Searching for a tent campsite near Norris? Find the best information on tent campgrounds near Norris, including sites, reviews, and tips. Each spot offers quick access to one or more of Norris, Tennessee's most popular destinations.
We have 2 primitive campsites at the entrance of the state forest as the forest itself is for DAY USE ONLY. We have 6 picnic areas, 4 of which have lake views and one having a spring and the other one having a 100 foot firetower adjacent to it.
Rock Creek Campground is located near the Emory River in the Obed Wild and Scenic River.
Whitewater paddling is available seasonally in the Obed WSR. Rock climbing is another challenging activity, as is boulder climbing. The Obed WSR sports several unique trails for hikers, most notably the Point Trail and a portion of the Cumberland Trail. Those who like to fish will enjoy the Obed WSR, as a variety of bass, bluegill, catfish and other fish populate the river. Birdwatching is also a fun activity, particularly during the migratory seasons.
The Obed River winds through the Cumberland Plateau offering a variety of recreational activities for everyone.
Just a few miles from the park is Frozen Head State Park which encompasses more than 24,000 acres of forest with mountainous terrain at an elevation from 1,340 feet to over 3,000 feet. Catoosa Wildlife Management Area is an 82,000 acre preserve with a focus on hunting and fishing but offering a wealth of other recreational activities as well. Lone Mountain State Forest is 3,600 acres and has 15 miles of trails for hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders.
$15 / night
Tucked in at the Base of Windrock Mountain
Welcome to the Windrock Ridge Campground, located in Oliver Springs, TN. Our beautiful campground is located at the foot of Windrock Mountain, where 4-wheeling and ATV riding is in our backyard. We have had a variety of names, but no matter what you call us, we’d love to have you stay with us! Enjoy EASY, FAST access directly from our campground to the “Mountain”, without hauling your ATV. We have a variety of accommodations that are sure to fit your needs.
Our primal campground has a stream, rolling hills, lots of flat landings and beautiful views. This is perfect for your next camping trip here in Eastern Tennessee! Whether you’re coming to hike, ride or just get away and enjoy the outdoors, we’d love for you to see what we have to offer during your next trip to Oliver Springs and Windrock Mountain. We are at the base of main Trail 2, which is easily accessed from the entrance of our campground.
Ginseng farming is NOT allowed on this property
$20 - $49 / night
Norris Dam State Park has three backcountry campsites.
There are two new backcountry sites on one of the trails at Norris Dam State Park. Backcountry Site 1 is overlooking Norris Lake and is big enough for two small tents. Capacity is four people.
Backcountry Site 2 is along Lakeview Trail, and is big enough for one tent and capacity is four people also. Both sites have fire rings with a grill attachment and a level area. No water or electric is available. The trail to get to these two sites begins at the TVA / Camp Kinchen parking area. Round trip to either site is roughly 11.5 miles.
Backcountry Site 3 is located on top of Andrews Ridge with beautiful views of Norris Lake during the winter. There is a stone fire ring. No water or electric is available. The site will accommodate up to three tents and six people.
Please practice Leave No Trace and pack everything in and everything out. Reservations may be made online, but please check in at the park office prior to setting out.
$75 - $175 / night
Find your balance at the height of adventure in the Equilibrium Escape! This unique site offers you the best of both worlds with the conveniences all campers appreciate but the rugged, super private experience only the great outdoors can give you! The site sits ontop of a ridge that has an elevation just over 1100ft and as you can imagine the views & serenity are outstanding! Besides being the ulitmate & absolute private site the abundance of wildlife will keep you amazed and thrilled, from Owls to Bobcat, Deer, Coyote, Fox and Hawks not to mention the variety of musical birds, your senses will take its own adventure just on all you hear. This site has multiple trails that level up and down throughout which will have markers to guide you through your hiking experience. A generous private firepit that offers the ability to enjoy primitive cooking and Forest Bartop that allows you to have a drink, eat your meal while overlooking treetops and the edge of the ridge. Although in the distance some road noise will be heard here and there or the Farmers dog give a bark, the seclusion of this forest jungle and cool breeze that gently passes through the trees will drown out all the background noise. If you are looking for the next level up in a camping experience that allows for you to TRULY unplug, unwind and recenter, The Equilibrium Escape is your next booking. This is an exclusive site that books only 15 nights a month and when you are here, you are the ONLY campers. You have a private span of nearly 8 acres.
