Best Tent Camping: Southern Appalachian and Smoky Mountains: Your Car-Camping Guide to Scenic Beauty, the Sounds of Nature, and an Escape from Civilization

by Johnny Molloy

Overview

Perfect Camping for You in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia

The Southern Appalachian and Smoky Mountains provide spectacular backdrops for some of the most scenic campgrounds in the country. But do you know which campgrounds offer the most privacy? Which are the best for first-time campers? Johnny Molloy has traversed the entire region—tree-topped mountains, clear streams, and lush woodlands of East Tennessee, western North Carolina, northern Georgia, and western South Carolina—and compiled the most up-to-date research to steer you to the ideal spot!

Best Tent Camping: Southern Appalachian and Smoky Mountains presents 50 of the region’s best campgrounds, organized by state. Selections are based on location, topography, size, and overall appeal, and every site is rated for beauty, privacy, spaciousness, safety and security, and cleanliness—so you’ll always know what to expect. The new full-color edition of this proven guidebook provides everything you need to know, with detailed maps of each campground and key information such as fees, restrictions, dates of operation, and facilities, as well as driving directions and GPS coordinates.

Whether you seek a quiet campground near a remote highland stream or a family campground with all the amenities, grab Best Tent Camping: Southern Appalachian and Smoky Mountains. It’s an escape for all who wish to find those special locales that recharge the mind, body, and spirit. This guide is a keeper.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781634042949
Publisher:	Menasha Ridge Press
Publication date:	12/11/2018
Series:	Best Tent Camping
Edition description:	5th Revised ed.
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Johnny Molloy is an outdoors writer based in Johnson City, Tennessee. He has averaged more than 100 nights per year in the wild since the early 1980s, backpacking and canoe-camping throughout the US in nearly every state. The result of his efforts is more than 30 books, including hiking guides throughout the Southeast, tent-camping and paddling guides, and outdoor-adventure books. He continues to write and travel extensively to all four corners of the United States, endeavoring in a variety of outdoor pursuits. For the latest on Johnny, visit his website, johnnymolloy.com.

Read an Excerpt

Pickett State Park Campground
Beauty: 3 / Privacy: 3 / Spaciousness: 3 / Quiet: 4 / Security: 5 / Cleanliness: 4

Key Information

*
• *Contact: 931-879-5821, reserve.tnstateparks.com/pickett *
• *Open: Year-round *
• *Sites: 32, plus 2 walk-in tent campsites *
• *Each site has: Tent pad, fire grate, lantern post, picnic table, electricity *
• *Wheelchair access: None *
• *Assignment: First-come, first-served and by reservation *
• *Registration: At visitor center *
• *Amenities: Water, flush toilets, showers, laundry *
• *Parking: At campsites only *
• *Fees: $15–$25/night, plus $5 reservation fee *
• *Elevation: 1,500' *
• *Restrictions:
*
• *Pets: On leash only *
• *Quiet hours: 10 p.m.–6 a.m. *
• *Fires: In fire grates only *
• *Alcohol: Prohibited *
• *Vehicles: None *
• *Other: 14-day stay limit

Tennessee’s first state park is a land of scenic geological and botanical wonders.

Tennessee State Parks come fully loaded with man-made amenities to help you make the most of your visit. But Pickett State Park was already fully loaded with natural features long before it became Tennessee’s first state park way back in the 1930s. The campground is vintage too. It is evident that over the years Pickett’s natural beauty, as well as the campground, have passed through caring hands.

The main camping area is situated atop a wooded hill. It has the standard circular loop configuration with a road bisecting the center of the loop, making almost a figure eight. You’ll climb as you enter the loop. Most sites are on the outer edge of the loop, but the road that bisects the loop also has campsites along it. Tall pines and hardwoods shade the camping area. There is a light understory, mixed with more heavily wooded sections, especially outside the main loop.

The campground was built before RVs existed, so, even though 31 of 32 sites have both water and electricity, it is primarily a tenter’s campground. A bathhouse with flush toilets and hot showers and a coin laundry are in the very center of the campground. Those staying on the campground’s perimeter may have to walk a bit to reach the bathhouse. Speaking of walking, don’t forget about the two walk-in tent sites.

Hand-laid stone walls complement the natural surroundings and blend in well with the campground. Even the park water tank is overlaid with stone. The campsites are a bit smaller than normal but offer more than adequate space. It’s quiet and secure here in the outer reaches of Fentress County adjacent to the Kentucky state line. A park ranger lives on-site at the state park and the park visitor center is nearby.

