Chilhowee Recreation Area Campground

I stayed in site A12 and used my America the Beautiful pass for a discount. The website showed most sites were taken and the sign at the entrance said there was "no vacancy" for RV with electric sites. However, I only ever saw about 3 other sites occupied, I'm not sure why that was the case. I did go at the end of the season.

I did not use the bathhouse, but I checked it out and it was moderately clean and the showers were warm.

There is electric only, no water or sewer. There are potable water spigots scattered throughout. There was a camp host for the A/B loops that I never saw and I think he left during my stay. His site was covered in trash. I saw the campground hosts in the C/D loops and they were very friendly and their site was clean and neat.

This is a great area for access to the Ocoee river if you plan to do whitewater rafting. It was after the end of the season for that, so no water in the Ocoee :(

The road up the mountain is 7.5 miles long, with a few overlook areas that offer great views of Parksville Lake and nearby Sugarloaf Mountain. Be sure to stop and take pictures!

I did hike the roughly 4 mile round-trip trail to Benton Falls, it was nice, although the water levels were very low and not a lot of water was going over the falls.

There are no stores or places for resupply in this area, so make sure you bring along all you need. I got 1 bar of AT&T LTE and with my cell booster, was getting 3-4 bars.

This place is waaay up the mountain and in the wilderness. Once you are here you don't leave. They have a nice lake for swimming and a beautiful waterfall. Olympic whitewater center is close by and whitewater rafting during the season. The sites in Loop E are better. The best site was 50. Very private. The weather is very cool in the summer because of the elevation. The sites don't have water so make sure you fill up before you get to your site.

Spacious sites with electricity in loops A&B. Small lake with fishing and a beach quarter mile from campground. Hike to Benton Falls took 2.25 hours round trip. Last 100 yards very steep and rocky. Camp Hostess, Glenda, best we have ever seen being gracious and accommodating. Only cell service was Verizon.
7 mile paved road in going up the mountain with several good viewpoints.

What a beautiful place. Couple of things to know. Place not so good for big rigs. Little tight and steep getting here. Once you get off the main road, it is a 20 minute drive uphill to the hilltop. Far from groceries so plan ahead. No water at your campsite. Again, plan ahead. Lovely , short, easy trails around that allow biking as well as hiking. Was getting over 20 megabits per second download, Verizon. Beautiful fireflies in late June. Great place.

We stayed in E Loop (E54). Amenities include a picnic table, lantern stand fire ring with grill. The water faucets are not at each site but we had one very close. There are bear boxes for garbage as this is black bear country but we did not see any. We hiked to Benton Falls which is a lovely waterfall. (pictures posted). There is also a lake with a beach where you can swim. There is no T-Mobile cell service at all. Make sure you bring everything you need as you are on a mountain away from everything. The bathroom was old but did have a warm shower. Only 1 shower stall and you have to hold the button down to take a shower.

I stayed in the A loop over the 4th of July. Clean bathhouse and the mountain bike trails are great. So was the little lake and beach to take a quick dip during the 90 degree humidity in July! I will definitely go back.

Lastly, I had 3-4 steady LTE bars of Verizon at my site allowing me to get some work done. I know, supposed to be vacationing...couldn’t be helped this time. Posting for info. For those that may require a cell signal to work remotely.

Lake McKamy, which is the swimming area at the campground has been a lifelong favorite place of mine. I am a local and live about 30 minutes away and visit these mountains often. My kids love the beach that is sandy with a good sand base in the lake (none of that TN mud squishing up between your toes.) This is the first time I've stayed in the campground and you CAN NOT beat it for the price and beauty. I highly recommend Loop A (I'm posting a more detailed link for my youtube review to check out) but DO NOT stay in A2, I almost did this and was told A9-11 are the best and they were. B loop is a little more secluded as you have a little overgrowth between most of the sites there. Definitely stay out of C loop with an RV. The angles are even backwards on some of those sites to back in.

Link for campground review- https://youtu.be/dPtgAHbm7uE

Link for day hike to Benton Falls - https://youtu.be/sT7nx0s3Tvk

Beautiful secluded area with a 7acre lake, a waterfall and miles of bike/hiking trails right at your back door. Large, well layed out sites with some vegetation between sites for privacy. Sites are $12 no power and $20 with power. Water hydrants are throughout campground for filling your tanks. Nice,clean full bathrooms with warm showers. Really nice overlooks on the way up the mountain. Checkout the Mennonite market in Delano just north of Benton. Lots of water sports within 10 miles. We did have Att service on the main road before going down to the campground.