Please also note that your camp is actually on our Farm, therefore why we affectionately refer to it as 'The Farmers Forest'. We are true Farm to Table Cultivators that offer more than a point of sale or just production. We enjoy educating those who really want to learn how to manage livestock, compost, Forage for edibles and also have proper infrastructure. Private tours include a hike through the farm, meet and greets with our Animals with being informed of the care & husbandry of each stock and feel free to bring your camera, the Farmer here happens to be pretty good with photography. The memories from the Full experience of the Farmpsite you will not only enjoy, but also gain more practical knowledge to carry with you into the future. Please note, you're in the country. So cell service can be very spotty. US Cellular works great, AT&T and T Mobile sometimes can be 50/50.....Verizon will just plain not impress you.
$90 - $100 / night
Traveler
Review from the perspective of a motorcycle traveler tent camping. Tent sites are along a stream on Racoon side. Got surprised by a bear while gathering firewood nearby. Clean and well maintained although it was a sleepless night because of a group of drunk locals.
Legend
The primitive tent sites are amazing, I didn’t give it 5 stars only because you can hear a little bit of road noise, as the campground is near the interstate. If you visit in spring, the lake water may not have risen yet, so summer would be better if you want to enjoy lake front camping! We took our rooftop tent and had a perfect corner spot next to the creek. Plenty of room on each site for tent camping. The bath house is pretty far away too. Overall, we love this campground, and the tent sites are the best, can’t wait to camp here this summer!
Guide
Polite campers in rvs watched over my tent camp site while I enjoyed a couple of the trails. All in all a wonderful place to stay. Plus you're right by the river.
Scout
When you’re camping in a tent, that’s is a big plus
Legend
Cherokee Dam campground is literally one of the most beautiful campgrounds in the area! The grounds are so well-kept, and the lake is just breathtaking. The campground is near town, so you can grab some bbq or hit the local hardware store for anything you need. The campground also had a camp store for essentials. They even delivered firewood to our site.
The people running the campground were just amazing. So nice and helpful. Most of the sites have lake views. We were in site #36, and we were in our camper. Lots of space, no shade at all in this one. Most of the sites had some shade though. Picnic tables and fire rings at all.
I’ve noticed the TVA campgrounds don’t have many showers, so I was glad to have that in our camper, just be aware, you might have to wait for one if you are tent camping. The tent sites were awesome, right on the water, and a short walk from the parking lot. If you have a rooftop tent, you won’t be able to park at your site, so you’ll be sleeping in the parking lot, but you could make it work.
There’s a swimming area, boat launch, and walking trails. This is a great spot to have a great time on the lake!
Guide
This was my first time to the Niagara of the South. My husband and I left our dog back in Louisville for this trip which was originally an attempt to see the moon bow at Cumberland Falls.
We looked at the tent site map on the state resort park map and nothing looked GREAT except for Clifty Campground spots 050, 048, and 049 they all look isolated from any of the other sites with 050 being a site that you have to traverse a grassy/rocky area from your car to set up.
We opted for spot 047 because, on the map, it looked set back from the campground road… and it was… sorta. Nothing at this campsite is going to be private. The majority of the sites do not have so much as a weed between them although the sites themselves are very roomy for car camping. Your vehicle will be a presence at the site, which have electric hookups so if, like me, you have an electric car… it's nice to be able to simply plug the car in. This site did not get a lot of shade except for where we had the tent set up, and still… that would've received sun had it not been raining.
