Best Tent Camping near Rock Island, TN

Tent camp here with the family. I would recommend the walk in tent sites if you can get them. Campground is spread out well in places and not so much in others. Horseback riding, hiking trails, fishing, and much more. Last time we spent 3 days and could have easily spent another day or two. Plan on returning for some back country camping on the overnight loops.

Beautiful state park! Unbelievable waterfalls with many of hiking trails! There is a lot of history in the park! Tent campground was nice and level! Each tent site had a tent pad, lantern pole, fire ring and sturdy table! The bathhouses was clean and warm water! Wood is sold in the near by town or at the park visitor center!

Rock Island has some great spots. There's a few waterfalls, a swimming area, and some picnic areas. However, the camping is just ok, especially the tent camping. It's small, right off the road and not super close to the trails. The RV camping parts looked a little better when I drove by. There's a pavilion, a better bathhouse, and it just looked nicer. I'm all for rustic camping, but it felt like it was trying to be a better campground.

Anyways, Rock Island has a few hiking trails and a pretty awesome swimming hole beneath Twin Falls. I hiked the Blue Hole trial, which basically descends to the river via a waterfall. It's pretty difficult and you are ensured to get wet feet, but it's great!

In my opinion, there are better places to camp in the area and I would just make a day trip here to see some of the waterfalls and the huge dam that creates Center Hill Lake.

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I am occasionally compensated for staying at and reviewing campgrounds. I was given the opportunity to stay at Mountain Glen RV Park and Campground in order to test the new reservation system through The Dyrt. The reservation system works extremely well--it is fast and efficient, and save the trouble of using a third party reservation system after finding a campground you like on The Dyrt. I look forward to more campgrounds joining TD's network!

Mountain Glen is a new campground, located about an hour northwest of Chattanooga, and it is absolutely beautiful. There are a total of 8 tent sites and 41 RV sites, set next to a lake and a gorgeous view of a farm. Amenities include picnic tables, a playground, fishing, horseshoes, corn hole, a game room, a camp store, and laundry facilities, showers, and flush toilets with electricity (and heat!). It is also a short drive to Fall Creek Falls State Park, for anyone looking to enjoy the hiking near the falls without the overnight crowds the state park brings in. 

The RV sites occupy most of the campground, and accommodate trailers ranging from 60' to 90'. All sites have electric and water hookups, picnic tables, fire rings, and most have small grassy areas for dogs, kids, or even grown ups to stretch out and rest. RVs are also available to rent.

Tent sites 1-3 are listed as “primitive” sites and have no electricity or water, however it is a short walk to the office where water is available. The road is visible from these sites, however there is a grassy meadow both between the sites and the road, and the sites and the lake, with woods bordering site 3. 

Sites 4 and 5 are located closest to the picnic shelter, with a clear view of the lake. Sites 6-8 are next to the office/bathrooms. Site 6 is the smallest and 8 is the largest. All tent sites are fairly hilly, and accommodate small tents better than large based on limited flat space—though hammocks would work well!

There is a trail that winds around the lake, and passes a beautiful spillway on the end opposite the office which is great for getting some shade, and a chance for kids to splash in some water. This end also has a picnic table for day use. I would love to see this area eventually become a walk-in campsite as it is definitely the most beautiful area of the entire campground!

The owners here are extremely nice. We were greeted warmly on our arrival, and spent some time talking with them our second day. It is obvious they care about the campground and want campers to enjoy themselves and feel comfortable. We are tent campers and I was wary of staying somewhere more geared towards RVs, but what tent camping here lacks in privacy and wilderness, it more than makes up for in beauty, peace, and a feeling of home-away-from-home.

The tent sites are park and walk. The furthest tent site is about a 1/4 mile from where you park. Just an FYI.

Nice wooded sites with decent bathhouses. Play sets, mostly paved roads perfect for riding bikes. My family really enjoyed tent camping at Fall Creek Falls.

This area has around 100 sites, both RV and tent sites both with and without electricity, so you can camp any way you'd like. All of the tent sites here are facing the lake so it feels a little more private. The RV sites are more grouped together (but I don't have an RV so I can't speak for these as much) There is some great hiking in the area and you can find some quiet and restful spots. There is the Lost Springs Trail that is right near the campground if you like hiking and hikes above the nearby Marina and this campground.

This is a wonderful spot if you really want to be in nature. Not many people around quite, secluded and very peaceful. Tent camping only with reservations. Lots of hiking near by and great places to explore.

