## Overview

 Bandy Creek is a spacious and modern campground, situated in The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area--a vast and scenic expanse of land that offers visitors countless recreational activities.
## Recreation

 Numerous trails snake through the Recreation Area, offering mountain biking, hiking and horseback riding for visitors. A swimming pool, along with on-site volleyball court, playgrounds and ball fields, make Bandy Creek an ideal spot for families. The main river of the Big South Fork is also a short drive away, offering fishing opportunities.
## Facilities

 Bandy Creek combines the experience of traditional woods camping with the modern conveniences of flush toilets, hot showers and electric hookups. Sites can accommodate groups and both RV and tent camping. The campsites are spacious and provide picnic areas and plenty of shade.
## Natural Features

 The Big South Fork is located in north central Tennessee and southeastern Kentucky in some of the most rugged terrain of the Cumberland Plateau. The park encompasses approximately 125,000 acres including rocky gorges and forested plateaus. Numerous pristine streams unite with the free-flowing Big South Fork of the Cumberland River. Over thousands of years, ceaselessly moving water has carved the sandstone of the plateau into impressive cliffs, arches and chimneys, which are found throughout the park. 
## Nearby Attractions

 Located just under 20 miles from Bandy Creek is the Blue Heron Mine, also known as Mine 18, a historic abandoned mining town that has been rebuilt as an outdoor museum. Visitors can hear audio presentations from actual people who lived in the community in the 1950s.

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

The Big South Fork is an amazing place to hike in and the Bandy Creek campground is a great place to base yourself out of. You can do miles of trails from here. The campsites are nice and well maintained. There are tent only sites and RV sites. It is a big campground and can be very crowded, which may not suit some. They have a swimming pool, playground and volleyball net also. Firewood can be hard to find. but you can buy some at the horse stables across the street from the campground at all hours on an honor system (bring cash). 

Great campground and great hiking!

Wanted to add this as well - the regular camp sites at Bandy Creek (previous review was on the group site) are great.  The bathrooms are really some of the cleanest we've ever seen.  Great for families as well.  The hiking in the area is wonderful and you are able to reserve a few adjacent sites to allow for a more secluded camping experience.

Bandy Creek Campground - Camp Sites

Excellent camping area, level paved sites. Showers are in great shape, visitor center with friendly, knowledgeable staff and stables right across the road and a pool too. Trails are epic! Some sights and history to see!

I have and will be back

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!!



Ranger Review: GCI Freestyle Rocker Pro at Bandy Creek Campground

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.

Not the best place for toddlers, but perfect for adults with older children!

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!

Wonderful  place

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 

Entrance into dark sky zone 

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! 

Not bad for a weekend away! 

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 ;-).

Nice campground

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. 

Secluded in the Mountains

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 

Nice campground! 

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. 

Hidden Gem

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. 
  
    

It was a dark and stormy night…..

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!