We really enjoyed our 2 night stay at Bledsoe Creek State Park! Campground was very clean. Plenty of spaces between sites. State park officers were very friendly. We will definitely return again!
We enjoyed our stay and took full advantage of the lake. We paddle boarded, swam, and kayaked. The pool area is nice and they had live music on Saturday night.
It’s a little pricey, but if you want to experience Nashville, it’s a pretty good deal given the proximity.
Not much shade on most sights but the area is well kept and clean. Trash pickup every morning.
As avid campers and new Camper trailer owners, we've set out on a journey to enjoy as many parks as possible.
Signage and entrance is well lit, easy to find and navigate. There's a welcome center, camp store, sells firewood and ice (no propane LPG) and great sites.
One of the best parts of this park is the views. If you're able to go/get to camp during the day, you'll see spectacular views of the lake/dam and river.
The RV campsites are all in great shape, and are like a camping on a side pier. Bathroom was nice, hot water and clean. Dump station was in nice shape and overall was a beautiful place.
Overall, we're seeing that TN stateparks tend to be nicer and better kept up than Army Corp of Engineer parks which all typically close at Oct 31st.
We'll be back Edgar!
The site I had was a little awkward backing into and the water hookup was on the wrong side for my camper. Nice facilities.
quiet, relaxing & comfortable spots. lots of deer and wildlife. the campground hosts were accommodating and friendly!
Large camping area. Mostly RV campers. We were the only ones in a tent but that might have been because it was cold at night in November. Very pretty lake and beach area. The campsites are not secluded so tent campers should be aware. Staff was fantastic and bathrooms very clean. No litter/trash to be seen anywhere. Comfortable and good for new campers but if you are looking for something rougher and secluded like we were look elsewhere.
Even though it rained the entire time we were there, we still had fun at the campsite. Here are some details:
- The wooden platform kept our area from getting messy and muddy. We didn't have to worry about rocks and sticks making the tent bumpy
- Use ten-penny nails to nail down your tent and canopy
- The firepit and grill are beside the platform
- Parking is on the platform
- Bathrooms were small but updated
- The views of the water are nice!
Great camp ground. Been going here for 10 plus years with my family and have never had any problems. Great hiking trails and water falls.
Great camp close to the water. Convenient water and electricity. Very clean restroom and showers. Park is pretty with lake but also trails for hiking. Saw lots of wildlife.
Great layout for RVs. Nice bathrooms, mini cul-de-sacs and right on the water. Secret gem, books fast.
Large level sites with some privacy. Bathrooms were super clean. Was able to get groceries and all I needed just 10 mins away
We've stayed 6 times at MB, it's my partners fave place to go.
FAMILIES +++ With a great pavilion, Vb court, ball diamond, and playground, the far side of the camp is perfect for families, groups, and events. Our fave sites are 1-8, with #1+2 right next to the creek and the most updated bathrooms. If you don't want kiddos walking through your campsite to get to the playground, you may want to choose a higher number.
BATHROOMS there's three bathroom facilities; two newer ones and an older one. Ironically, the older one has a washer and dryer, bring quarters. Far side of the camp has tents and creekside spots, but a lot.of folks with big RVs tend to do the middle spots, they're more easily accessible.
ICE AND FIREWOOD Are for sale, $5 a bag/bundle. Super helpful staff. Unlike most camps that have gates, you can pull in, and simply stop with enough room for others to go around.
THINGS TO DO There's some historic hiking trail, historic old church/cabins, as well as the welcome center, the Inn, lake to swim, and a golf course nearby.
DRIVE AROUND With such an expansive park, aside from the camping area, you'll want to drive around to see everything, and bring your walking shoes if you prefer to hike.
Check out the creekside campsites and book early if you want to accommodate your group OR get a spot. Sites are able to booked 6 months ahead, so think ahead.
If you weren't aware, the fall is the perfect time to camp. Which means almost every recreation.gov campsite is full to the brim.
We tried this location again (after having a negative experience with their staff) and have some more concrete thoughts.
If you're loading in for tent camping, this cap.has some great views, up in the 70-100s, be sure to check elevation on the map. The pictures don't show you how difficult to access.
Spots 104-118 are up a horrific incline, not suitable for small RVs or trailers. There's also no lights here.
The main bathrooms near the front are pretty nice, but bring flops flops and expect it to be a tad gross on the floor. There was excrement in the large handicapped shower.
There's a fish cleaning station just past the main bathrooms and dumpsters, perfect if you bring your boat too.
The front lake spots are nice, but no shade. Be sure you have a 10x10 canopy or RV awning.
