Best Campgrounds near Pennington Gap, VA

On a road trip with my adult daughter, we had planned to stay at this campsite just one night, but we loved it so much that we ended up staying a second night.

The prices were reasonable, and many of the campsites were generously sized, many of them with lots of trees shade. Ours was right next to the river, which meant we could watch the water go by as we were sitting there at the picnic table enjoying a meal. 

Maybe we got lucky, but all the neighbors were reasonably quiet and some of them were quite friendly. 

We appreciated the fact that there are a few trails right there on the property and that there is also a museum on the property where you can learn lots about the history of this famous Tennessean for which the campsite and park were named.

I have visited This little Gem in East Tenn. For the Best part of my life. I have seen this place change from the small little campground & Swimming Pool , with the little Cabin starting in the mid 80's. As a Family Reunion was always Scheduled there for the Nickles,Hicks,Dykes, Edwards clan.And the best memories of my Crazy Partying Parts & Aunts .But always respected the other Members 

 This has included some of my best Fishing Memories,catching a Monster of. CatFish in the back honey Hole! Made my Father so proud.

So of course as a Father of 3 sons,who now are having children of their own. I of course made sure they had there fill of this great place.

This campground is pretty new and not too large, making it a nice quiet getaway.  All the sites are concrete with nice gravel between, along with picnic tables and firepits.  Because it's isolated in the trees, you can't even hear the main road!

One thing we liked is the great drainage.  Even on the rainy days, there were almost no puddles due to good landscaping and slight slope.   The water pressure is really strong, be sure to use your pressure regulator!

The bathhouse is nice and clean.  There's a playground with slides and such here, too.

We were here during the month of October and the owners and helpers decorated the area with pumpkins and little scarecrows.

The drive up from the main road is 85% paved with nice new asphalt.  Just a short section that's gravel.  On the nice days, we would walk all the way from the campground down the hill to the main road and back.

There's Wifi available, and it was at least as good as our AT&T cell connection, and we were able to keep our Starlink on pause, saving us a month's cost there.

We will definitely be staying here again.  No question.

The only negative I can add is that there's no real "office" to receive packages.  We had to replace our rig's AC unit, and the owner allows me to ship it to his house about a mile away.  When it arrived I drove over and picked it up.  For other stuff, I just got a post office box in town.  (They don't do General Delivery at this USPS location.)

I rode all the way over here from Greeneville to check out the area in order to bring a group of friends camping next weekend.

BUT the entire campground is closed. When I pulled up to the iron gate and saw the sign, it read "CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC DUE TO VANDALISM AND UNAUTHORIZED ACTIVITY"

I drove over an hour to get here to find that it is “closed to public for vandalism”. I was very upset by this but obviously nothing I could do. Just wish I knew how to check before driving all the way. But the drive! Woah! So beautiful, I wish there was a way I could find out when it opens back up because I was very much looking forward to camping here.

Paid in full in 2023 for 2024. Checked in May 2024, all good on reservations, stated looking forward to seeing me in September. August 31, 2024, received an email stating they could not accommodate me for the agreed upon reservation. Tried to call, went straight to voicemail, mailbox full.

Booked a 3 night stay over the weekend and had the primitive camping area to ourselves. 5 spots with tent pads, picnic tables, fire pit, hanging poles, and bear box. Then there is a very large, communal fire pit, and an open but covered shelter with picnic tables and an outlet to charge your tech things. Water spigot at top, a little walk, uphill, for water. The camp store people said they are unable to use spigot nearby common shelter because it’s no good. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Glad we brought our large bladder so we weren’t constantly going up and down the hill for water. Camp store with some basics at entrance, and person on golf cart drives around checking on things. Trash dumpster, up the hill just past water spigot. Couldn’t have asked for a more peaceful place, especially for the price, $15/night. Took advantage of some of the hiking trails, which were well maintained and marked. Also, went and checked out the natural tunnel via chairlift. The other two campgrounds looked nice, with big, fancy bathhouses. And the cabins, wow, fancy! Hooray for Virginia State Parks!!

We had an excellent time at Davy Crockett Birthplace.  Very clean facilities. Friendly staff and quick check-in.

This is an enjoyable State Park with a lot to offer. The rangers and staff may be the nicest we’ve encountered. They have a full docket of activities, ranger-led hikes, games, crafts and wildlife lectures offered throughout the day. In addition to camping they have a full marina with canoe, kayak and paddle board rentals. It houses an acclaimed mountain bike trail area. Nearby you can golf and ride horses. Cell coverage varies from LTE to 5G all over the park.

 The main camping section was laid out long ago, with older style short sites and water/electric only. Many of the sites are narrow and some have challenging access. Be sure to read site descriptions and check the suggested trailer size- they seriously mean the max size!! Each site has a fire ring, and small grate grill and a picnic table. The sites up on the ridge are probably sized only for tents and Class B units; many are sloped. The newly updated section, Moody Bluff, has FHU and a number of pull-through sites. It only has trees around the edge of one side giving it an open field feeling. 

The main campground has its own boat ramp for access to the reservoir. The camp store has a small offering of RV accessories and ice for$2.00. The main campground shower units are individual and separate from the bathrooms. There are ADA shower stalls, bathrooms, and ramps. While the bath house is older and could use fresh paint it was meticulously clean all week. 

We spent a long weekend with several other RV couples. Nearby Bays Mountain Park and Planetarium provides engaging planetarium shows, a herpetarium, wildlife sections with bobcats, foxes, gray wolves, and raptors, as well as hiking trails. Restaurants, grocery stores and big box retail stores are 10 minutes away in Kingsport. 

Our site(62) was narrow and a little short for our 23’ trailer. We had to park the truck sideways at the entrance. Our stairs opened right on the concrete pad for the table and we had very little room for our chairs. Our group host had enough room on their site(58) that they could erect two shelters for our meals. The forest was right up to our sides and we had lovely birdsong to awaken us every morning. I would definitely return, especially if the larger sites were available.

Very well kept campground. Staff were very nice. One of the cleanest parks I have visited. Lots of historical places to visit in the area. Slightly tough to get to, thats why only 4 stars. Don’t let that keep you from visiting.

There are 2 main campgrounds here for rvs and tents. Is it a nice safe place for families. Pets welcome. 30 and up a night with a good security faculty.

Great location. Not crowded. But could use a cleaning. PortaJons are nasty.

Lots of lil cozy pull offs on an easy gravel road. Lots of longer term people staying it seemed like (or just really full send camping friends lol). Many fire rings and spots by the lake. Unfortunately the other reviews are right - A decent amount of trash. There are trash cans and porta potties. I’ve seen worse porta potties at festivals but there were a few stinky ones.

We stayed for the Bristol Rhythm & Roots festival in the glampers and loved the romantic atmosphere at night. The trees are lit up with a warm glowing light.  The pond fountain whispers you to sleep. The manager and staff were awesome and accommodating. They truly want you to make a lifetime of memories on your visit.

The sites are small, the gravel is thin, and they are muddy. This campground  is a hodgepodge of half executed thoughts and rework, on a shoestring budget. Wifi is horrible, and cell service is worse. The "lake" is a pond. There is a pig roaming around getting into garbage, and rubbing mud all over your stuff. There is pig crap everywhere. Owner seems not to care, but if your dog leaves a pile, they will threaten to charge you to clean it up... Apparent sewer issues, as the alarms were constantly sounding off during our stay. The cops were there multiple times for domestic violence issues. Dogs bark all night. The owner appeared to be intoxicated most all the time.

Great staff. Isolated area. Quiet neighbors. All around wonderful place to camp