Bandy Creek Campground — Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area

We loved Bandycreek campground for it{s scenic beauty….we were there in late October. They leaves were brilliant! The campground was pristine as well as the shower house and bathrooms. So many trails to walk…just make sure you know how long they really are and if they truly are a loop before you head out and take water! The campground was quiet, there was a bustle of activity every morning of park staff cleaning the shower house, emptying the bear boxes and doing general maintenance cleaning up downed branches etc. All staff were met were very friendly. The visitors center was close with staff who were very helpful in answering questions about the area. Our only concern about the place was that it is difficult to navigate if you have a large rv. Ours is a 43 foot fifth wheel. We had a lot of difficulty backing into our site with all the little obstacles but with the assistance of a fellow camper we finally got in. Also the drive into the campsite is treacherous if you are coming from Oneida. It is harrowing to say the least and I would not recommend it if you have a large rv. Hairpin turns and switchbacks, low hanging rocks, and narrow road. We came in the back way which consisted of driving on a well maintained gravel road with barely enough room for two vehicles to pass. So be warned and do your research before you drive in…plan your route! I feel like we barely survived! Ha. But it was worth it and we did survive!

We did a brief overnight stay when passing through the area but will absolutely make a return visit to explore this gem! Our site (D36) was at the end of a loop and was nearly level despite being on the edge of the hilltop. The site was huge, honestly - ample space for our 21’ campervan with an even larger gravel pad adjacent. Clean bathrooms were a short walk away and had ample hot water for showers. We didn’t have time to explore the trails, enjoy the facilities, or take in the sights but will definitely return!

Great amenities, Great sites, Great Park!! No complaints!!

We were there in March and it was very quiet. The roads and some trails are fun on our bikes

Beautiful park with great natural features and a mining history. Nice flat paved sites.

Bandy Creek CG Sep 16-18 Site D19

  We have camped at Bandy Creek Campground in Big South Fork National River and Recreation several times, seasons and for several reasons in addition to camping. 
 It is central to several possibilities to include hiking, fishing, biking, kayaking, horseback riding, climbing , etc. and the history of the area is very interesting.
 This trip we came for the Story Telling. A full day of entertainment by several orators to finish with spooky tales in the evening. 
We stayed at D19, our first time in the D loop. Over the years they have upgraded the sites with bear/critter food lockers and there are several bear/critter safe trash collection sites. 
D19 is in a dead end loop so little to no vehicles drive through . The bathhouse is a bit of a walk, the buildings are newer and well maintained. I’ve never gotten the creepy vibe (lol)while using them . There is a trash receptacle right in front of the site. 

Two cons are the main road to the area is right behind this site, though it gives you easy access to the road/visitor center area. And E loop, group camping is in the woods directly across. So it can be a little noisy if occupied. (There were screaming children all afternoon…) WiFi is available at the visitor center otherwise I had a steady one bar while in the campground. There is a swimming pool, volleyball court and playground right by A loop which is primitive camping and there are several trailheads in that area also. So A loop would be a perfect base camp setup if you don’t need power. As I said the visitor center is right across the road and a horse stable behind that . There is a horseback trailhead right across from A loop with a hiking and bike trailhead too.

Pickett CCC Memorial State Park is nearby by Jamestown, Tn and Oneida, Tn is about 30 minutes to the East. Both have fuel, grocery , etc. Charit Creek Lodge is an original homestead that can be hiked to from several start points. They offer a unique experience in the woods, overnight accommodations and meals by reservation. You can visit if your hiking/riding through but I don’t know if they still offer any walk in food/beverage.

Excellent facilities on the primitive side, as secluded as possible, very clean and well maintained bathhouses, clean spacious campsites with everything and close dumpsters and water always within reasonable distance. Surrounded by many hiking trails.

We stumbled upon this campground unexpectedly. Big South For is beautiful with lots of hiking and horseback riding trails. This campground is well taken care of with nice level sites. There is a seasonal swimming pool and visitors center within walking distance.

