get outside! No bugs in October. Did see some armadillos!

Once settled, go hike! The West Rim trail is manageable. Be careful with dogs, as parts of the trail have grated stairs, and dog feet don't do well on the grates. 

But the view are spectacular.

With more time, we would have done the waterfalls trails as well.

In all, excellent place. Will certainly go back.

Quiet stop only one night. Everything worked and no drama! Beautiful trees! 🍁Live owl named “Cotton” and hawk named “Buddy” on exhibit there. Cute little store on grounds.

Bathrooms have hot showers and flushing toilets the trails and waterfalls are beautiful the sites are nice and private would definitely come here again absolutely wonderful place

We stayed for 4 nights in walk in site 21.  It was bit interesting to get all our stuff to the site, and thank goodness we had 2 wagons and teens to help carry.  It was a great private site, allowing for a good size tent and 3 hammocks.  Easy access to the West Rim trail which was a terrific hike.  Waterfalls were dry, which was disappointing but the hike to them from the West Rim Trail was quite pretty.

Note that the Visitor Center had no wood left, having arrived on a Sunday.  We saw a sign for wood delivery and called Mac.  He was very accommodating, delivered wood within a couple of hours to us in the parking lot.  A great price!  Call Mac at 423-596-4805.

All in all we had a great experience.

Great park. There are so many great trails and waterfalls here. There are two main waterfalls but if you continue the trails there are many more. We stayed in west camp site #9. We loved our site. It backed to wooded area and was spacious but there is no buffer between sites. Water and electric and site was gravel and there are gray water dumps throughout camp. We could get to trails from the back of our campsite which was awesome. There is an east camp which is closer to the canyon rim but sites are closer together and not much shade. The 2 main waterfalls are a short hike once you go down 300 stairs. But therefore you must go up 300 stairs. There are plenty of platforms to rest. There are also yurts to rent. There is a small town with grocery and fast food about 30 minutes away. Chattanooga is not far from this park. We stayed 5 days and it was not enough time to hike and relax. We absolutely loved this park. Beware waterfalls are dependent upon rainfall. We camped here in April. Water flow was great. Temps were great 70s in day and got down to 40s at night. Perfect camping weather.

Hard to get into but worth it. There was some mistake with after hour check in some one there didn’t leave the packets out that night. Had to sleep in the road. But the camp ground was great big space plenty of room. No camper right next to you. Water and electric but no sewer But dump station was not far away. Nice hot showers clean rest rooms.

1. Driving there: it’s not as steep as Black Rock or Vogel, for reference. While a lot of folks are worried about the grade, it isn’t bad at all. I’d classify it as more of a “big hill”.

2. West rim is older but sites are more spaced out, private, and shaded. Bathrooms are older but clean and well kept. East Rim is closer to the overlooks and main trailheads, and newer, but sites are closer together and less shaded. We were on site 21 and it was right by the bathroom, gray water dump, camp host, and next to the west rim connector trailhead.

3. Do Hemlock falls in the morning (before 10am) to avoid large crowds (due to Covid, the park often reaches capacity around that time on weekends). The stairs are not bad, although smaller dogs may have issues. People were wading in the pool by the falls. See the sunset at the Main Overlook. Shout into the canyon to hear your echo at the second overlook.

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.

Stayed here in OCt. 2019 with family. Site was level, Had water and electric hookups. No full hookups at this campground. Gray water dump close to campsite. Black water dump quite a was away. Hiking here was amazing. Many metal steps and wonderful views. Park overall was clean and well maintained. Staff helpful and nice. Will go back.