Cherokee Dam

Dates: 04/14/2012 - 04/16/2012
Campground: Cherokee Dam, Jefferson City, TN - Site 31

- Base Camp (size of site, foliage, privacy, etc...) This post may come with some positive bias as I grew up camping here as a kid. At only around 45 minutes away, it was a great weekend getaway. The sites have shrunk over the years as TVA added water and electricity hooks ups and more sites, but overall the sites are some of the largest on Cherokee lake. We had sufficient room for a tent, pop up, 2 cars, and a boat. The foliage is lacking a bit as many trees have been cut down to allow for easier camper access. The remaining trees are mostly pine and red cedar trees. Something to keep in mind when setting up your tent. The evergreen roots are soft, if you have to hammer a stake in, there is a chance you won't be able to get it back out. This was learned by experience. If you are a tent camper like myself, there are a handful of sites that simply will not accommodate a tent... unless you like sleeping somewhat inverted. Privacy is somewhat limited, but with a huge boat ramp nearby people watching here is great. You can watch everything from a tournament blast off in the morning to those poor first time boat owners who take an hour to launch. One more thing... you are not supposed to move firewood from county to county, but you will be hard pressed to gather enough wood here to make a smore. Be sure to stop somewhere on the way in to buy a few bundles.

- Campground rules (Nazi's to Trashy)
The rules here are limited, but enforced by the campground host. Mr. Bales and his family have been camping here for years, and he is a little less than friendly to us tent campers at times. I will get to this a bit more in the "Accommodations/Reservations" section, but this campground is in serious need of rule reform regarding long term campers.

- The hood (what kind of people camp here)
As I have eluded to, this campground has become very much an RV Park. You can expect few children and many people sitting in lawn chairs watching the sun rise over the lake. Often these tenants also have small well behaved dogs, so nothing to worry about safety wise.

- Sawyer Factor (what will your kids do)
The campground itself is lacking in kid friendly activities. There is plenty of room to walk and the beach area is great to swim at during the warm months. With a 10-15 minute walk however you can be in the Cherokee Dam day use area with a play ground. Expect it to be very busy on a summer Saturday however.

- Bathhouses
The bathouses here have been unchanged for years. They stay clean for the most part as most of the campers have bathrooms in their campers. They are cleaned daily, but bring your own hand soap and hand towels as neither will be there for you.

- No car attractions
In comparison to most TVA campgrounds this one has a reasonable amount of activities that don't require getting in the car. From your campsite you can walk on side walks nearly across the dam, a variety of trails, and even to the tail water area of the dam. The area provides a great bicycling route for those who prefer flat land riding. From the campground to the gate approximately halfway across the dam you can easily ride 2 miles without any hills.

- Area attractions
In this area the lake... is the attraction. This will become obvious on a summer Saturday. Recently the Holston River below Cherokee Dam has become a popular trout fishery. Particularly in the Buffalo Springs Wildlife Management Area. In general camping here will have you on this schedule: Wake up to see sunrise over the lake from your campsite, fish, eat breakfast, take a walk, fish, eat lunch, ride bicycles, fish the tailwater area, eat dinner, walk to see sunset from the dam, make a campfire, and watch fisherman navigate the cove in the dark. (new boat lighting has them looking more like spaceships at night)

- Fees
Fees here are $20/night. There are no other fees at the campground currently.

- Ownership
TVA owns the campground and surrounding land. Here is the TVA information, I recommend using this website to check the Dam release schedule to plan any activities involving the tailwater area.

- Accommodation/reservations.
Ok, this part of the post is where the negativity will not be held back. The campground does not accept reservations and there are limited number of sites that fall under the TVA 14 day rule. The campground opens in April and the large RVs show up soon after. None of the campers would tell me exactly how they keep their campers on the site all season, but judging by the kids play tents behind their huge campers... here is my hypothesis. Week 1-2 Honestly set up your camper under your name, Week 2-4 Register the tent under your name, Week 4-6 Register your camper in your wife's name, Week 6-8 Start over again. This system has effectively eliminated the weekend warrior such as myself from this public land. Many have complained, but TVA acknowledges they are an energy company not a hospitality company. I would love to see the campground leased to tent friendly ownership.

I have really fallen behind on writing... those reading with a kid will understand! I checked my analytics and am very surprised by the traffic. Hope to gather more audience!