Santeetlah Lake

Very heavily used sites at a fantastic location. nothing beats camping on the water but every site I saw was pretty trashed, although I did camp around Christmas/New Years. Very easy access most spots any vehicle can find a way to fit along the road. campsites are very close to the road so that could be a positive or negative depending on what you're looking for. Great location right on the water. Can see and hear houses along the lake but noise gets a 4/5 because i didn't even hear any fireworks on New Years Eve, was pretty crazy! some service here and there but not much.

This spot is prime time pals, go on and get yourself there. We stayed at site P10 and it was perfect for our 25ft motorhome. There are 3 great sites for an RV: P9,P10,P11. There are more RV accessible sites down pine ridge road but you have to park on the shoulder and walk a short distance to the tent pad, fire pit, and picnic table. There is cell service and also vault toilets near site P9. All sites are along pine ridge road off of thunderbird mountain road. We came here from the south which was fine, lots of curves but we found it doable and not bad. BUT watch out if coming from Knoxville US129 is the tail of the dragon 300 curves in 11 miles no turn off, do your research and avoid this road. The bathroom is right when you turn into pine ridge road in a little beige building. There’s a marina that rents boats nearby but only open in the summer. Convenient to ingles about 10 mins away.

We have camped here twice in 2021. First during the spring. To view the wild flowers. April 12th through 18th. We stayed at Campsite P4. The second during the Fall. To view the Fall Foliage. October 18th through 24th. We stayed in Campsite P1. In April there was trash around the Campsite. These campsites are open all year round but do not get the attention by the volunteers during the winter months. I personally filled four full 30 gallon trash bags of of trash from the site in 7 days. We need to do our best to leave no trace. If you had room to pack it in pack it out. This is a privilege to camp on our Federal Lands. A privilege we can loose if we do not respect the land. In October I only filled one bag of trash it was not full. You can tell the volunteers do a much better job during the peak seasons. One note there is a County trash disposal area with dumpsters off of US 129. It is your first left hand turn after you cross the bridge as you head south to Robbinsville estimated at less than a mile from Campsite P1. The Lakeside views from these Campsites are spectacular. The road noise in the Spring was loader then the road noise in the Fall. The sites are all first come first serve. Each site has a fire ring a grill and picnic table. A vault pit toilet is located near Campsite P9. You can stay a maximum of 14 days which is monitored by the Forest Service.

Most sites are best for tents, you park near the road and walk a bit down to your site. There are 3 sites that fit trailers/RV’s. They are large and can easily accommodate 2 rigs. Sites are right on the water, ours had a little beach area which was perfect for swimming and tubing. There is lots of space between campers, phone service, a pit toilet and it’s free! Our the best free site I’ve ever found.

Ended up here kind of accidentally but once we got there it was the best. Our campsite had direct access to the lake and we even went swimming. There was an area to pitch a tent as well as a fire pit and picnic table. There are bathrooms available in the first turnoff for the campsite (just a hole but better than nothing). The views of the lake were so beautiful that I would recommend this campsite to absolutely anyone. 10/10 recommend.

Beautiful and peaceful spot right on the lake. The spots are pretty spread out, you can’t see your neighbors at all. Park right off the road and walk 10 yards down the hill to a huge camping area with a tent pad, picnic table, and fire pit. Miraculously this place has some okay cell service on ATT and Verizon. The only negative is the trash. There is lots of trash in the woods and no trash cans. Please pack it out! We enjoyed 3 lovely nights here.

Really loved our experience at this site! There was a little trash in the fire pit (which we picked up before we left) but other than that, super clean and pristine. Great views, gravel site (which was nice when it rained) and stayed in our CamperVan conversion. Got a decent signal and cloud coverage for our solar panels, very quiet and peaceful all around. About every other site was occupied and the people we saw were all kind. There’s a bathroom at one of the sites (about a 10 min walk from our site). About 10 min drive from Robbinsville, where we were able to refill our water for free at the gas station and locals have us recommendations on their favorites (it’s a REALLY small town so everyone knows everyone and they knew we were visiting immediately). Get T Dubbs while you’re in the area! Highly recommend and WILL be back!!

Awesome private spots along Santeetlah Lake, only 1.2 hour drive from Smoky Natl Park.
Only about 10 spots I saw (15 max.) I camped here the last week of October. On the weekdays I had no problem grabbing a site near sunset. BUT on the weekends plan to arrive early! I was fortunate to snag the last site around 1-2 pm on a Friday.
Each site has its own picnic table, fire pit, and leveled out perimeter for tents.
Lots of trees, providing Lots of privacy! Some of these sites connect to the lake, which is pretty neat. One has a large creek, which gave me great water supply for my portable shower bag.

Whitewater kayaking put in and put out less than 20 minutes from this site.
Recreational kayaking put in only a 5 min drive at Cheoah boat ramp. Absolutely beautiful lake, some of the best paddling done. Many boat ramps within the area of Robbinsville. Like I am talking every 15-20 min driving around I saw a formally built launch sites.
Sections of the Appalachian Trail less than 25 min away.

I didn't get any cellular reception here (I have sprint), but maybe others have better luck.
Oh! And I didn't have to drive on long dirt roads to get to this campsite. It's all linked through a well maintained asphalt road, making access quite easy. Car traffic dies down at night, so no worries about the noise. The only occasional pests are the mosquitoes, and if you have dogs, the ticks. (I've been using the natural sprays for my dog, and they work great.)

When you turn off Hwy 129 for the Cheoah Point State Park. About a mile after the turn off there is a marina on your left. There is a small paved road that goes off to the left next to the marina. Once you make the turn, there is a turn off to the right that takes you down a small dirt road to three spots. The porta john is located at the corner of the turn-off. The spot at the end of the road is large enough for 30 ft to turn around. This spot is on the water with an amazing view. There is a spot on the left and right that will accommodate a smaller RV. There are additionals sites further up the paved road that is for tents only as you park on the side of the road and walk down to the site that is on the water The road gets very little traffic. You will hear noise from Hwy 129