Views = 5 stars AMAZING

Full hookups = 5 stars

Sites = 4 stars a little too close together and step down to picnic table is awkward

Value = 3.5/4’ish stars needs to be updated a little more and upkept a little more to earn 5 stars

Camp host = 1 star awful experience, never have I been treated and spoken to like that in all of my 20+ years camping. Was going to see about staying an extra day, but they lost that business and any other business for future stays from me and my family/friends. Customer service is a must in this type of business to be successful.

We usually enjoy state parks, so this packed in like sardines style is not for us anyway.  Unfortunately, it was the most convenient to what we were here to do.  I am happy we had Passport America, otherwise I would NOT pay the full price for this place.  It's called "resort," but it's far from it.  This is more like a permanent living area.  I do not feel comfortable using the amenities as it feels shut off from visitors.  Haven't seen the first employee since we came in on Sunday when they are closed.  We were moved from a premium concrete pad to a muddy mess and broke down picnic table with rotten banana under it.  The site numbers are not marked, thankfully when we pulled in there were some residents outside their camper and were able to tell us their site number and we figured it out from there.  Its super tight to get in, but thankfully both sides of us are empty and we were able to use that to our advantage.  The wifi is good, definitely usable for internet searches/email, but no streaming shows (this is not a surprise, it's disclosed on their website).  Overall, It's okay if you're in a pinch, but I wouldn't stay to "camp" for a week.

I almost hate to leave such a review because I’m afraid I’ll never get into it again. Obviously we will return.

Pros:

• Usable internet - very important to us because husband works from the road
• CLEAN, well kept
• bathrooms so well done with showers individual rooms
• laundry room nice and reasonably priced
• game room and playground for kids of all ages
• nice pond with small creek
• pet friendly
• full hookups and reasonable prices
• nice, quaint store on site
• FRIENDLY staff

Cons

• sites are closer together than we prefer, but everything else makes up for that
• closest town 30 minutes down the mountain, however the Mennonite stores would have some things you might need only 15 minutes away.

Decent sized campground, full hookups, WiFi is a little spotty, nice view of the lake, plenty of green space for kids or dogs to play, 2 easy trails to walk. Convenient location to town, but surprising quiet for being so close.

We only stayed one night, so we did not explore the park too much. Do not use your GPS to get here, it will take you down the road to a house, but the guy must be used to it because he gave us directions without us even having to tell him. The sites are closer together than what I usually see in State/COE Parks, but still more secluded than some private parks. The bathrooms are old, but clean. Tornado siren is right on the campground, so it was easy to hear when it went off.

This is a smaller park, but the sites are spread out well. Super quiet, lots of trails to follow - including paved ones (bonus for us as we have a baby in a stroller), full hook ups (w,e,s), and has a splash park during the summer time. We will be returning quite a bit since it’s close to home.

This campground was nice and quiet and convenient to the cute town of Mount Juliet. Sites a little closer then I like or expect from COE/state parks. Bathrooms near to the entrance were a little dated, but the ones near the dump station were nicer. The playground/beach area was nice. The laundry was literally 1 washer and 1 dryer behind the bathrooms near the entrance (outside under an overhang). We will pass through again.

You can tell this park had a hayday, but it has passed and the maintenance has not been done. Our site was very narrow and had a huge drop off, we were told the neighbors beside us about flipped theirs trying to back in. The site was not level and the water was on the opposite side of our camper (more annoying than anything), and they didn’t take time to prepare it before our arrival (so many leaves and pine needles you can’t tell where the deck began and the gravel began and the parking pad began). The laundry was also out of order. We didn’t have enough room to park at our campsite, (the drop off was too much for the truck) but the people across from us were kind offered us to park in their site. If you stay here, I recommend only doing pull through sites. They were spaced out enough and did include water and electric hookup.

This park is super convenient if you’re planning on going to the ark encounter and the creation museum because it’s about 30-45 minutes in either direction. The park itself is quiet, clean, fairly spread out, and has helpful staff. Only water and electric hookups, common for state parks, but that’s the only reason I couldn’t do 5 stars. Our kids enjoyed the playgrounds, the mini golf, the museum, and the trails to see the salt springs and the bison. Super neat area.

It was okay for a passing through stay. Staff was okay, not warm and inviting, but also not jerks. Didn’t provide any information on the campground (map, check out time, anything) only handed me my receipt for payment.

Pros: back off the road, across from Rocky Fork State Park (which was booked, that’s why we chose this one), behind a dollar general (handy), full hookups (w/e/s), pullthroughs for those not living there, escort you to your site via golf cart

Cons: 95% of this campground is permanent campers (if that’s what you want, then this is for you), campsites are right on top of each other, it advertises WiFi (but apparently that’s for the permanent campers)

For us this campground didn’t work, so much so we left after the first night of a 3 night stay and threw away $80 essentially. We had zero cell reception on both our ATT and T-Mobile phones (huge problem since my husband works from home), there was no water hookups (problem for a family of 6), and the nearest potable water you had to Drive careful to, and the grey tank dump closest to us was in the middle of the campground (couldn’t drive there, so not sure how that was supposed to work). If you want just electric and enjoy peaceful/quiet, this is probably okay for you, but for us we will not be returning nor recommending this campground.