Our site had a good picnic bench, a sturdy wooden post for hanging trash etc and the fire pit seemed pretty new. The grill wasn't bent at all, which was a 1st in my years of camping. The view from this site was pretty cool… we set out tent up at the furthest out spot on the small cliff as we could before it turned to mostly rock and faced the door out over the trails. We hung our rain tarp because, instead of a moon bow, we endured a nearly 24 hour torrential downpour. The tarp, which is small, and having the tent faced appropriately gave us a semblance of privacy although we had a camper van family next to us. Site has a lot of gravel so it was reasonably muddy but not dried out quick.
There are a lot of raccoons that visit the dumpster area so expect it to be a little messy if your fellow campers aren't shutting the dumpster lids. Shower facilities reminded me of middle school camp… kind of mildewed… and well… rustic. Everything functioned and it wasn't "gross" just old. Water was hot. Toilet stalls (ladies) were small. I weight 130 and at 5 foot 2 it was a tight squeeze for me.
We hiked the WIldflower Loop Trail (1.5 miles) in a drizzle and although wet it was safe. When the rain stopped we hiked Eagle Falls Trail and it was very muddy but the views were worth it.
Would love to go back but if camping in a tent it's a must to get one of the two more private spots, or at the very least
GuideWe stayed at site RV33. We have a 25ft travel trailer and it was perfect. There were two tent sites very close to us, but we had more than enough room. If we were to go again, we would pull straight into the site (this would have put our slide towards the road). The tent sites looked to be the best tent sites I’ve seen. The bath house was very clean. The staff was very helpful. There were trails from the campground to Cumberland Falls. We hiked to see Cumberland Falls (from the lodge) and Eagle Falls. After a short drive, we hiked Natural Arch and Yahoo Falls.
Legend
Halfmoon Campground is located near Windrock Off-Road Park and has RV sites, tent sites, and cabins. RV sites have power (up to 50amp) and water, and have decent separation between sites. The RV sites are in a grassy field so minimal shade. The majority of the Tent sites are dry camping (no power or water), however, there are 3 tent sites near the bathhouse that do have power and water. The tents site are in the woods so plenty of shade. The cabins have parking that can accommodate multiple vehicles. Clean and functional bathhouse. Dump station near the bathhouse. Fire wood and ice is available near the bathhouse and has a self pay setup. The campground also includes a vehicle wash station and trailer parking area if you trailered in your off-road vehicles. The nearest grocery store is about 15 minutes away. Beautiful views of the mountains from the RV area.
Link to my YouTube review: Campground Review: https://youtu.be/ZOEj0QoXqfM
TravelerSo I use this app to find tent camping sites. To me, that’s kinda what a campground is. A good variety of both. This turned out to be mostly RVs and then three tents, one including mine. Needless to say, it was loud. For what it was, it was great. For what I thought it would be, it wasn’t. They have a lot of cool amenities and I will totally come back if I ever get a camper. But I wouldn’t just tent camp there again I don’t think.
Traveler
Went on a stag tent camping trip. Decent facility for state park. Sites are small wouldn’t recommend large rigs.
Guide
I was passing through on my way north and this was midway. I picked this site because it met my criteria for quick tent camping and has the awesomely easy instant book feature. More of that please!
The hosts were really great and what they’ve done with the campsite and what they are working on is amazing. The views of the lake were amazing. There is a sitting area and a dock with paddle sport launches. There is a wash house with toilet and sink but no showers yet.
I was tent camping. There were tents/yurts for rent. A few other tent campers, a full size RV motorhome and a camper van. There was plenty of room and it was peaceful and quiet.
Traveler
Right off the highway. Tent sites around back. You can swim in the river. Typical campsite.
Guide
Good tent camping sites. Lots of trees; level sites; fire pit; picnic table. Very clean & well supplied restrooms. Great individual private room showers with plenty of good hot water.