Pretty campground on water. Even though it's a mostly RV type place there are some good tent sites and it's a pretty remote quiet place. Very good bathrooms and showers.

Jake from the Dyrt here!  I had the pleasure of working with Black Willow Farm, and they have an amazing property with an off grid cabin and tent sites to come!  Check them out show them some love!

Backpack in , totally primitive sites. Take your own water or filtration system. Hobbs Cabin is available by reservation, close to the tent sites. Bring an air mattress for the wood bunks. Otherwise love, love, loved the adventure, hike, backpack in:)

Almost all of their sites have a view of the lake. Tent sites give just enough space for seclusion and everyone sites are on elevated platforms. Plenty of bathhouse access and if you like to paddle the candy is close by too.

We loved this primitive tent camping spot. All sites were nestled in the woods along the edge of the lake. Each site had a fire ring & tent landing. It was near parking, but all gear had to be carried into the woods. These were not pull in campsites. Shower house was a decent walk. Maybe at 1/4 mile? Water spigots were dotted throughout the woods, but not at every site.

There is so, so much to do at this park. Unfortunately, we only got to hike around the falls since the weather was so bad. 

Tent camping review:

• Lots of flat space for your tent, a canopy and for parking
• Easy to put down stakes
• A ton of beautiful trees
• Mostly RVs - as tent campers, we were in the minority
• Bathrooms were a bit old school; I did not want to shower there
• A lot of trashcans closeby
• So many daddy longlegs

We definitely enjoyed our visit. Sites in Campground c were very tight and in a field. Many of the tent sites were on a huge hill. We would stay in a different area if we returned. It was very busy on the trails but we were able to find some less traveled sites.

We tent camped for two consecutive weekends at Cedars of Lebanon. We are local novice campers. The campsites were well maintained with electric and water hookups. The bathhouse at Campground 2 is quite clean and is newer than Campground 1. Both of our stays were in Campground 2 near the bath house. Our first visit was with our dog, second was without. The fire ring in our second stay was weirdly located. Firewood is for sale inside the park and late afternoons the campground host drives thru on a gator like vehicle and offers bundles for sale at $6 each. The place is busy and active but very chill.

We hiked a little on Saturday midday. When I say “hike” I mean we strolled on a trail. Very nice time.

Any critiques by us would be unwarranted. Folks who work there were quite nice. We are very early on the learning curve. That we were able to go and tent camp and have a good time at our age proves that COL is a great place for newer campers to enjoy. We plan to go back a lot.

Tent-camped midweek on E210. Lots of open spaces in camp. Tent spot was on level gravel RV pad. Air mattress helped with gravel. Site had water and electricity. Showers were clean with hot water. Be sure to lock up food. We were visited by five raccoons nightly. They were able to get into secured plastic bin we left out. Great hiking around falls. Friendly staff at Visitor Center and Nature Center. Well stocked general store. We will be back.

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!

This this campsite offers everything you need for a great camping experience. Out tent camping was complete with electricity and a short walk to the bathhouse. It also offered a fire pit and picnic table and lots of shade. You can rent a small Jon Boat for $50 a day and they also offer small bundles of firewood for $5. We fished on Kelly Lake and caught about six fish that were keepers.

We reserved a site with full- hookups and our friends reserved a tent site. Our site was fine, but there wasn’t what I would describe as a tent site. Our friends ended up just camping behind our camper in the flattest area they could find. All of the sites are pretty close and out in the open.

When we stayed some of the activities/amenities weren’t available (there had been a fire or something at the kitchen). We had a pretty decent time, though. We rented kayaks and paddle boards and explored the lake and they had a huge inflatable slide that our kids spent hours on. The ramp to the swim beach was ridiculously slimy but kids all enjoyed swimming in the lake and jumping off the dive platform. The camp had a movie in the evening (Jaws) and gave out popcorn. There were basketball courts and beanbag toss. Lots of people were out on their fishing boats.

So potentially plenty of activities for the kids, but the campground sites could be a bit nicer for the price. Any staff we interacted with were super pleasant.

We used two cars and parked one at our campsite here, and brought one to the beginning of the Fiery Gizzard Trail. It was nice to camp the night before in order to get an early start on the trail -- although it did not really help us avoid the incredible heat and humidity of June in Tennessee.

The waterfall and swimming hole were an EXTREMELY WELCOME sight after that long day hike! The water was very cool and felt great in the summer. Tent sites are leveled gravel and we were able to buy some firewood when we arrived. The falls were just trickling -- if you want to see them roaring come in the spring!