Les Izmore
Junior Ranger
This is a Corps of Engineers campground on the shores of J. Percy Priest Lake, located southeast of Nashville. Pricewise, the private campgrounds in the area (most are $50-$65 per night) are WAY more expensive, so it makes sense to stay here. We generally like COE campgrounds for their low cost, access to water and the ability to reserve online without a reservation fee. But a lot of COE campgrounds are poorly laid out, at least from the perspective of non-self contained RVs, like our Camp Inns.
The campground (with around 90 campsites) is laid out at the base of one of the knobs, with the sites with power encircling the knob. Then there is a cul de sac in the middle with primitive sites. At one end is the shower house, and near the other end is a bathroom. That's it. None on the main loop!
We actually stayed here for free. Someone had paid, but had to leave early, so he asked the volunteers at the registration shack to give it to someone else. That happened to be us. We looked at the campground map and thought to ourselves - "Heck, it is right across from the shower house. Sweet!" Only there was a very long, steep bush whack of a climb through dense brush between us and the shower house. So we looked at the map again, seeing a path to the bathroom to the north. So I went exploring with the dog. We found a very steep gravel path to the bathroom, probably too steep to navigate at night in the heavy rain that we were having.
So, there are perhaps a handful of powered sites within a half mile hike of the shower house. The only sites that are located conveniently to either bathroom are the primitive sites. Since it was free we can't complain. And since we only stayed one night it wasn't that much of an inconvenience. But of the many poorly designed COE campgrounds that we've stayed at, this one is hands down the worst in terms of bathroom placement (the #1 flaw at many COE campgrounds).
The campground (with around 90 campsites) is laid out at the base of one of the knobs, with the sites with power encircling the knob. Then there is a cul de sac in the middle with primitive sites. At one end is the shower house, and near the other end is a bathroom. That's it. None on the main loop!
We actually stayed here for free. Someone had paid, but had to leave early, so he asked the volunteers at the registration shack to give it to someone else. That happened to be us. We looked at the campground map and thought to ourselves - "Heck, it is right across from the shower house. Sweet!" Only there was a very long, steep bush whack of a climb through dense brush between us and the shower house. So we looked at the map again, seeing a path to the bathroom to the north. So I went exploring with the dog. We found a very steep gravel path to the bathroom, probably too steep to navigate at night in the heavy rain that we were having.
So, there are perhaps a handful of powered sites within a half mile hike of the shower house. The only sites that are located conveniently to either bathroom are the primitive sites. Since it was free we can't complain. And since we only stayed one night it wasn't that much of an inconvenience. But of the many poorly designed COE campgrounds that we've stayed at, this one is hands down the worst in terms of bathroom placement (the #1 flaw at many COE campgrounds).
Last edited: