Bandy Creek

Nice pool, clean restroom,good trials, good road ,and a few copper heads.Good staff , nice info center, good horse barns ,and over 20 miles of horse trails. Also the chance to see a rattler or two!!

This was a well spaced-out campground with several loops. There was a tent only camp area (Loop A) with no hookups and then three loops (B, C & D) with hookups for electric and water. We stayed in Loop C at site C22 which was a great site that looked like it had a new power pedestal recently installed. Each loop seemed to have their own dedicated bathhouse and the one entering Loop D was handicap accessible. C22 was a great site for privacy but also right up against the forest; bugs may be an issue at some times of the year but didn’t bother us in late May. There was enough space for our 30-foot travel trailer and I parked my truck in front of the trailer but off at an angle. Bathhouse was very clean and there was a dish cleaning sink as well as a filtered water bottle refill station outside.
Cell coverage for Verizon was almost non-existent but the visitor center and education center had excellent Wi-Fi. The camp store also claimed to have Wi-Fi but I did not try it out. Camp store had firewood, ice and a limited selection of overpriced food/drinks but their hours were limited. Our built-in over the air TV antenna picked up about 4 channels and one was from Knoxville. Dump station was easily accessible as well as most of the sites from the newly paved roads.
There are two ways to enter this park, one from the east (Oneida) and one from the west (Jamestown). If you don’t like 13% grades and switchbacks, I recommend coming in from the west side (Jamestown). Nearby amenities are about 30 minutes from the campground if you need supplies so plan your trip accordingly. Oneida does not sell beer on Sunday but if you go to South Fork Tack you will find a nice selection of brews.

Campgrounds where amazing, check in was hassle free, beautiful area, water and electric a plus, no sewer a bummer so more than a few days gets sketchy

Spacious campground with nice clean bathhouses.

Very clean campsite and bathroom. Most of tent sites secluded

Good campsite - clean restrooms - good swimming pool. But, don't expect camp store and swimming pool during the week. They are Fri - Sun.

Very nice and clean. Very relaxing

Good site. Pool days and hours are not good!

Our drive through RV spot was awesome and close to nice/clean showers and bathrooms. Gotta say that Big South Fork has the cleanest facilities we’ve been to in all of NPS. Overall, campground was full, but didn’t feel crowded at all. Ranger Jordan was very helpful and friendly. We hung out at the river all day near Blue Heron and loved every minute. Great field near the visitor center for stargazing.

Great campground, and we overall enjoyed our stay. A few things that would have made it better: was disappointing that the pool is only open on Friday, Sat, and Sunday, does not say that anywhere on the website. Camp Store had sign posted that it was also open only on Fri, Sat, and Sunday, however never opened on Friday at all. It was also frustrating that there was no staff on hand to answer questions on-site about vacant sites and availability. The Host during our stay was very nice and helpful, however he does not have access to reservations. Had to call Recreation.gov to talk to someone at Cust Service about other open sites. The Cust Service rep was very nice and very helpful once I was able to connect to someone. Had to wait on hold for 10-15 minutes before I got the very helpful rep on the line. My problem was that I was booked for Site 39, a pull-through site. That would have normally been fine, however Site 39 and Site 40 share the same pull-through. Had I set up on #39, and then someone pulled into #40, I would have been blocked in. Just a terrible designed pull-through site, should only be one site instead of two.
The good stuff is that overall, and barring the issues above, this is a great campground in a great area. Close access to tons of great hiking in the Big South National River and Recreation Area, with some trailheads that actually are located at the campground. Restrooms kept very clean. Bear-proof garbage bins located all through the campground, as well as food storage bins located at each site. Most, if not all sites, are shaded and well-kept. Very family-friendly campground (with the exception of the limited hours for the pool)
One other thing, it is best to arrive from the west through Jamestown. Coming from the east through Oneida not advised, with steep (13 degree) climbs and very tight switchbacks to negotiate.
We will go back, especially when we plan our next hiking adventures!
W