Arrowhead Lake Campground

Most city campgrounds I've been to aren't even manned with personnel. You drop your money in a box or stop at city hall and that's it. This place has a down home feel to it, with a building that looks like an old country store or antique shop or restaurant...but isn't. It's just a place to check in, hang out and chat with the locals.

Although the sites are close together, no real privacy...at least most have a mature tree or two on them. There's a dozen sites on the lake, a dozen sites further back completely wooded/shaded. The rest of the 30 or so sites are right across the road, most with a view of the lake. It's not a big lake but it's not a pond either, roughly 2 miles of shoreline, with a 2.25 mile gravel trail going all the way around. Fish jumping...I saw a BIG one back in the more remote part. Lots of turtles sitting on logs, a couple dozen geese...the typical Canadian plus a few white ones plus a few others with mixed coloring...and a dozen or so ducks...ditto on the coloring. A great blue heron, on the shore, near the campers...let me walk right by him on the path, 15 feet away...and didn't fly away. And I saw a deer. No skunks, raccoons or opposums...and I walk my dogs late at night and early morning when it's dark and I have a flashlight. I'm sure they're there but over 4 nights, I didn't see any.

Only about 1000 feet of the 11,000+ foot shoreline has camping on it. The rest is woods, which is nice. Litter along the lake is minimal. One side has 3 or 4 lampposts that are lit up each night...even though you're not supposed to be on the path after dark. There are two, square, concrete basins on that same side, in the water, at the water level. I'm guessing that is for when there are massive rains, so that the lake doesn't overflow its banks. Instead it flows into those basins and down into the gully on the other side of the path. There's two boat/fishing docks, a boat ramp...electric motors only/no gas motors, bait sold at the gossip house, exercise stations at various places along the gravel path. And for an interesting change, an old cemetery across the street. Still used by plenty of us dying today but also plenty of old stones in there. Oldest I saw was a woman born in 1810. Of the newer ones, many above ground crypts and elaborate/unique headstones.

On the grounds itself are a couple of children's playgrounds donated and put together by volunteers, at least 6-8 pavilions possibly more. Clean, well-kept bathrooms. A small laundry room...2 washers, 2 dryers, cost me only $4.50 to do two loads. A park employee that walks around picking up trash. An elderly gentleman that collects cans from campers to recycle because he has limited income. Bird houses. Totem poles. A giant 'Community Chair' for photo ops. Bathrooms are locked overnight but they give you the code. PLENTY of large areas to walk your dogs.

Within walking distance is the towns outdoor amphitheater and pavilion and 4 baseball fields. Everything else is over a mile away. In fact, the Saturday I was here, I heard music the other side of the trees, so I walked my dog over there to see if there was some Halloween celebration...and kept walking and walking and walking, looking for it. I gave up walking and went back for my bike. Sound travels far here. Turns out the music was coming from the local high school football game a mile away. Johnston City Indians made the playoffs and the music was playing over the p.a. before the game started. Small town football here is just like Friday Night Lights. Parking lot full, streets full, junior high parking lot 2 blocks away full. Both bleachers full of people and many more standing or tailgating or 'camped' along the sidelines. More than half the town must have been there. I left after the first quarter, JCI winning 22-0.

And all of this for only $15 (62+ senior discount), $25 if you're not aged.

There was some noise, mostly rowdy 10 yr olds but it was Halloween weekend and sites are close together. The bathroom ceilings could use a paint job. Gnats all over the window sill in the laundry room. No campsite info. No brochures. No website. Wi-fi is spotty...sometimes good, sometimes nothing. They said they're working on upgrading both the wifi and website, hopefully done by January. The website they say is theirs tho, is currently for sale. Www.Arrowheadcampground.com
There's also something called The Storybook Project developed by someone in Vermont, on the trail. Literally, it's pages ripped out of a kids book, displayed under plexiglass, all along the trail. It's just dumb. No adult would read them and many are elevated too high for a child to even be able to read them. Some have been vandalized/removed. Waste of money. They'd do better to highlight the areas plants and animals.
But all those things are trivial. Not quite 5 stars because of them but better than 4 stars...so 4.5.
I'll be back next October and for a longer stay.