Overall great campground. Family freindly, kept very clean, great hiking in Big South Fork w/some trails even starting at the campground.
Positives: Clean, friendly host, great campsites w/level pads, fire pits, lantern posts. Great location w/great and close access to lots of hiking and river activities. Negatives: discovered pool only open on Fri/Sat/Sun, no mention of this in advance. Same with Camp Store and it did not even open on Friday. No staff of hand to answer questions about site availability. Avoid pull-through sites 39 and 40; the share the same pull-through, and you will get blocked in if both end up being occupied. Do not arrive from the East (Oneida side) 13 degree inclines and declines with very sharp hairpin switchbacks. No problems arriving from West (through Jamestown), however you should avoid first entrance into the park, gravel road until you get to campground where it becomes paved, also steep at times with washboard curves that you will easily slide on. Second entrance, no issues. Lastly, many of the sites are short, so not all are big rig friendly. Pay attention to site details when booking a site

Very nice! Clean bathrooms with hot showers, spacious & level campsites, very scenic with a lot of hike trails and a river you can adventure around on. Easy to find and book a site, but you have to make a reservation online if kiosk is closed. Would come here again.

Thanks

This is for sure a place to return to.

Showers and bathrooms were very clean! Most campsites are pretty spread out and the pool was a plus. Beautiful trails right at the campground, and easy drive to others throughout Big South Fork. Make sure to bring bug spray though, the bugs here were worse than other campground Ives been to

Well maintained, large campground. Plenty of bathroom/shower facilities located around the campground; clean and functional. Lots of good hiking nearby, as well as other outdoor activities (that I didn’t do). Informative visitor’s center with helpful rangers onsite (even on weekends). Great history lessons about the Big South Fork area, interpretive hikes (which I did do) and fair warning about the ticks.

This is a large campground with excellent facilities.   Big South Fork is located in a very remote area of TN and KY.  Miles of Great hiking, biking, horse and motorized trails.  There is plenty to see and all of it is beautiful.   One of my favorite sites is the Twin Arches, worth the hike.

Just ran into this spot and was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was especially for the cost. Showers and facilities were great and clean. Tent camping and RVs were separated in different loops which is nice.

The campsite is nice and wooded, sites are spaced nicely. There was a bear box and a fire ring at my site. Plenty of hiking nearby.

The recreation area was a real nice surprise in terms of scenery. The rafting looked great at the right time of year.

I don’t think there was any first come first serve sights, but there were plenty of sites mid October.

There looks like great mountain biking, horseback riding, and some challenging hiking near by.

I’d check out Yahoo Falls which was really nice. I can imagine at high water Angel Falls would be grand, even though there was low water it was a nice and easy hike along the river.

We had a end campsite and loved it. Not many people on our loop. Another one stayed full the entire visit. We hiked to the twin arches and to yahoo falls(recommend both) with children and had a blast. We can’t wait to go back.

We camped two nights last week in Loop A, the tent only, nonelectric section. Being mid-week, there were not many people, meaning it was also nice and quiet. The sites are roomy, with a large tent pad, fire ring, picnic table, lantern hook, and a food storage locker. Yes, this is bear country, but we didn't see any during our visit. The bath houses are as nice as you're likely to find in a national park, with flush toilets, hot showers, and an outside sink for dish washing, etc. There is also a large, wheelchair accessible bathroom with roll-in shower. A water hydrant is available to fill jugs and tanks.

We drove through the other loops to see what they look like, because Loop A isn't open in winter. Should we decide to camp here in winter, Loop B is the only section open. But, that will let us use an electric heater. 

Be aware that some things are not open in 2020 due to Covid-19. The park visitors centers are still closed, the swimming pool wasn't open mid-week, and the check-in building was unstaffed when we arrived. There was a sign at the check-in point telling us to reserve and pay for our site using Recreation.gov. We had cell service there, so no problem. It you don't have service, drive across the road to the Camp Store (which is not always open) to use WiFi there. There is a note on the front door with the password. 

There are so many things to do in Big South Fork and surrounding areas that you really need to just visit the park website and make a list of things to do. Some are easy and roadside, others not so much. For example, to hike the Twin Arches Loop Trail, you'll drive several miles of dirt roads to reach the trailhead and end up hiking about 6 - 6.5 miles. The description says the loop is 4.6 miles, which is true, but you have to add another 1.4 miles for the out-and-back from the parking lot to the start of the loop. The loop trail isn't bad, but the access trail has steep stairs. Anyway, find something you like and enjoy the Cumberland Plateau.

Paved spots with lots of shade. Bathrooms are clean. Bathhouse has an outside sink and a water bottle fountain to refill your bottles. Lots of hiking in the surrounding area. Each site has a food storage box.

