After picking up a brochure in Memphis I made it a point to come to this campground because it looked so inviting with a quaint lake with swimming beach and tent sites nestled right into the woods along the waters.
I drove about an hour and a half to the site passing though a few small towns along the way, but nothing major in way of traffic. It was a pleasant drive with great views of the lands of Tennessee.
When I arrived at around 4:45 the office was already closed which made for a little confusion with getting my site. There was a sign posted about after hours arrivals and to report to the stables where there was a small store. I went there and no one was there either and it then had an additional sign to go to the swimming beach for the concessions area there. Again, no one was there! I found this a little unsettling that even when I was given a basic instruction there was no follow through on the part of the park staff to be in those areas, but I did chalk it up to it being a weekday and perhaps things were run a bit differently.
I followed signs to the tent camping area to see if there were sites available and indeed found there to be no one at the site so I had the entire side of camp to make my selection. The sites were two levels with the upper level being a pull out for your car and the lower being the area with a tent pad and picnic table.
I selected a water facing site without any additional amenities and began to settle in. The bathroom was just up the hill about 50 feet so I checked it out to get a feel of the amenities and was very pleased to find showers and flush toilets. Though I did think it to be a bit strange that despite being the only one at the camp on this side there were wet footprints and it was humid as though someone had just taken a shower.
I went on to set up my tent and after locking up my car took a brief walk across one of the two walking bridges which span the lake. I had taken my Midland radio I am testing on this trip with me and began to scan the channels as I walked because of some pretty crazy clouds that looked like they were coming in. Sure enough a siren blasted through and warned a tornado just south by a ways.
A little rattled I quickly returned to camp, only to find that the wet footprints which I had discovered had an owner who was more than a little sketchy. A car parked just beside the restroom with a man and a woman seemed to be facing my tent watching it. When I came closer to my car, the man exited and started speaking to me. Something didn’t seem right about this person and knowing that the storm was coming, I quickly started disassembling my camp while he continued speaking and began to ask very odd questions like “was I camping alone”.
I don’t know if this is exactly what people want to hear when they read a campground review, but this is the reality of what happens sometimes. I have never been so thankful for a storm because after hearing the man speak and talk about how he “checks up on campers” because he is a local and seeing him try to look into my car while speaking to me without seeming obvious I would have NEVER stayed at this campground. The storm just gave me a good excuse to leave quickly, and because of that I was thankful.
The campground itself was really nice and if I was with a party of people I would give it another shot, maybe even perhaps when it was a busy weekend with other people. But under no circumstances would I return here alone.
Legend
Ranger
Traveler
Guide
Scout
