Dennis Cove Campground

Very nice campground with large tent pad, a fire ring and picnic table. Site was nicely shaded and had plenty of kindling and firewood for a fire. We stayed one night and enjoyed Watuga lake before camping. Then drove to Grandfather mountain the next day.

Dale the camp host was extremely helpful and friendly. The best camp host I've met out of many.

We loved Dale, the host. I mean seriously, he welcomed us, let us moved to a different site we preferred, since there was a cancellation, warned us to be careful about swimming in a certain (Twins, I think) waterfall because it's dangerous; he rakes the empty sites every day like a Zen rock garden. Apparently, when a snake was threatening a women's dog, he fended it off and grabbed it behind the head (does not kill snakes, releases them way up some mountain road). The guys was Appalachia personified--in the best way.

We absolutely loved our anniversary get away here! I could not recommend Dennis Cove enough and we are planning on coming back on our way out to North Carolina in the future.
When you arrive there's plenty of trees that dampen out the exact sounds of conversation or music around you, and you have a nice flattened area to camp on. It's got very thin gravel over dirt and has a picnic table and fire pit, there's plenty of room for a tent (or multiple if you're camping with friends or kids) and your vehicle. We didn't have to worry about firewood because the camp host brought us multiple piles. The fellow campers were all very friendly, and the camp host was a great guy who gave us recommendations along with telling us great stories about his times on the mountains. Also this campground has filtered water and bathrooms with flushing toilets that were kept very clean.
Things nearby that we enjoyed were going to Watauga Lake which is just down the mountain, Unaka Mountain Overlook which was about an hour away but has beautiful views. Right next to the campground is a trail that we didn't see until we were leaving for Coon Den Falls which we will have to walk to on our next visit because the pictures are amazing. There are more trailheads spread out right in that area and the recreation area has a trail down to the creek/river which is a great spot for lounging and reading or fishing. I will warn that fishing licenses are $40 for three days for one person, so if you plan on fishing remember to check how much it's going to cost you.
10/10 We loved it! Thank you to everyone who works on this campground for making this trip one of the best we've had!

Camp host was very friendly and helpful. Site was nice and well kept. Area is great.

Not a large campground so it seem more intimate. Far from the main roads so not overused. Good funky place to get some food and a beer down the road. Close to good hiking.

This is a great campground. It's very quiet and near the AT for some great hiking.

I booked last minute so I got one of the only spots along the road. It was summer and there was a fair amount of daytime traffic. The campsite was clean and convenient to hiking on the AT. The sites away from the road are the best, but overall I love the campground because it’s small and close to the places I like.

Overall, we enjoyed the campground and the area. There is a big pretty creek that runs through it and our kids really enjoyed playing in that. There are several hikes not far from the campground (e.g. Laurel Falls) that were beautiful, easily manageable for our small children (but not too "easy"), and really enjoyable. We were in the first campsite on the left upon entering the campground, and it was up a bit of a hill so required some hiking back and forth to unpack the car, but very big and secluded and we liked it (despite a bit of road noise). I'm only rating it 3 stars for a few reasons:
1. The camp host was nowhere to be found (apparently had gone away for the weekend? this was labor day weekend! probably one of the busiest for the campground, so we didn't understand why no host), and despite having reserved online, had not put a reserved sign on our spot. As a result, someone was in our spot when we arrived. Thankfully they left without a fuss when we explained, but we weren't the only ones in this situation (many reserved spots "unreserved", and there was no one to call if we had needed more assistance. When you reserve online, you want to feel secure that your spot will be there for you, and that's the responsibility of the host.
2. There was no firewood, and the closest town is about 15 min drive over a very steep and curvy road. Not sure if it was due to lack of camp host? We didn't bring our own wood, being cognizant of the fact that most campgrounds prefer you not do that. There were a few pieces of wet wood at the abandoned host station but we had to wake up very early in the morning and make the drive to town to find wood the next day. We also weren't the only ones in that situation.
3. There is only one bathroom/toilet per gender. So two toilets/sinks total in the whole campground. At peak times (morning and evening) there was sometimes a wait. It was fine for us, but be aware that it's a little more "rustic" than most campgrounds.