Best Glamping near Springville, TN

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.

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.

It is basically a gravel parking lot. We had to take use the electricity from the site behind us because ours wasn’t grounded.

Took the kids, had fun. Lots of stuff to do in LBL. Campground was almost full, but we were able to switch our reservation to a walk up only, ie no reservations, site right on the water when we arrived. Gravel site was for the most part clean. No large trash, but various cig butts and small food wrappers buried in the gravel. Kids had fun. Water was warm and calm being off the main lake. Piney cove is pretty shallow and we could walk out into the water a good 30-40ft before getting too deep. Bottom is soft mud. Fishing was OK from the shore. There is a fishing pier people were talking about but we didnt try it. For the most part it was quite. One group got loud kinda late, but we were far enough away that it wasnt too much of a bother. Check in/out times are good 430pm in 330pm out. Bathrooms and showers were reasonably clean. Centrally located n several spots And cleaned daily. Staff was friendly, helpful, and did a good job. General store on site for forgoten item, but as usual you pay a premium.

For my first time camping and first time at piney I felt as if I was at home and so friendly and the store was clean and the camping sites were absolutely beautiful and the general appearance was overall good

Very nice campground. Very clean and family friendly. All sites were a good size. Nice lake views from most sites but really enjoyed our lakeside spot Black Oak loop #22. Our son enjoyed throwing rocks in the lake from our site. I agree with others, firewood and ice were both well priced, great convenience store available.

Beautiful white sandy lake beach. Nice playground, clean bathrooms, washers and dryers, camp store. Ice and firewood available 24-7. Loved our camp site. We chose one not right on the lake because of our 1 yr old explorer but we could still see the lake. Bring an air mattress if in a tent because sites are gravel. We don't live far from here so this will be a favorite weekend getaway from now on!

I would definitely bring a boat if you’re able. If not, there’s still some pretty great views. Everything was pretty easy for a first timer. The spots were nice gravel pads and angled for easy backin.

We love this campground. Have camped there probably 10 or 12 times in the last couple of years. We always stay in Black Oak Loop as it’s the loop with the beach/swimming area. We’ve stayed in the months of April, May, June, July and August. The camp store is awesome, the people are very pleasant and do whatever they can to help.

With all the parking lot style RV parks popping up these days, it’s nice to find these older parks around from days when people liked trees and breathing room. Stayed in the full hookup sites of Dogwood Loop. Some sites are hard to back into and require much work to get level, but they are well spaced out and large sites. Bath houses are a bit dated, but that is to be expected from older parks like this. Two boat ramps for those who bring boats. Plenty of sites close to water. Not many full hookup sites, but tons of sites with power and no water. 100% worth staying here is you are gonna visit LBL sites.

My family and I really enjoyed staying at the Piney Campground. Here are some things we really liked about camping here:

1. Easy to locate- nothing is worse than printing off direction or using your phone to navigate and you still cant find the campground. This campground was easy to find, right of the road, and great signage.
2. Big spaces- My family and I love when the campsite spaces are big enough for 2 tents, the table, fire ring and car. I loved that the spaces were big, and each campsite was separated by large bushes and trees.
3. Hikes nearby- this is something we always look forward to doing when we camp. We do our research ahead of time to find the best hikes for us. The hikes were great, and so much greenery and flowers! See pictures attached. Great views as well.
4. The park attendants were super helpful and nice. They directed us to our spot, and helped us with the hikes and where to go.

There was only 1 thing we didn't like, and that was there was only 1 bathroom and it was a porta-poty ty . It didn't smell very good, but what porta potties do?

Overall we loved our stay, and would definitely come back!

We spent seven nights at site 41 and it was spectacular. The lakeside sites have electrical hookups but no water but there are potable water sites throughout the park. We simply filled up our water tanks before setting up and everything was great. The staff was so friendly and helpful and knowledgeable about Land Between the Lakes which is HUGE. The showers need to be updated - clean but old with chipped tile and corroded metal fixtures. The toilets and showers are on separate sides of the building so it is a little inconvenient but such a minor one compared to all the positives. We laundry facilities are in perfect working condition. We were glad to see the many safe areas for children - swimming, bike riding, baseball, playgrounds, etc. Every site was clean and beautiful. There is truly something for everyone. I was able to kayak every morning practically right from our doorstep.

Don't even get me started on Land Between the Lakes. Seven days was not enough time to do and see everything - the Homeplace, planetarium, wildlife refuge, visitors center, Fort Donelson & much more. This is a magical place and I can't wait to return.