Best Glamping near Eva, TN

This was our first stay here, and we had heard great things about it. It is a beautiful state park known as the"Queen of Tennessee's State Parks". There are 4,000 acres with mountain biking, fishing, hiking, picnic areas, kayaking/canoeing, and a golf course. Nashville is only 45 minutes away. The campground was nice. Our site was tight, and we didn't have a lot of room for our truck. We had to move to a different site for the 3rd night and the water connection was quite a reach. The sites were mostly level and some were shaded. The bathhouse was clean and there was a laundry area with 2 washers/dryers. We did have a picnic table and fire ring. We had 2-3 bars of Verizon 4G. There was a playground for the kids. There is a small creek that runs along the western edge of the campground. We did spot some snakes(copperheads maybe?) near the creek. There is a small camp store that had a few supplies, ice cream, ice& firewood. The employees were very nice. We would definitely stay here again.

Pro: It’s a well maintained resort. Had a decent dog park. Sites were nicely spaced. Check in was a breeze and we were shown to our site by a very nice lady. Lots of trees and flowers and quiet. Easy in and out. Cons: We had a corner site and we were really too long for the site, we’re 42’ long. The electric and water were all in one spot which was at the very end of the camper. We’ve been on this journey for 10 months so not our first rodeo. As the lady left a man rolls up in his cart and informs us that we need to pull up farther because it would be a tight squeeze for anyone to navigate around us. Which he wasn’t wrong but perhaps a more appropriate site could have been given us since we had a reservation for weeks. We told him if we pulled up farther we couldn’t reach the hose connection. He arrogantly told us that we should have a 50’ hose as most people do just for these circumstances. He also said we could buy one in their store. I asked if they possibly had another site that might fit the rig better. He said he thought they were full for the night but I could ask! That pretty much set the tone for the stay and for this review. Not sure if he was the owner or a grounds keeper. The sites were on hills- which it is Tennessee…but we had a difficult time getting our camper level as it went down hill due to the fact we had to pull up so far it set the camper downhill. It has auto leveling and could never get it level where we sat, kept giving us an error code. This system won’t allow you to level manually. We have 4 slides and it was difficult to get them out not being level. The bedroom slide came out enough for us to open the bed out. The fact that the camper was at such a slant it was not good for the slides obviously because it was so un-level that the jacks wouldn’t go down. It was pretty bouncy and you picked up speed walking from one end to the other. We were glad it was just one night.

What a hidden treasure! We had so much fun! It really is in the woods, complete with songbirds to wake you up and crickets to sing you to sleep. The creek makes a relaxing backdrop to your campfire time at night. The creek is deep enough to sit in, but not swim. It’s very reasonably priced, pretty, and SO worth the drive!

The campground owners are friendly and take great care of the place and campers, but they don’t hang around all the time. They obviously love their place because it was tidy and neat.

The “outhouse” is a four stall building - very clean and private. The owners make sure to think of everything you would need (and a few little extras) We took showers with our solar bags in a outdoor little stall built on a hill. It was so cool to shower “outside”! There is plenty of firewood around the campground, and each site has a fire ring, and a picnic table. There are plenty of trash cans throughout.

Heartstone is a primitive campground, with no hook-ups or electricity. They only allow dry camping for trailer campers. I’m pretty sure the limit for a Camper is 25’. Cell phone signals are spotty depending on your carrier, but they have a land line for emergencies. Welcome to off grid camping!

Although it feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere there are actually stores and restaurants about 15 minutes away in the towns of Hohenwald, or Linden, or Waynesboro. The Buffalo River is only about 5 minutes away where you can go canoeing or floating, and the Tennessee River is about 30 minutes drive. It’s also near Amish communities where you can buy locally made and grown items. Nashville and Huntsville are both about an hour and a half away, depending which way on Hwy 65 you go.

We really loved it there, and will definitely make it a regular stop this year. Hope this helped!

Ranger Review: Matador Droplet at Ginger Bay Land Between the Lakes, Ky.

Campground Review:We visited Ginger Bay boat ramp and dispersed camping area while at Land Between the Lakes(LBL) , Ky. Ginger Bay is actually in Tennessee. The road you take off The Trace, which runs down the middle of LBL, has several signs and other turn offs. So pay attention to the signs. You will end up on a dirt/gravel road with some interesting ruts and steps hills. Once you make it to the Ginger Bay area there are several side "roads" that lead to camping spots. If you are not in a 4 wheel drive you might want to investigate the road before using it, there were several deep ruts. You have the pick of spots if you have a dispersed pass which can be purchased at any of the offices. Direct put in is an option or if you have a bigger watercraft the boat ramp is right there. No toilet facility, no fire rings, no tables. This is a all what you bring with you. Generators are allowed but definitely spoil the quiet. When we visited the ramp was somewhat busy with day-use visitors. Realize when you dispersed camp at LBL though there are no large predators there are coyotes so if you have dogs keep an eye out. Every time I disperse camp I hear coyotes throughout the night, sometimes very close by. A single coyote would probably not bother a dog but a pack will.

Product Review: As a Dyrt Ranger I get to review some awesome outdoor products. This trip I took along my Matador Droplet. This is a little blue water drop shaped silicon shell with a seam-sealed polyester bag folded inside. The 3 liter capacity actually holds a lot. After my kayak trip I put my wet shorts, shirt, under garments and water shoes into the bag. There is a draw string on the bag to close it up. The bag then went into my clothes bag in the back of the truck. The wet stayed in the bag.

Pro's: compact, nice size dry bag, very convenient, cute

Con's: a bugger to get back in the silicon container, takes practice, a little expensive but good quality that will last

I plan on getting a few Droplets as Christmas presents and will probably get a Droplet XL to add to my pack gear.