Floating Mill - Center Hill Lake

It's so funny to see other people seem to have had issues with the staff here. We went one day to scout out campsites around Center Hill Lake. We had already been to one of the other parks around it and checked out the campsites; we'd just driven in and around and noted which spots didn't have enough shade, etc. then left. When we got to the attendant booth, there was a stop sign at the speed bump. I stopped in front of the stop sign and when I started driving again, an older man opened the window at the booth and yelled at us. I slammed on my breaks and backed up to talk to him. He was an absolute aubergine to us for not talking to him. I told him I was sorry but I didn't know I needed to as I've never had to at any other area parks. He copped an attitude and said "There's a sign!" So, I guessed I just missed it. However, when we were leaving, I turned around and checked and the only sign was the stop sign..... He was sarcastic and rude to us as I explained what we were there to do and insinuated that we were trying to kidnap children... 

Beyond the Belligerent Balding Boomer, the roads in the campground and even just on the way to it from the main road are VERY narrow, crumbling, in BAD need of repaving/repainting arrows, and have lots of tight turns. We went into one area and a car had pulled over to the side of the road but was on the asphalt still which made getting around them not even close to possible. You might have been able to get around a motorcycle. Maybe. We ended up having to back up all the way back out of there with a rock wall on one side of the asphalt and dropoff on the other.

We stayed the whole weekend. This is a very steep campground, so just be warned! Our site was at the bottom of some old stone stairs so setting up and packing up were a struggle. The lake was fantastic. The water felt good, we barely saw any litter, and the water was very clear! Also, check your electrical box before you stick your hand in there. I got a major wasp sting!

One of my go to travel spots. Always quiet and nice. Water finally back up. Spot is 1/2 price with my America the Beautiful pass. Lots of places empty.

Stayed in spot 35 and 34 should’ve been one spot. Always like the looks of this lake. Wasn’t too crowded and looks great all around. A Laundry facility and bathrooms were clean. Around the corner down the road a little bit was a place called hurricane bridge day area. Free for passholders and it’s real nice

It’s a beautiful place to stay for water sports, fishing, or just relaxing by the lake. The lake seems to be down 10’ or more for some reason but its still very nice campground. Most of the campsites had a view of the water but some are better than others.  The sites are on the side of a hill and go from water level to higher.  Bathrooms were clean and showers were warm.  There is also a laundry facility that worked well.  As far as internet via phone,  we had AT&T and got 1 bar which resulted in 1mb download and less up.  We also had a Verizon hotspot and it was about the same at night but worked a little better during the day with only 1 person attached.  This might not be the best location for working from your RV unless you require minimal speeds.

Stayed one night on 21 September. Real quiet experience. Takes A the B pass and has free laundry. Real enjoyable

Campsites for tents are down long rustic stairs. Our site had 20 broken rock steps from parking to site and no handrail. Lake view was beautiful however so we had a nice time. We took a kayak down the Caney Fork. Canoe the Caney shuttle service was the best we’ve ever used.

We have camped here twice this year! Nice to be able to get away and not to far from home!

We visited here during the summer. I really enjoyed our stay. A couple of things caught a us by surprise.. 1) The steps down to our campsite. Some of the campsites towards the back of the campground have a good amount of stairs. It was okay, but not good for anyone who cannot handle a lot of stairs. 2) There was a lot of boat traffic on the lake, even late into the night. I’m not sure if it is always like this or because there is a marina near by the campground. We could reach the edge of the lake from our campsite and launched out kayaks from there. The boats made it a little difficult to kayak the lake, but some kayakers towards the front of the campground at the day beach seemed to do okay. There’s a small hiking trail in the park also called the “lost spring trail” not much of a spring to see, but a couple of lookout points. Must not be much traffic through the trail anymore, the lookouts were a little overgrown. Overall the campground was nice, lots of access to the water if you like to fish and some very beautiful views. Pet friendly! Clean!

Excellent campground right on the water. There's a swimming area for campers separate from the day use area. Many sites have their own water access. The tent only sites are at the back of the campground and are along the water. You have to take steps down from the parking lot to get to your campsite. The bathouse was clean. Great location close to Cummins Falls, Burgess and others.

If you weren't aware, the fall is the perfect time to camp. Which means almost every recreation.gov campsite is full to the brim.

We tried this location again (after having a negative experience with their staff) and have some more concrete thoughts.

If you're loading in for tent camping, this cap.has some great views, up in the 70-100s, be sure to check elevation on the map. The pictures don't show you how difficult to access.

Spots 104-118 are up a horrific incline, not suitable for small RVs or trailers. There's also no lights here.

The main bathrooms near the front are pretty nice, but bring flops flops and expect it to be a tad gross on the floor. There was excrement in the large handicapped shower.

There's a fish cleaning station just past the main bathrooms and dumpsters, perfect if you bring your boat too.

The front lake spots are nice, but no shade. Be sure you have a 10x10 canopy or RV awning.

Overall the campground is built around the lake, but incredibly tight, hard to navigate (especially at night) and unless you're a pro, know to look at your spaces/map and calculate your turn radius and which spots you can back into, don't go if you have a truck + trailer over 17' or a large 5th wheel.

While nice scenery, the difficulty to navigate, small roads labeled two way (impassable if another vehicle approaching) make this ok-maintained came a poorly-accesible 3 stars.

