Bandy Creek Campground has a total of 181 campsites and is located in the Tennessee portion of the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area. There are 96 sites with water & electric hookups, 49 tent-only sites and 2 group campsites (19 sites in one loop and 16 sites in the other).
The grounds are very kept, with spacious/level sites. Campsites can accommodate tents, trailers and RVs. Each site also has a table, lantern post, fire ring and grill. Food storage lockers are also provided. Cell services is fair in the area.
Amenities include drinking water, flush toilets, hot-water showers, trash collection and one dump station. There’s also an amphitheater, playground, visitor center, swimming pool, picnic/day-use areas, horse stables/facilities, historic sites and miles of mixed-used trails. Cell service is fair. Horses can be boarded overnight at the Bandy Creek Stables.
Keep in mind that the road into the campground, US 297, involves several 10 mph switchbacks approaching from the east (Oneida). Big rigs may want to come in from the west.
Outdoor recreation includes non-motorized boating, kayaking, canoeing, rafting, fishing, swimming, horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking, birding, backpacking, hunting, picnicking and wildlife viewing. Bandy Creek is also a great place for stargazing. It should soon receive a “dark sky certification”.
You might also like Big Ridge State Park.
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Terrible Experience! My husband and I went with a few couples from church and were treated terrible. Multiple park rangers harassed us the entire time about our cooler. One of us could see it at all times. We live close by so we are well aware to not leave food out etc because of the bears. We also saw 3 snakes during the visit. We didn’t make any noise, didn’t disturb anyone, didn’t leave any trash. We were only there to sit around and talk. Our group camps together all summer at many different campgrounds but this has been the worst and we will never be back.
My husband and I stayed here for one week. We were in section C. Bandy Creek Campground is remote, rustic and for the most part quiet through the week. The weekends tend to be busier and a lot more active when the pool is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The people that we encountered both fellow campers and park staff seemed fairy friendly and helpful. There was one camp host on duty while we stayed in the park. They seemed to be there simply for information purposes only. There was one person in a truck that went around every couple of days to collect trash from trash bins. The people who tent camped next to us left the day after we arrived. They left a trash bag on their site and pop bottles, toilet paper, wipes, candy wrappers and cigarette butts strewn all over the camp site. The park staff collected the trash bag but failed to clean up the strewn trash. We decided on day 6 to clean it up ourselves seeing as how the camp host, maintenance and rangers all seemed to ignore that it was there even though it was visible from the
road. Shower houses are decent. The camp store is small but offers the basics. It is a 25-30 minute ride to closest town. The visitor center is neat with a little shop inside with souvenirs. There are alot of hiking trails and beautiful scenery. Bug spray highly recommended. If you’re bringing an RV I highly recommend NOT taking the road in from Oneida. There are a lot of switchbacks and sharp inclines as well as rock walls jetting right out to the road. Overall this area is a great choice for getting out in the wilderness and having a quiet retreat away from it all.
Hi Mary,
Thanks for the great review on Bandy Creek Campground!