West Virginia and Kentucky also have resort state parks.Pipestem in southern WVA is one of the nicest,with the most amenities of any State Park we have ever been to.They both take reservations.
If you plan to arrive at the TN State park campgrounds mid week, prior to Friday, you will probably be able to get a site. If you get there on Friday or Fri., afternoon, mid summer, forget it.
All of the hill country camping sites around the TN, NC, SC, GA areas are very popular places on the weekend getaways.. I know all of our camping roads go through Gatlinburg TN area almost no matter where we are going hehe... We see auto plates from all over the place...
Our trick is to go setup starting on Wednesdays. Sundays and Mondays are like ghost towns after all the weekenders go home...
We like to always have this site handy for checking the camp grounds - has on-line links RV PARKS & CAMPGROUNDS
ALso be sure to type your campground name in google search but then select IMAGES when it opens up. You will get all of the avaialbe public photos of the camp ground all in the same place. Kind neat seeing all of the photos without searching and searching.
My Posts are IMHO based on my experiences - PM me Roy and Carolyn
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thanks RG, that is great info and I will be checking into WV and KY cause they are doable trips for me!
thanks car. I will be going during the week. luckily hubby has rotating shift so tues/wed are easy camping days for me.
RoyB thanks for that link! you are right about satellite images. they are wonderful. I do use them. I love being able to see what I am heading into and it does help alot.
Actually, TN State parks does offer reservations for 3 campgrounds now, Fall Creek and 2 in western TN.
BTW -- TN is going to a site-specific reservation system, but the process/progress has been slow.
I am also very interested in Roan Mountain quite a few others from Tims Ford to Cove Lake but I won't drive 3 - 4 hours without knowing for sure I have a site that will fit my needs.
Roan Mountain is supposed to have one of the best displays of blooming rhododendron in the country. I would enjoy seeing that.
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Thanks for starting this thread. I was unaware that TN state parks are first come, first serve, i.e. no ability to reserve a spot (much less a specific spot).
My inlaws live in Morristown and we've been to Panther Creek several times prior to owning a TT. We always have fun there. Now that we own a TT, I've thought about taking the camper when we visit them and staying at Pather Creek. But given that we live in Atlanta and there is no way to reserve a spot, I guess I can forget that plan unless I plan to make it a 5-day weekend trip.
So, do people really just park there TT at the campground on Wed to get their spot and leave it there and then show back up for the weekend?
I guess people are just playing by the rules that the state of TN has set up by default. Whether or not they are aware of it, it sure seems like the state of TN is trying hard to discourage campers from other states.
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