Marion County Park Campground

$20 a night for a rv site. We were right by the water. Lovely and peaceful. Not much shade in the site we were at (others not on the lake have trees). There is a playground up the top of the hill as well as a bathhouse. Also a bathhouse near the lake.

For check in there is an office (little wood hut) being built at the entrance. If there is noone there call the mobile number listed on this listing. There were no signs when we arrived and very confusing trying to figure it out. Eventually figured out we had to call the number and they came down and met us at the office. Staff are friendly.

There is fishing and boating opportunities at the lake. Around 25mins to Chattanooga.

The campground is nice with a mixture of shaded and sunny spots. They are rather steep in some instances. They’re fairly close together but mostly on the water so you can launch your kayak right from your site. It sits on a bay off the Tennessee river so it’s protected and easy to kayak. There is a boat ramp, a pavilion and a stage. The bathhouses are nice. The downside is the highway is right across the bay so the traffic noise is quite loud. I would stay there again though.

We pulled in last minute with no reservations prior. We have a 40’ 5th wheel and the pull through spot near the lake worked fine for the quick stopover. Gravel sites. Uneven but not even worth unhitching the truck so we dealt with a little lean. The registration office was the home of on-site Park rangers? Not sure. Boat trailer for lake access. I feel like I would visit again if I had a boat or wanted to do some fishing. Perfect for a night stop on the way to somewhere else, especially for the price.

Our waterfront site was sort of level, had nice water views, and we were not particularly bothered by the noise from I-24 even though it was persistent. Proximity to Chattanooga, northeast Alabama and northwest Georgia makes this campground convenient for visiting several locations. Lookout Mountain is about half an hour away. But there are not groceries, etc. in very close proximity. There definitely seem to be several long-term residents -- our neighbor had multiple vehicles, a golf cart, and a lawnmower (!) on their site. We did not use the bathhouse.

Arrival was OK, except that the signage for the office is lacking. There are 5 roads leading from the main entrance. The two on the left lead to the camping loop, the middle leads to the boat ramp, the fourth leads to the office and the far right heads to a different part of the park. We went down to the boat ramp and looped back in front of the office, which worked well because we then were headed the correct direction to enter the camping loop after checking in.

We received a discount on the normal price of $20 because water was out at our site (discount volunteered by the park management, not requested by us). Our gravel site also had a fire ring, picnic table, and a few trash cans. There was a slope off the main campground loop but the site itself was fairly level front to back. The campground loop road has several potholes and was not in the best shape. Access to I-24 was very easy from the campground.

The views are amazing! I would even go so far as to say it’s a hidden gem in those regards, but at the door of our camper, it looks like someone smoked an entire case of cigarettes and left every butt there. The office area looks more like a rundown trailer park. But, I will say that the staff is very friendly and I would definitely stay here again for these views! Other than the highway that’s a few hundred yards away, it’s very quiet. We definitely felt safe and our kids loved it! The lots seem fairly level also. Oh, and it has a dump station, not full hookup and it is definitely not a place for much more than a 40’ rig.

This was just an overnight stay, but we stayed two nights only because of the trip there (see our blog). Here are our reasons for the low rating, which was good for the price:
-For a motor home, the sites were not level.
-We constantly were picking up trash as we walked around.
-When we took our trash to the receptacle, we were accosted by another campers dog, not on a leash.
-The road noise, which we new going in. We couldn't hear it in our motor home, but we sat outside and that's when it was a bit annoying.
-The bathrooms and showers in our area were closed. They did have port-a-potties there. We didn't need showers since we are self contained but that showed the park needed some maintenance.
-When we were leaving, we had to go to the "dump station" so it was a drive around the park. The county truck picking up the trash, using prisoners, did not yield to us as we were on the one way road.
-The on-site managers are a young couple with small children and we are sure they are doing a good job. They were always very helpful when we called, but the check-in was a bit awkward as the mom had to leave her children inside, while we were on the porch.

To make it better? Well, it is a county park so we are sure the funds are limited. But the sites could be improved and a better trash system. Just trash cans which seem to be hard for the trash to stay inside.....

The best thing was being on the water! It really was beautiful!