Best Glamping near Tennessee Ridge, TN

 Whooping Crane Farm is a private glamping site that you can find on Tentrr. The property is 12 minutes from downtown Nashville, making it a perfect Glamping location. Being close to great restaurants is definitely a plus. The site is gated and right on the river, so the only traffic you have to worry about are the barges that are passing by on the river, or any boaters that are out. There’s a pond on the property, and they advertise kayak rentals. You could ride a bike around the property also, if you bring your own bike. The canvas tent was decorated nicely, with some cool lanterns and a wood burning stove. There was a battery powered fan, that lasted most of the night. The bed was comfortable for glamping. There’s a picnic table with a cooking station, and a charcoal grill. Plenty of cut firewood for the fire pit. There is a restroom, but it’s not a flush toilet, just a bucket toilet, but was nice to have while camping. This is a great spot, convenient to town, perfect for a relaxing weekend.

Whooping Crane Farm is located In such a great spot, just outside Nashville, it is easy to get to, but convenient to everything. The camp spot is fantastic! Right on the Cumberland River, the spot is very secluded, and plenty of space for a group. 

 I would recommend bringing camp chairs, in case you want to sit in a shady spot, or by the water. The site has a picnic table, grill, and solar shower, however I would bring a tarp for privacy if you actually plan to use it, as the river is a busy place in the summer, and the shower is in clear view from the water. 

  There is a pond on the property, which the host, Ellen, allowed us to fish in. The River would be difficult to access, at least while we were there in late August, as there is a big drop off from the bank. I’m not sure if this is normal, or if the water lever was low. 

  The“loo” is a pop up tent with a bucket toilet in it. It was equipped with poop bags and toilet paper. The glamping tent was awesome. The bed was very comfortable. 

  We had some heavy rains overnight, and did have some dripping water from the center seam of the tent and had to scoot the bed over, but other than that, I slept like a baby. We love this spot so much, we plan to return later in the fall!

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.

Mama D's RV Campground is okay place to stay. The campground is crowded and some of the lots have permanent houses. Each lot has access to water and electricity as well as a small campfire. The area is decently maintained. The biggest positive this place has is the convenience store at the entrance. In conclusion, the campground provides the basics like any other RV campground and is an okay place to stay when there is a lot available.

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.

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.

Being close to water is always nice, and our family always looks for this when we are traveling away from home to camp. Kentucky Lake is nearby, and we spent most of our day here. We towed our small boat from home because we wanted to be able to enjoy being on the water (and my dad wanted to fish). There is running water and showers available on site, although I just jumped in the lake and shampooed my hair in their :) Very large campground, which was nice. Lots of room between campsites. Always a plus for us. The campground itself was really nice, we were actually very impressed. The campsites were well marked and had a picnic table, fire ring and a hanging rack which was super nice! We hung our wet suits from being in the lake all day. Great hiking nearby too. We would hike in the morning, and play in the water the rest of the day. The attendants/rangers were awesome, and directed us in the right place for hiking. You can see from my pictures attached that we hiked almost everyday. We would definitely stay here again next time we are in the area.

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.

Nice campground. Clean, pet friendly. A lot of sites! Access to lakes. Saw a lot of wildlife for such a big campground with lots of people traffic.

We came here in mid November 2021 and stayed for a week. I was disappointed with the campground. The bathrooms were clean, but are in bad need of updates, as are the shower facilities. Showers were luke warm, some had non-functioning heaters in them, and a lot of rust and broken shelving. The sites are level, but are not picked up routinely; we had to clean our site of discarded bottle caps, hygiene items, etc. when we arrived. The laundry facilities are outside- and some machines didn’t work. At one point (probably due to seasonal reasons) they removed all the washing machines. No notice posted. The views are nice, but the lake/river effect wind coming in during winter is punishing and forces you inside most of the time anyway. Trails on the property are overgrown, and the one loop by the ranger station has two bridges that look like they have been destroyed for years- no one is doing any maintenance on them. I expected to do some route finding due to fall, but this was really bad. The surrounding area makes up for it, nice things to see, lots of history, nice trails and mountain bike spots. But you have to drive about 40 minutes minimum from the campground to get to the MTB trails, and about the same to get to a town (Murray, Ky) that has everything. The USFS runs this place, and they seemed helpful, but they need to step it up in the maintenance department here. The playground for kids is missing swings, the trash in some receptacles is full. Furthermore; they have some long-term residents that have sites that look like they are running a swap meet out of them. I don’t think that should be allowed in a park like this.

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.