Rock Creek Campground (TN)

I have stayed at Rock Creek many, many, times. It is kept very clean, and I appreciate the rangers coming in to check in on assigned campsites, and make sure campers are where they are supposed to be. It is a very small campground, so no RV's, but if you like to rough tent camp, or car camp, it is perfect. The only complaint I've ever thought of, is since there are trailheads and hikers, and parking spots for them, sometimes locals will park in the parking spaces and swim off the side of the river that should be for campers only. There is public access directly across, so I'm not trying to own the river. In years past, Noisy ATV's going up and down the road bothered me, but I see ranger presence much more often now, so that is great!

I would definitely stay here again. Small campground across the water from the Nemo Bridge. I stayed in site 1. 1 is secluded from the rest of the campground and has lots of space. The other sites are close together but nobody else was in the campground during my stay (late March). There is a train nearby that woke me up at night once and it's a popular area for side by sides which also woke me up once.

Great campsite on a full moon night!

Secluded and peaceful next to the river. Met some nice people who were camping next to us. Always like going back to Rock Creek.

The hiking trails in this area are fantastic, toilets are always clean, and the river is gorgeous first thing in the morning. You'll need to bring your own water since there is none that is potable here. Condensation is also a concern here, so bring a shelter with decent ventilation.

The campground was clean, the sites are spacious. Lovely having firepits/BBQ grill there and clean toilets. It was extra nice having it completely to ourselves. And what a gorgeous view to wake up.

Absolutely loved this quaint spot! Campsites 9-11 are hard to find given there isn't a sign, but happened to be the best if you don't mind walking 50 feet to your site!

The campground features were excellent, clean, organized and wonderfully secluded on a Sunday night and Monday morning. Our favorite feature was the river sounds of water rapidly flowing and splashing over rapids all night long, as our site was the closest to the river. But, to our negative surprise, starting around 7 pm and continuing every 30 minutes or so until well after 10 pm, was the far sound of a train rumbling on its tracks and blowing its extremely loud warning horn over and over for 30 seconds at a time, which completely disrupted our idealic natural remote wildnerness camping experience and ruined the beautiful sounds of nature and silence that we drove 1.5 hours to find. This is why I gave this camground a 4 Stars rating.

This campground is basic as described. It offers a pleasant natural rural setting along the banks of the Emory River in the Cumberland Plateau of East Tennessee.

NPS needs to clearly define if this area is first come first serve, or should honor assigned spots. The reservation only says "ranger will not be present to assign spots." This led to confusion. A bunch of city slicks took my spot because they did not like theirs, and because of that statement, the ranger could not make them move. Unfortunately, it caused us to take someone else's spot. The people who had our spot got upset. It took the entire area to sort themselves out to avoid fights. Other than that, the campground is great. It's right next to the river and Cumberland Trail. It was way quieter than state park campgrounds.