Reservations strongly recommended. This is a popular place. 55 spots, 51 of them taken when I pulled in...and it's the off season, end of October. With no website for info, no reviewers here mentioning reservations and getting voice mail when I called...with no one calling me back...I almost didn't get a site.

I uploaded about 52 pictures here.

Very well kept campground. The staff were super kind and helpful. The site itself has two small trees on it that do not provide much shade. Gravel pad, picnic table and fire ring. Need at least 25 foot hose to hook up water. Originally reserved f4 but our hose and electric cord was not long enough. Staff was very accommodating, even offering to loan us extensions. We chose to move to f6. This was to be a 2 day stop for us but ended up having to leave after day 1. Camp host refunded 1 day for us without our requesting. A lot of traffic, even at night, so a bit noisy. $15 per night with senior discount.

Stayed at Arrowhead Lake Campground Wed., Aug. 4, 2021. This campground is owned and maintained by Johnston City. The city certainly does a good job keeping it mowed, neat and clean. There are quite a few stationary RVs, but they are neat, as well. Their owners were helpful, too.

Billie, the manager, showed us to Site 8 and told us about the two-and-a-half mile path around the lake. All sites appeared to be gravel. After settling in and setting up the satellite antenna, our little dogs and I walked around the lake. The trail was heavily graveled and hard on little dog paws. Other than that, it was a beautiful walk. The small lake is a fishing/kayaking/ paddleboarding/wildlife viewing/picnicking center of the community.

Back at our campsite, our tow car's battery had run down. We had a charger, but no heavy duty extension cord. One of the stationary campers loaned us one overnight, and our problem was fixed. That's what I meant by helpful.

The next morning, we got ready to leave, returned the extension cord, unscrewed the coaxial cable from the antenna and drove away. Yes, we left the antenna behind.

On the next night, we were in a wooded state park, not friendly to antennas. The following day at an open site was when we found we'd left the antenna behind. I called Billie. It seemed like the entire city helped ship it back to us. We thank them all for their help. We now walk the site before we pull out.

We really enjoyed our time at Arrowhead lake campground!! The kids absolutely loved the swimming hole. They had fun activities planned on the weekend for people of all ages. (drumming cardio, crafts for the kids, etc)

There are lots of stationary rv's but everyone was extremely kind! Their "yards" were kept every neat, the park felt clean and well kept.

Had struggles connecting to our hotspots within the park but their campground wifi was actually REALLY good! We've never been able to stream from a campground wifi like this one.

Only draw back is it is close to train tracks.

Stopped for an overnight stay on the way home from Tennessee.
Found site on another camping web resource.
Got in around 5:30PM and were checked in by the nice staff
Got the Pull through site for $20 that included electric and water.
There is a dump site on the grounds, along with showers, bathrooms, and laundry.
Arrowhead Lake has a 2.25 mile trail that is nice enough to do on foot, bike, or even a motorized wheel chair.

Sites ares well spaced in a country setting gives that ‘camping’ feel. We only stayed overnight while traveling and found the host to be helpful and accommodating even with our late (9pm) arrival. P6 is an easy pull through that is close to level making for an easy setup/breakdown.

My only negative comment is that although the bath house smelled clean, it could use some updating.

We would definitely stay here again.

Spacious park with lots of sites well spaced out, set on a beautiful lake! Nice walking trail that goes around the lake, and lots of open field for the dogs to enjoy. We saw several deer in the distance, within view from our site. They also have sites with lake views. Electric and water for $25 a night, with a dump station available if you need one. (Ours was a pull-through) There is also a shower house but we didn’t use it. Just a couple miles from the main highway so it’s super convenient yet quiet (no highway traffic noise). Although our stay was short, it was very enjoyable and we would stay here again.