Reviews

Michael Salyer

Been visiting this campground for 35 years. The family loves it here. While on the lake we encountered 4 eagles. Love to see this bird.

Shadowfax

This is now our favorite campground. Great place for a weekend camping trip. Campground is located right along the South Holston lake which makes it a great place for swimming. No hookups for campers which is unfortunate, but the campground is well-shaded. Definitely worth the visit.

Jeremy Upham

We spent 4 days here mid-July 2025 in site 68. Lake water was very warm but so were the outdoor temps. If you rely on solar for power, bring a backup option. You’ll only get marbled sunlight during the day due to heavy tree canopy in every site we saw. AT&T service was ok but somewhat slow. Sites are large and fairly level but we needed to block one side of the trailer to level. It’s a beautiful campground but with that being said, we were quite surprised at how much trash there was around the campground/campsite with each loop having a dedicated campground host. Maybe it’s not their responsibility to clean sites when folks leave but if it is, they are slacking big time. We attempted to contact a camp host in each loop to possibly purchase firewood but were unable to locate any during our 4 day stay. The check-in station at the entrance was also unmanned. Gates reportedly are locked overnight but can’t confirm this actually happened. Saw one ranger drive through once. Other campers were very respectful and quiet. We left the campsite in better condition than we found it. We would stay again.

Sandi Bird Aldridge

We camp here several times a year with a group of friends. There are no hookups, but there is potable water available at spigots around each loop. Hemlock Loop has flush toilets and running water in the bathroom. Some loops have pit toilets. The campground hosts have always been friendly and helpful. There is a dump station near the exit. There is a boat ramp and several other loops. We really enjoy our stays here. You can make reservations online, but they reserve a few sites on each loop for first come, first serve. Rates are very reasonable. There are handicapped accessible sites and bathrooms. Those are marked on the online reservation site.

Shawn Prasatek

I don't have many complaints. It was secluded the drive up the mountain was scenic and had a couple nice little waterfalls we got pics of. One road in. I think there was technically 2 but the dirt road had a fallen tree we couldn't get past pretty good ways down and not far from it there was a car halfway over the hill with a 2x4 through the windshield and what looked like a homeless camp over the hill with a big pile of trash and cloths next to the car... so don't go down the dirt road that goes right from the entrance, who knows what goes on down there lol. Not the campgrounds fault but still a little unsettling.... As for the campground I stayed at lot #58 Everything was done online through recreation.gov and I printed all my stuff off thinking I'd need to check in. I showed up and didn't know what to do. Luckily some people came by on a golf cart and they were nice and said I could just show up and set up. I had good access to the water for my kayak. No designated swimming area but we walked the trail and found a good place to swim and the water was really clear. Everything looked pretty clean. I didn't see any trash. Bathrooms were fairly clean. The shower areas had no place to put your stuff down anywhere though. A shelf higher up would have been great. I turned the shower on and it seemed to spray every square inch of the room with water. I was trying to keep my dry cloths and towels from getting wet. But the water was hot and it was pretty clean. Overall was a pretty good stay. I'd recommend it to friends and would probably stay again.

Jill M

Our first camping trip was a blast. Well kept campground and gorgeous lake. I do wish they had more showers open. Only 2 were available for use and for a place with 60+sites thats just not enough.

Steve J

I really love this campground. The lake is beautiful and the campground is also fantastic. The camp host is so nice and keeps the bathrooms and bathhouse super clean. It is out of the way from any store, about 13 miles away. No electricity, no water or sewer hook ups. It is so quiet and dark at night. The only negative thing I have with this campground is people bring in their tag a long campers and fifth wheels and then they start up their generators and there goes the peaceful atmosphere. They run them till 10 o’clock. So annoying. It is what it is, no hook ups. I have a fifth wheel but sometimes I like to rough it. Other than that I love it here and would give it 5 stars if not for the generators.

Lolly

This campground was recommended to me by someone who had stayed here a couple times and thought it was beautiful and picturesque, just like you would expect from a rustic campground. They only had one issue. I had the same issue. Too many people coming in campers running generators at all hours of the morning and night. If you cannot live without electricity then you should not be camping in a rustic campground. You need to be camping in a place that offers electricity. Coming to a primitive campground and running a generator is so obnoxious and completely ruins the entire point of going to a campground of that sort. So instead of enjoying the sounds of nature and the peace and quiet, you get to hear essentially a lawnmower running in your ear for hour after hour after hour. People had those things going at 6:30 and 7:00 in the morning. Go to a campsite that has electricity and leave the rustic and primitive campgrounds to those of us who can appreciate them. Leave them to those of us who are not connected at the hip with our TV, cell phone, etc. and can function without electricity for a weekend. There is a reason many primitive campgrounds have banned generators. I hope this one will do the same. I know quite a few people who would come to this campground but used to go to others because I don’t want the incessant yes puttering of generators to ruin the peace and quiet of their trip. You can see the view of our campsite. Imagine how lovely it would be to sit and look at in the peace and tranquility of nature. Sadly you can’t do that at this campground because all you can hear are generators.

Stacie Mounts

Campsites are not too close together and semi private. We camped in site 60 and had direct access to the lake to drop our kayaks in. Lake is gorgeous and the water is so clean and clear. Very clean bathrooms and private showers. Edited to add a photo of the campsite map. Sites 49, 51 and 60 are ideal sites if you want direct access to the lake with your boats or inflatables

Wesley Meade

This is one of our favorite campgrounds. We camp here at least 2-3 times per year, even in off season. The campsites are a good size with plenty of parking. The campsite hosts are great, they were very helpful and big a great job keeping the campgrounds clean. The bathrooms, showers, and boat ramp areas were kept very clean on each loop. We recommend Little Oak to anyone who enjoys family camping!!