David Crockett State Park Campground

This is a beautiful park and the staff and rangers are very friendly and helpful. However, many of the campsites are in need of some serious repairs and improvements. Campground # 1 is along the banks of Shoal Creek and the location is very serene. However, many campsites are extremely short and most hookups require extension cords and long water hoses. In the summer power drops are frequent as the old electrical system cannot handle the demand. Campground # 2 is located farther into the park and is in generally better shape with much deeper campsites and more user friendly hookups. It is located in the woods and the shade provides relief from the summer sun. They have recently begun some renovations but it may be some time before they are completed.

Pulled in around 5pm on a Friday afternoon to Site 88 in Campground 2. The park office had just closed so we continued on to our site. With plenty of light left in the day, we didn't have any trouble finding our spot. Our site was described as a level site, but I would say that was definitely not the case. The pad was fairly narrow with drops on either side, and we had our old jackstands as high as they could go to get mostly level. Couldn't quite get all the way level because our front lift wouldn't go down any further.

Some negatives:
- No metal fire pits with grilles - just cobbled together rock fire rings
- Only 30 amp in the breaker boxes - no option to plug in outdoor lights (for us)
- The area was mostly gravel, which is kind of not great for the kids
- The visitor's center is closed in the winter except for certain hours
- TWO other campers decided to watch Moana at full volume on their outside tvs. At least they shut it down by 10.

But also, some good:
- The circle drive was great for the kids to ride bikes around. I could almost see them for the whole loop
- Nice little playground in the campground with a really nice pavilion and fireplace next to it
- Fantastic hikes by the river
- Cool injured birds and owls near the visitor's center
- They had Jon Boat and Paddle Boat rentals at the lake, which the kids enjoyed
- Bathrooms were nice, but not updated - fans and heaters worked and the showers looked fine

I really like the setting, next to a river. Hiking trails are great. There is a lake and cabins as well as a basketball court, picnic area and playground equipment. There are two campground. Number two is being worked on and won't open until end of May 2018.

Campground one has really short sites, making it so people put their rigs in the site and there is no place for cars and trucks. So they are parked along the one lane road. It's crowded! They don't have sewer so I didn't take a shower in the rig. Their shower facilities are fine. But my biggest complaint is the constant powered surges (5-8 a day). I have a surge protector so I was fine but it was terribly annoying to get woken up in middle of the night when power goes on and microwave beeps.

Overall, my impression of David Crockett Park was a solid "fine".

We had a GREAT site (#25) by the creek and it was as private as those sites get. We only had one neighbor but they were on a direct line of sight so I always felt like people were around. The creek was really nice, and we heard or saw owls every night.

The other campground (campground #2) is not near the creek but rather back in the woods. It looked like all those site had recently been upgraded with concrete pads and amenities, and were much more private. I would probably stay at one of those sites if I went back.

David Crockett Park is fairly small and does not have an extensive series of hiking trails, though there is a really nice trail that runs along the creek. There is a decent lake that it good of kayaking. We didn't catch any fish but saw a ton of turtles and an otter came up within about 10' of our kayaks.

Quality of the campsites vary considerably. Pick the right one and it is a nice place to stay. In campground #1, the premium sites near the creek are worth the extra cost. I would choose site #22 or #23 next time. Avoid 1,2,and 3. Camp hosts are great. Showers are fairly new and worked well. Lots of young families and kids and bikes during the day but everything quieted down at night. Hookups worked fine but I did notice a couple of sites that would require rediculously long power cord extensions and water hoses. Best hike was 2.5 miles along an original section of the Trail of Tears.

We had lots of fun riding bikes, fishing, & enjoying being outside.

We stayed campground 1, site 20 which has a level, concrete pad (we didn't have to do anything at all and the trailer was perfectly level). Some other sites aren't level - this is noted on the site description when you make your reservation. Site 20 backs on a nice little creek. The partial (electric and water) hookups were oddly placed but usable.

There were lots of families and children riding bikes. Lots of happy child noises, which I like; your mileage may vary.

Although the park website and brochure mention that there are dumpsites at each campground they don't appear on the maps anywhere. The dumpsite for campground 1 is by the bathroom so you'll need to exit the campground putting the bathroom on your left if you want to dump (there are a couple of possibilities for getting to the campground exit).

There is also apparently a lake up the road in the park but since we were just stopping for the night we didn't investigate

We stayed here for 5 nights. This is a quiet state park with decent cell service so we could work online when needed. We enjoyed the many well marked hiking trails. And most importantly for our boys the playgrounds are open during Covid and are in good condition. The main road and parking lots were just repaved (we watched them paint the lines!). No trouble getting in and around with a 37’ travel trailer. Plus they let you go straight to your site and call to check in which is awesome because the winding road behind the check in office would be tough for a long trailer.

We came for our first visit as a quick getaway during election week. This little park has a lot going for it. We were in Campground 2 which was remodeled a couple of years ago and is up on a small ridge about halfway into the park. Our site was spacious, clean and dead level on asphalt. 30/50 amp service, nice bathhouse with individual shower rooms. Despite the pandemic shutdown you could still learn a lot by walking the park trails. We walked most of them in our 4 days. The park roads are recently re-paved and very nice. The restaurant is open only limited days in the off season but we had a nice lunch and they had outdoor seating. We toured Campground 1 and found it to be nice but sites there were variable so choose carefully. Many were short and unleveled and service was on the wrong side at every other pedestal. We will try this one next time with our grands as it is right on Shoal creek and kids can safely play in the water. Overall very nice park and worth a visit.

This campground is a great one. While we were there the two nights (on our loop), there were only two other campers besides us. The campground was so clean and that includes bath houses. The dump facilities are easy to maneuver. Because there were so few people at the campground while we were there, it was very, very quiet. Just beware, Verizon service in our specific site was very low.