I have camped at this campground more than any other for a reason. The sites are very well-spaced with a loop exclusively dedicated to tents. There are great mountain biking trails in the area. Campground also caters to horses.

I camped here with a friend and the dogs. The campground is pretty big and has 4 loops. We were in Loop C and our campsite was pretty spacious and private (not all are). All sites have a fire pit, a picnic table. and some of them even have bear boxes for food and coolers. We also had an electric hook up.

The bathhouse was very clean and well maintained. From the campground it's walking distance to several hiking trails like John Litton Farm or Oscar Blevins Farm. The nature there is very beautiful and definitely worth a visit.

I would camp here again but probably not in the summer month ;-).

Great campsite and location! Had a great weekend at Bandy creek, the area is fantastic. Campsites are close to trail entrance and if you head out toward Oneida you can hit up Angel falls. Has showers, water, didn’t even need an electrical site the cleaned it daily and people are respectful. Great view of the stars at night! I will be back.

We were here for one night over the Fourth of July. Campsites are fairly spacious, though you can definitely see and hear the campers around you. The area around Big South Fork is beautiful, though, with plenty of hiking/biking trails!

It is a pretty big campground. The bath house was really nice. The sites are pretty close together. It has a store on site but it wasn’t open. The visitors center was closed as well. There are quite a lot of things to do in the area.

Camped here a few years ago and got wonderful night sky shots. Definitely worth a stay if you're visiting Big South Fork.Great campers and great scenery

This is one of the better places for peace. The grounds are good as well as the scenery the river access is great. This is a great place for your family!

The sites are pretty private and mostly wooded. There were acorns everywhere that our littles kept getting ahold of, and most of the trails are much longer than 2 miles, so there wasn't much to do with our two toddlers.

That being said, the hiking that we did do was amazing. This is beautiful country and the campground was nice.

The sites were a bit short and we couldn't park our tow vehicle in front of our 17' camper. So large campers beware. There are limited parking spots near the shower house.

The tent pads were huge, lots of space to play at each site.

We were really hoping to see a black bear but had no luck.

Bandy Creek is one of the most beautiful places . There is a wonderful peace there that gives your mind a new refreshing perspective on life.

Bandy Creek Campground is located in The Big South Fork National River and Recreation area on The Cumberland Plateau. Big South Fork is a great place for outdoor adventure. Some activities include hiking, horseback riding, rick climbing, tubing, kayaking, swimming, fishing, mountain biking, and just about anything else! The area is never overcrowded, even in the middle of summer. There are many scenic views throughout the area, so bring a camera!

Campground review: Bandy Creek Campground is a great place! The sites are all spacious, and wooded for the most part, so you have plenty of space and some privacy. The campground seemed quite large, and was fairly empty for a Weekend in August. Some sites have food storage lockers (not sure if all do) as the area is a bear habitat. We saw some deer and turkeys, so there’s wildlife around for sure!

There is tent loop, and a group camp area, and I believe the campground hosts several retreats.

There’s riding stables at the camp store too. The campground also has a large swimming pool, with lifeguards.

The restrooms were immaculate! Seriously the cleanest campground restrooms I believe I’ve seen. Ours had a filtered water bottle fill up fountain too.

This campground is really nice, and quiet, but also has so much to do, I highly recommend it!

Product Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to try out products sometimes, and today I’m trying out the GCI Freestyle Rocket Pro! https://www.gcioutdoor.com/camping-chairs/freestyle-rocker-pro/

The Freestyle Rocker Pro is one of the best chairs I’ve used! It is actually much lighter than I expected, and is still extremely sturdy. Lightweight gear is a must when camping, or attending events!
It has a carry handle so you don’t need to try to fit it in a case to have a strap like other chairs I’ve used. The Rocker was smooth on natural surface, pea gravel, and concrete. It is very comfortable, quiet, and relaxing. It folds up super easy with just a pull of the handle. One feature that I especially love is the cup holder and side pocket. It will actually hold a drink without spilling, and you can fit a phone, keys or other small items in the pocket. This chair is awesome! Two thumbs up!!

Nice campground, if a bit suburban. Pool, parking lots, nice bathrooms. Tons of spots available even on a weekend in June. Short (5-10 min) drive to the river. If I did it again I'd find a backcountry spot - there are several on the Angel Falls trail that are just a short walk in.