Overall the campground is built around the lake, but incredibly tight, hard to navigate (especially at night) and unless you're a pro, know to look at your spaces/map and calculate your turn radius and which spots you can back into, don't go if you have a truck + trailer over 17' or a large 5th wheel.
While nice scenery, the difficulty to navigate, small roads labeled two way (impassable if another vehicle approaching) make this ok-maintained came a poorly-accesible 3 stars.
Loved it here, staff was friendly, sites were beautiful, facilities were very clean and couldn’t find anything wrong.
Only issue was the campstore was lacking in some of the basics, no burger or hot dog rolls, no eggs, etc…
I' m happy to say this is a family business who still understands the value of the customer experience. This is a great location(right off I-65) to explore all the Nashville area has to offer with convenience to downtown Nashville, the historic Franklin, TN community, and many other attractions…and if self exploring is not your thing the campground offers tour opportunities galore. The campground offers all the amenities you would expect in a commercial campground: very clean bathhouses, propane, convenience store, level spaces, full hook ups, wi-fi, escort to the site plus several things that weren't unexpected: restaurant dining, live free(good) entertainment nightly and some of the most pleasant staff we have encountered. The spaces are close together; however this seemed to be part of the character of the park…the pleasantries seemed to spread from the staff through the other RV'ers.
Bells Bend Park is close to the city but nature all around. Farmland with spots of woodland.
Primitive camping , in the trees on a hill. Group only. There are some tables and some fire rings. But the sky is immense.
The park offers a lot of programs to base your camping around. The trails are through farmland and bike friendly.
Full hook-ups, plenty of trees for shade, laundry, showers and toilets. No frills. They have a pool and a pavilion with live music every once in a while. Pull though and back in sites. Pet friendly. Owners seem to stick to their guns when enforcing the campsite rules.
We are new-ish to camping and were directed here by the nice lady at Lock A once we were told the first come first serve sights were taken and this place had one sight available. The grounds are well kept and the showers are very nice. We pitched our tent on comfortable ground and were serenaded by the sounds of trucks coming down the bridge overhead with their jakes on at night. Bring earplugs if you are in a tent. Nice staff at checkin and cleaning crew very thorough.
The tent sites were really nice. I love how close you are to the water. It also includes two swim areas which is nice. Bathrooms are good in campground standards! The hiking trail is ok. Canoe the Caney is a few minute drive from the campground which is great if you like canoeing. We really enjoyed it!
BEYOND RUDE, INDECENT HUMAN WORKS HERE.
My partner works maintenance/HVAC and had an emergency, requiring us to break camp, leaving at 1am, returning at 6am. We had to 7-point turn, moving the picnic table and lantern stand to simply back out way out. At 8am someone banged on our door beyond hard enough 7-10times.
With only two hours of sleep, I open our door only to find a cantankerous old man be who immediately began to bitch us out (no conversation, no listening nor explanation) or empathy or even basic human respect for parking in another campsite (which we also have a permit for, as we reserved two for friends arriving later. He instructed us to move it, without asking if we had a permit. He returned an hour and a half later and threatened to tow our vehicle, ban us from camp and call the ranger to come ticket us. I could barely interrupt him to assert we were the other party and had a permit for twice as many vehicles, and our vehicle was registered for that spot.
Whether you have only 2 hours of sleep and your door beaten on or not, this old.mans behavior is unacceptable.
Come to find out, he drove round the night before antagonizing guests nearby unloading caping gear from their boats, and was simply downright nasty.
Unacceptable behavior from any human. Our first time here and also our last. As a differentially-enabled person on the autism spectrum, this was horrific. There are no words to justify this man's behavior to us and other guests. Even if kindness and respect aren't this thing, his inability to actually do his job and check permits before harassing campers is unacceptable. We'll never camp at this place again.
The parking decks overlooking the water was really neat! Clean bathrooms/showers. Just spent one night there in our way somewhere else. Made a memory that is still talked about though!
The backcountry campsites are just a short trek from the camp store, the hike itself follows the river. We only saw one other couple and no one else was staying at the second site so it was such a secluded weekend! Definitely recommend for quick overnight trips!
These spots were roomy and well maintained. The museum was very interesting, we learned several new things and our boys earned their Jr Ranger badges. The walk around the mounds were a bit long, however, it was so peaceful. We had several deer cross our path and many of the simply stopped to watch us. We got several pictures of them. The rangers told us that at the end of this season they will be building new shower facilities. We plan on putting this park on our list of future stops!
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.
Decent campground ⛺️ we were on site 67 which I would recommend. It’s on a hill with rocks, roots poison ivy as well as poison oak. So stay away from the side of site 67!
Other than that there is 3 lakes, and harpeth rive you can play in or fish.