The tent sites were really nice. I love how close you are to the water. It also includes two swim areas which is nice. Bathrooms are good in campground standards! The hiking trail is ok. Canoe the Caney is a few minute drive from the campground which is great if you like canoeing. We really enjoyed it!

BEYOND RUDE, INDECENT HUMAN WORKS HERE.

My partner works maintenance/HVAC and had an emergency, requiring us to break camp, leaving at 1am, returning at 6am. We had to 7-point turn, moving the picnic table and lantern stand to simply back out way out. At 8am someone banged on our door beyond hard enough 7-10times.

With only two hours of sleep, I open our door only to find a cantankerous old man be who immediately began to bitch us out (no conversation, no listening nor explanation) or empathy or even basic human respect for parking in another campsite (which we also have a permit for, as we reserved two for friends arriving later. He instructed us to move it, without asking if we had a permit. He returned an hour and a half later and threatened to tow our vehicle, ban us from camp and call the ranger to come ticket us. I could barely interrupt him to assert we were the other party and had a permit for twice as many vehicles, and our vehicle was registered for that spot.

Whether you have only 2 hours of sleep and your door beaten on or not, this old.mans behavior is unacceptable.

Come to find out, he drove round the night before antagonizing guests nearby unloading caping gear from their boats, and was simply downright nasty.

Unacceptable behavior from any human. Our first time here and also our last. As a differentially-enabled person on the autism spectrum, this was horrific. There are no words to justify this man's behavior to us and other guests. Even if kindness and respect aren't this thing, his inability to actually do his job and check permits before harassing campers is unacceptable. We'll never camp at this place again.

You cant beat the views at this campground. Several of the sites are right along the water. There is hiking which we didn't do, also a couple places to swim. One of my biggest issues with this campground is the signage, there arent any signs leading you to where the campground is, also the camp site numbers themselves are impossible to see in the dark as they are labeled on the electric posts in black, I had to get out of the vehicle and walk the campground to find our site. Also wish there was a small store or at the very least ice available to purchase. All of this can be purchased at the marina store but it is quite the trek to get there. The sites are also extremely close together. Swimming areas were nice, the campground was clean, restrooms were clean, but far from most camp sites, you need to drive to them. They need another restroom/bath house.

We love to find water front campsites, especially In the summer time! We love to swim, as does our dog! A lot of people brought their boats, there was a lot of parkIng & easy access for it. There Is a nearby marina, restaurant & shop (make a reservation If you plan to eat there). The views were incredible. The only downside was the driveways were a little tight, we especially had trouble on the way out.

Beautiful view from our camp site. It was one of the cleanest campsites I have been to. The park guy was very nice.

Floating Mill Park is a little oasis in a big old recreation area.

Located next to Floating Mill Campground it is also convenient to several other recreation options in the area.

First, on site you have a boatramp, parking, rentable pavilion, playground and swimming area. This is 5$ a day and an annual pass can be purchased for 40$ which is for all the Army Corps of Engineer facilitates in the area. ( doesn’t include renting the pavilion for large groups)

Next, while your in the area if your not just there for water activities there are several State Parks not to far down the road. Burgess Falls State Park with Window Cliffs Natural Area, and Cummins Falls Stare Park which are crowded but nice go see areas. Window Cliffs is a nice 5+mile out and back hike, technical but some very cool things to see. Take water, snacks but leave your dog at the campsite, their not allowed in the Natural area. Then there are Rock Island And Edgar Evins State Parks down the road a piece.

You can easily plan and execute a float trip with several campsite options to make it a multiple day on the lake. You can stay in the area for several days and do something different every day.

Floating Mill Campground is an interesting campground in many ways. 1st it’s Army Corps of Engineer maintained and ruled. Which means there are different rules then most state parks, one of which is only 2 dogs per site allowed. 2nd the layout is more tent friendly (to me) with walk in sites with some nice views. You may or may not be able to put in directly from your site along the water. 3rd in addition to the water activities there are several parks nearby to visit while enjoying the Tennessee countryside.

Sitting on your “deck” overlooking the water would be plenty for many people just enjoying the moment. In addition there is the boatramp and there is a fish cleaning pavilion near the showerhouse. And my favorite, yakking, there are plenty of campgrounds Along Center Hill Lake that you could plan a float trip, ending up where you started.

Burgess Falls State Park is nearby with Windows Cliff Natural Area and Cummins Falls , Edgar Evins and Rock Island State Parks are further out but also worth a visit.

We went over Labor Day weekend in 2016 for my 40th birthday. It was a blast! We hiked Cummins Falls which was too crowded due to the holiday but it was beautiful. The second day we canoed the Caney. That was also really fun but next time we’ll choose the six mile instead of the nine mile. Grocery stores were about 20-30 minutes out.

Camp sites weren’t too close to each other. There were lots of trees for enoing and our view of Center Hill Lake was great.

We had a great time and will definitely go back.

This area has around 100 sites, both RV and tent sites both with and without electricity, so you can camp any way you'd like. All of the tent sites here are facing the lake so it feels a little more private. The RV sites are more grouped together (but I don't have an RV so I can't speak for these as much) There is some great hiking in the area and you can find some quiet and restful spots. There is the Lost Springs Trail that is right near the campground if you like hiking and hikes above the nearby Marina and this campground.