En route from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to our home in Chicago, I had been driving long enough that I needed to pull over and get some sleep. I tried one campground, but they had gates across their entrance and did not answer their late check in call box. On the way back out to the main road, I passed a police officer and asked if he had a recommendation for a local campground. He said he really likes
Cummins Ferry Campground. I got the address off of Google and drove over to discover the same setup. Gated entrance, no way to check in for late arriving travelers. By this point I was exhausted to the point of tears. I was traveling with 2 children and there were no other campgrounds in the area, at least none that showed up via Siri or Google. At first I considered parking in a lot and opening the windows for air, but it was a very hot and muggy night and I couldn't fall asleep. I tried the campground again, hoping I had missed something about how to register as a late night arrival. In all my years of camping, I've never come across this situation. When I drove through again, I noticed they had grassy camp spots with electric posts outside the gate. Thank heaven!!! I plugged in, put the kids in their beds, and went to sleep. 3 hours later the woman who owns the place banged on my door and said I had parked in a non-RV spot. I woke up out of a deep sleep, terrified. I apologized, explained the situation, said I absolutely intended to pay and asked how much it was. She said $35, so I handed her my credit card. She said, "You'll have to come with me." I told her I was in my nightgown and have my two children with me. She said she'd wait for me to get dressed. Mind you, this is all happening with 3 hours of sleep.
After she had my credit card, she said, "You're going to have to pack up and leave right now." AFTER she intended to charge me for full hookups and a full stay. I asked her why. She said we had driven on her grass. (There isn't another option even for tent campers.) I said I was very sorry, but had limited options, that I would be happy to pay for a full site. She said she was going to charge us for the full night and we'd have to leave without what I had paid for.
At that point I tried again to explain that my intentions were honest and that I just wanted to do an after hours checkin as is very common with most campgrounds. -You arrive late, hookup, then register in the morning. She then relented and said she'd jumped the gun, nodding at our vintage Avion (similar to an Airstream) and said she'd gotten a lot of bad types in the area we camped in. In short, she thought our nearly mint vintage camper looked like trouble next to the $100k new RVs.
I was told I could stay until 11. So I slept for 3 hours, was woken up and dragged out of bed with a great deal of hostility for half an hour, then was allowed to sleep for 3 more hours, most of which I spent jumping at every sound and worrying that I wasn't getting enough sleep to drive safely. This does not a restful sleep make. Sure enough, at 10:45 she was banging on my door again to remind me to leave at 11.
In short, if you're headed here expecting welcoming hospitality, avoid like the plague. If you're on a road trip and needing an overnight stay, avoid like the plague. If you're traveling in a vintage camper (no matter how nice or cute), avoid like the plague.
I'm now at another campground about 2 hours north, paying to rest yet again so that I can drive safely. Such a hassle.
Like any good/vague tourist stop, it was not as good in person as it was in theory. It's about a 40 foot strip of road and we honestly didn't notice anything out of the ordinary with our movement or vehicle. That said, the scenery getting there was beautiful! Many photo-worthy moments.