Day 207 – We departed the campground at 10:30 a.m. after getting fresh water and dumping. It was cloudy and 42 degrees. The drive was quite similar to what we’ve been seeing lately in TN and traffic was light. Reelfoot Lake State Park has two campgrounds, both on the Lake. The North Campground was the original site of the State Park, then when they opened the South Campground, they moved the Visitor’s Center, Park Offices, and most of the amenities down there to the newer site. We didn’t know which campground we wanted to stay at, and decided to check out the more-isolated North Campground first. If we didn’t like it, we’d stay at the larger, more popular South Campground.
122 miles
Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park – Happy Hollow Campground, 1825 Pilot Knob Road, Eva, TN 38333, (731) 584-6356, www.tnstateparks.com. Check-in 4 p.m.; check-out noon. This State Park borders Kentucky Lake & the Tennessee River. Gorgeous country, rolling hills, not far from the City of Camden, TN. Lake Front Campground had 13 campsites right on the Lake, no amenities, and sites not large enough for our RV. Happy Hollow Campground had 37 sites, some fairly small, some that could take RV’s our size or a little larger. Some sites were close to each other, some were more private. We chose site #23 and it was excellent. Electric and water hook-ups, there is a dump station on the premises, restrooms, a small playground, a Visitor’s Center, an Interpretive Center/Museum, day use area, primitive camping for groups, and very nice cabins. Reservations are accepted but not required. They were full on Easter weekend but almost empty the following week. We paid $21 per night with the senior discount. It was a good location for visiting the top two units of the TN NWR. We’d stay here again.
We arrived at the North Campground of Reelfoot Lake State Park at 1:30 p.m. (after stopping for gas, lunch in the RV, and a drive to look at the campsites). We chose site #11. It was 53 degrees & partly cloudy. Isolated was an understatement. There were 14 campsites that offered electric and water hook-ups. Only one site was taken and it just had a tent on it, no vehicle. There are also 8 or 9 primitive campsites without hook-ups; no one is camping there. Since we like peace and quiet, we decided to stay here rather than go look at the South Campground.
The sun came out and we took a glass of wine and a glass of beer outside for a relaxing time before it got too cold. There are lots of birds flying around, lots of trees beginning to green, and the Lake with its Cypress Trees is nearby. No people. The girls are happy, too.