You may need help figuring out just what to do. Recreational pursuits include tennis, badminton, horseshoes, and volleyball. Any equipment you may need is available free of charge at the park office. Before you imagine this is a wooded health club, let me assure you there’s a lot more of the outdoor sort of fun, including a swimming beach open during the summer months at Arch Lake. This 15-acre, S-shaped lake offers trout fishing and canoe and rowboat rentals as well. Personal boats are allowed on the lake. A park naturalist is on duty during the summer. Headquarters are at the nature center, which is in the middle of the campground. Campfire programs and movies are also part of Pickett’s activities.

Finally, and most importantly, there are the landforms, without which no man-made state park could exist. Much of the state forest escaped the logger’s ax. Today, more than 58 miles of trails trace beneath the trees, reaching natural bridges, caves, waterfalls, and rock bluffs. The Indian Rockhouse Trail travels 0.2 mile to a huge rock overhang with a water feature in its center. The 2.5-mile Lake Trail Loop crosses Arch Lake on a swinging bridge then passes a natural bridge before looping back to the picnic area. It is 1 mile down to Double Falls from Thompson Overlook. Hazard Cave Loop extends 2.5 miles and goes by a sandfloored cave, then by the Natural Bridge, which is more than 80 feet long and 20 feet high.

The two primary park trails are Rock Creek and the Sheltowee Trace–Hidden Passage. The Sheltowee Trace Trail extends 280 miles into Kentucky. Sheltowee means “big turtle,” which is what the American Indians called Daniel Boone way back when he was adopted into the Shawnee Tribe. The Rock Creek Trail parallels its namesake, passing small waterfalls in a classic, deeply wooded mountain stream. It is 5 miles one way and connects to the Sheltowee Trace Trail. Pickett’s master trail is the Hidden Passage Trail, which runs in conjunction with the Sheltowee Trace. The first feature you’ll see is a modest arch, then comes the Hidden Passage, a small passageway created by a large rock overhang amid jumbled rocks. Next is Crystal Falls, a delicate three-tiered watery drop. Continuing on down, you’ll see overlooks and numerous rock houses, some with chestnut benches built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Depression. This rewarding loop continues after the Hidden Passage Trail diverges from the Sheltowee Trace. Any day hiking here will be a day you’ll remember. Download a trail map from the park website. Recently opened and adjacent Pogue Creek Canyon State Natural Area adds another, wilder hiking dimension. This is one place where you can stay busy for days with all types of activities. Just make sure to get all your food and supplies back in Jamestown. You’ll need the calories.

Getting There

From I-40, take Exit 317 (US 127/Crossville/Jamestown). Turn onto US 127 North, and drive 33.9 miles (the last few will take you past Jamestown, on your left/west). Turn right on TN 154, and drive 12 miles; the park entrance will be on your left.

GPS Coordinates N36° 33.101' W84° 47.888'

Table of Contents

Southern Appalachians–Smokies Campground Locator Map

Map Legend

Acknowledgments

Preface

Best Campgrounds

Introduction

Tennessee Campgrounds

• Bandy Creek Campground
• Chilhowee Campground
• Cosby Campground
• Dennis Cove Campground
• Foster Falls Campground
• Frozen Head State Park Campground
• Hiwassee–Ocoee Scenic River State Park Campground
• Holly Flats Campground
• Indian Boundary Campground
• Little Oak Campground
• Nolichucky Gorge Campground and Cabins
• North River Campground
• Obed Wild and Scenic River: Rock Creek Campground
• Old Forge Campground
• Paint Creek Campground
• Pickett State Park Campground
• Rock Creek Campground
• Round Mountain Campground

North Carolina Campgrounds

• Balsam Mountain Campground
• Big Creek Campground
• Black Mountain Campground
• Cable Cove Campground
• Cataloochee Campground
• Doughton Park Campground
• Horse Cove Campground
• Lake Powhatan Campground
• Linville Falls Campground
• Mount Mitchell State Park Campground
• Mount Pisgah Campground
• Nelson’s Nantahala Hideaway Campground
• North Mills River Campground
• Price Park Campground
• Rocky Bluff Campground
• Smokemont Campground
• Standing Indian Campground
• Tsali Campground
• Van Hook Glade Campground

South Carolina Campgrounds

• Burrells Ford Campground
• Cherry Hill Campground
• Devils Fork State Park Campground
• Keowee–Toxaway State Park Campground

Georgia Campgrounds

• Black Rock Mountain State Park Campground
• Cloudland Canyon State Park Campground
• DeSoto Falls Campground
• Dockery Lake Campground
• Fort Mountain State Park Campground
• Lake Conasauga Campground
• Tate Branch Campground
• Upper Chattahoochee Campground
• Wildcat Creek Campground

Appendix A: Camping Equipment Checklist

Appendix B: Sources of Information

Index

About the Author