ScoutPhenomenal bathhouses but a splash in the river is all you really need. We had a great late July tent camp here with our 4 and 1 year old. The staff were very kind and accommodated our late arrival
ScoutWe stayed in the waterfront walkin only tent site right by the river. Beautiful!!!
Restrooms and showers are very clean with AC!
Only 20 min from downtown gaitlinburg!
Guide
Nice Camp ground, they moved tent camping up close to road, they used to be next to Pigeon River but now those are premium RV spots. It's closest camping to Dollywood. Storm blew through and flattened our tent, KOA refunded the cost of the last night as we were unable to stay.
Guide
Great smokies campground. Nice walking trail and beautiful scenic loop to drive. Along the drive there are historic buildings and cemeteries. Tent sites were too close together. Not enough privacy
Guide
Amazingly clean campgrounds 10 minutes from the entrance of the National Park and 20 minutes from the Visitor's Center.
You have a choice of "rustic" tent sites, tent sites with water/electric/cable hook-ups, RV, or Cabins. All sites are pet-friendly including cabins. All camp sites include fire pit and picnic table.
Lots of amenities are included in your stay. 2 bathroom areas, 1 shower area, pool, wi-fi, etc.
There's a general store in front of the campgrounds with gas station and small cafe attached. The general store will even deliver your purchased firewood to your site.
This Koa is near a lot recreational places and some restaurants. Also near towns like Gatlinburg, Pidgeon Forge and Knoxville.
A nice vacation spot.
Guide
Nice place with clean camping spots and clean bath house. Have 3 bars signal with Verizon and good speed. Site 26 is good for rooftop tent camping. Shade in afternoon and plenty of room for additional vehicles. Fire ring has a movable grate that is good to cook on.
Traveler
The tent sites can be decent or real bad. T9 and T14 were horrible sites at the bottom of a hill where all rainwater runs through. T7 and T8 are ok sites. They are fairly flat.
TravelerTypical KOA, everything was well maintained lots were nice sized, and they had lots of fun activities for the kiddos.
Lots of different stays available here, pull through lots, tent sites, and cabins
Traveler
Location is convenient but definitely more suited for campers than tents. Highway traffic noise (semis, engine braking) is LOUD...might be ok in a camper but not in a tent. Sites are small, close together and mostly gravel. Facilities are nice and clean.
Traveler
We had a wonderful time camping! Its mostly for RVs, but they accommodated us for tent camping. The site is beautiful and well kept, everyone was so very friendly. Kayaking the Powell River was a joy. Read the rules before you go, they are there to keep the campground a family place
Ranger
A couple of the tent sites are waterfront and ideal for a tenter like me. The rest seem a little packed together, though some offer a little bit of seclusion. Decent facilities and easy access to Devil’s Backbone section of Cumberland trail.
LegendBusy but nice campground. Over 200 campsites, with small RV and tents mixed in. The best sites are either the walk in tent sites or the creek side sites. No showers, but nice clean bathrooms with cold running water. Great location to be in the middle of the park.
TravelerVery kid friendly KOA. Was always very busy with comers and goers due to the area being touristy. Tent camping not the best idea if you want quiet. The scenery in the back of the park where the tent area is is on a creek (nice huh), not when you listen to trucks unloading all night every night at the grocery store across the creek.
GuideWe stayed at the main area but not much space or privacy so we put up a tent out side our door, but then moved to the tent camping site area the second night which was more secluded and private, but still close to the showers/bath house. So much hiking and a cool view of the dam is all within walking distance. Nice bath rooms and showers too.
Nestled in the scenic beauty of Tennessee, Norris offers a variety of tent camping options that cater to outdoor enthusiasts looking for adventure and tranquility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Norris, TN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Norris, TN is TVA Public Land- Fork Bend with a 4.5-star rating from 11 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 36 tent camping locations near Norris, TN, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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