I wish I could give more stars, but the campground itself is just okay while everything around it is amazing.

Pros: right on the river, convenient to everything (walking distance to Family Dollar and a scenic waterfall), staff super helpful and nice, full hookups

Cons: campsites are right on top of one another (especially on the riverside - there’s a few that are sideways and a little better), it’s gravel and washout a little so when it rains it gets to be a muddy mess, the WiFi is flakey (but if you could connect it was good)

Pro/con: the railroad is right across the river, so pretty nice to watch but at night it can be a little loud if you need silence to sleep.

We only stayed for 1 night as we were passing through, but we plan to return one day.

Positives are it’s a newer campground, nice and shaded, full hookups (w,e,s), lots were wide, Easy to get in and out of, plenty to do within the park (hiking, fishing, kayak/canoe, etc), has a nice dog park, hosts were very welcoming and kind, VERY clean.

Negatives are unlevel lots (we had to lower ours by over 4” and still weren’t level, but couldn’t adjust anymore), sites aren’t exactly private - but there was a bit of space between sites.

We just finished our stay at Ocean Lakes Family Campground in Myrtle Beach, SC. We enjoyed it and will return.

Cons: no shade, sites really tight, a lot of golf carts zooming around, internet flakey - if you could stay connected it was good, site not level

Pros: right on the beach, a ton of amenities - including potable water, affordable for being on the beach with full hookup (e,w,s,c,i), concrete pad available, super easy to get to (it has its own intersection redlight).

*picture from our site to show distance to ocean - less than 100 steps. Site #2073

Just left Aiken State Park in SC. We will not be returning because it didn’t meet our requirements, but it is not a bad park if it’s what you’re looking for, so here’s the pros and cons:

Pros - super affordable, nice location, very peaceful/quiet, nature trails, kayak rentals available, clean, nice staff

Cons - sand/uneven pads, very tight to drive through and get parked, the dump station is inconvenient to get out of when leaving the campground, absolutely no cell service at campsite (we have Verizon, att, and tmobile)

One other big negative for us, which I hope no one else has to encounter is there was a seemingly, stray dog running around. Super sweet and timid around people, but we have our dog with us (boxer) and the stray attacked our dog. Just warning if you’re there or going soon.

It’s nice, quiet, and secluded however, campsites are not on the river. Plenty of hiking and biking trails, nice restroom facilities/host lodge, playgrounds for kids. The main negative for us is the lack of cell phone coverage - husband works from home, so internet access is a must. T-Mobile and Verizon neither one worked throughout the park and when it did only had 1 or 2 bars, very flakey.

It’s beautiful, quiet, and right on the water. Good restroom facilities and cute playground with covered pavilion. Good cell phone reception.

The area was beautiful, the amenities were nice (pool is very nice and the view from it is amazing, bathhouse is one side showers one side toilets), hiking trails were varying in difficulty (so for those that need stroller/wheelchair accessible there is one for you and those who like a challenge and rugged terrain, you’re covered too). We haven’t tried the restaurant yet, as due to covid19, is take out only, but I looked through and the view is amazing overlooking the valley.

As far as the campsites, full hook up, some capable of bigger rigs, but mainly smaller (<30’). A lot of them are connected and we don’t really like that since we have 4 kids, we like privacy and to give those around us some quiet, some are fairly level on gravel (they do have a couple concrete for handicap). Our particular camp host could use a couple lessons in humbleness/communication/kindness.

Cell reception is very good, however there is only one cell tower so it is on the slower side for browsing the internet/streaming (if you telework, my husband wasn’t able to do that this trip, he took vacation time) - this is with t-mobile/sprint (Verizon doesn’t get anything). Tv reception is pretty good, we got about 20 channels.

Pros: affordable, nice amenities (pool - closed to covid19, playground, access to public park, bathrooms, pavilion, laundry room-really affordable), neat setting, plenty to do there and near by, good cell reception (T-Mobile). Cons: a lot of the campsites are on top of each other or at weird angles, don’t recommend most of the sites for big rigs, WiFi is flakey at best depending on your site. Pro/Con: it’s attached to the public park - pro because you can jump straight on the trails con because anyone from the public park can jump straight onto your campsite. We didn’t have trouble, so may not be a big problem - but, we have kids and I was not comfortable with them being outside our camper without us. Overall, I will probably go back at some point - not soon though, but will only stay at sites that we have a little more privacy/space.

Family friendly, nice facilities, right on the water, great price.