Overview Rock Creek Recreation Area is named for the small creek that runs alongside this recreation site. The facilities, creek-fed concrete pond and bathhouse were originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the early 1930s. It is located just outside the town of Erwin, TN at an elevation of 2,300 feet - a welcome respite from the summer heat.Recreation Hike on one (or all) of the trails adjacent to Rock Creek Recreation Area. Visitors can enjoy cooling off in the creek-fed concrete pond. Younger children can enjoy the playground located in the day use area of the recreation area. Campground programs are offered every Friday night in July at the amphitheater.Facilities There are 27 fully accessible single and five double campsites in Rock Creek Recreation Area; all with electric hook-ups. In addition, there are five walk-in tent sites without electric hookups, which are available first-come, first served only. Three bathhouses are located within the recreation area; one in Loop A, one in Loop C, and one located by the concrete pond - it is a Civilian Conservation Corps-era bathhouse adapted for modern use. Each bathhouse has flush toilets and shower facilities. A dump station is located on site. An on-site host is located in the campground.Natural Features Campsites are nestled in a cove hardwood forest. Adjacent to the campground is Unaka Mountain Wilderness area, a rugged and undeveloped area. Nearby Attractions The Appalachian Trail crosses TN 395 at Indian Grave Gap, 3.1 miles east of Rock Creek. Mountain Balds, Beauty Spot and Unaka Mountain Overlook are located nearby along Forest Service Road #230. Whitewater rafting on the Nolichucky River is provided by private companies located in Erwin, TN.
Reviews of Rock Creek Recreation Area (Cherokee National Forest, Tn)
9 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G
Confirmed by 3 users | Last reported on June 13, 2024AT&T 4G
Confirmed by 4 users | Last reported on September 26, 2023T-Mobile 5G
Confirmed by 2 users | Last reported on June 24, 2021Reviews
The route in was very easy, but it is not very clearly marked. When we arrived we went straight to our site to set up, as there was not really anyone to check in with. Sites are almost all well shaded, and there are a lot of very big sites. There are trails to hike that are accessed from the campground, that are easy or moderate. The best thing about the park was the swimming hole that was so refreshing on a hot day. The only negative was that after 3 days the bathrooms were pretty messy, and had no toilet paper, and I think they are not attended very often. There were a lot of local people staying, and everyone seemed to be having a great time, and it was very quiet at night. Will definitely return to this park.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 22
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
The road in is a little narrow, but well maintained and easily navigable. Sites are heavily wooded, fairly well spaced, and most sites have a level area, but you have to back all the way in to get level on some. We were in site B16, which had no satellite coverage until most of the leaves fell. B Loop sites are 30A only. The website says there is shared water, which there is, but in B Loop, you can’t hook a hose to it to fill your tank, as the spigot is not threaded. C Loop had at least some threaded spigots. OTA TV was limited to 4 channels (PBS) with our omni antenna. There is no WiFi. AT&T had 1 bar and 0.8 MB/s w/o a booster, 2 bars and 2.4 MB/s with it. The bathrooms/showers were fairly clean and well maintained, but showing their age.
There is a nice, but fairly strenuous 4 mile up and back trail from the campground to Rock Creek Falls. Campground was mostly empty during the week, maybe 8 or 10 out of 31 sites occupied, but completely full on the weekend.
Nightly Rate: $21.00
Days Stayed: 7
Site Number: B-16
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
This is a great way to get into the deep woods without going many miles from civilization as it's only about 3 miles from Erwin. But it's a National Forest campground in the Cherokee National Forest. The trails can be challenging and it has one mountain bike trail. Good picnic facilities, well used on weekends.
No water at the campsites but there are spigots scattered around the three loops. Electricity worked well and campsite is well maintained and level. Not far from the Appalachian Trail and great for camping while running the Nolichucky River Gorge (commercial rafting outfitters in Erwin).
I got no signal from Campsite 4 on Verizon or T-mobile inside the camper. Occasional connection to Verizon while outside. I had a solid AT&T data connection on my truck wi-fi hotspot.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 4
Cell Coverage Rating
T-Mobile
This is a great way to get into the deep woods without going many miles from civilization as it's only about 3 miles from Erwin. But it's a National Forest campground in the Cherokee National Forest. The trails can be challenging and it has one mountain bike trail. Good picnic facilities, well used on weekends.
No water at the campsites but there are spigots scattered around the three loops. Electricity worked well and campsite is well maintained and level. Not far from the Appalachian Trail and great for camping while running the Nolichucky River Gorge (commercial rafting outfitters in Erwin).
I got no signal from Campsite 4 on Verizon or T-mobile inside the camper. Occasional connection to Verizon while outside. I had a solid AT&T data connection on my truck wi-fi hotspot.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 4
Cell Coverage Rating
T-Mobile
Beautiful well spaced sites mostly separated by vegetation and covered by tall hardwood trees. Many places to hike. Swimming pond fed by creek water. Heavy usage on weekends.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 5
Site Number: C31
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
Our third time here in 3 years. Spacious level sites with raked gravel separated by bushes. Great trail adjoining camping along Rock Creek. Additional trails through the Cherokee National Forest. The 2 mile trail to Rock Creek Falls crosses the creek at about 1/2 mile over water covered slippery rocks so be careful. Swimming pond is popular with locals every day.
Nightly Rate: $17.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 25
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
Nice campground with some hiking. The site was reasonably level. and you aren't too close to your neighbors. The bath house was close and was clean and up to date.
Nightly Rate: $23.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 019
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Can not beat camping in the National Forest in spacious sites well separated with trees and undergrowth.
The elect hookup make it perfect. Threaded water service along the road regularly and the dump station on the way out.
Come for the hiking. The trail to Rock Creek Falls is about 2 miles uphill and crosses Rock Creek by fording and is worth the effort. The creekside trail from the campground to the lake is about a mile and on a gentle incline. The lake has a beach and good fishing.
Nightly Rate: $18.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 25
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
We arrived at this campground, after 10 very busy days in the Gatlinburg pigeon Forge area. This was such a nice contrast! The sites here were so big! So green!
Loved the little creek hike, you could do it in 15 minutes, so we did it a couple times a day.
The camp Host and his wife were very nice and accommodating .
All the greenery kept our campsite nice and cool, we were here the second week of June for seven days.
Our favorite hike was the rock Creek Falls hike. 15 minutes away was the Martin Falls hike. We also did Dick Creek Falls hike, but it wasn’t as nice.
As other reviewers have said, the site has 30 or 50 amp electric. Each loop has two water Spigots. Be prepared loop B does not have threaded spigots, so we had to fill our fifth wheel from water out of loop before we set up.
There is also clean water at the west end of the dump station.
The foliage here is so thick, that you could barely see a glimpse of your neighbors.
Everybody was very nice, lots of kids having fun.
You are allowed to have real campfires, they even allow you to gather wood.
The town of Erwin is just 3 miles away, it has two grocery stores, a tractor supply, Dollar General, and a super Walmart is just six or 8 miles away.
A few fast food restaurants as well.
There were quite a few bugs, so bring your bug zapper with you and your bug spray.
I would say the only negative, is I didn’t think that shower houses were as clean as I would like them to be. And when you pressed the water, it only ran for about 30 seconds before shutting off automatically.
Truly, a hidden gem in the Tennessee mountains.
Nightly Rate: $13.00
Days Stayed: 7
Site Number: 19
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
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Rock Creek Recreation Area (Cherokee National Forest, Tn)
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Max Stay
- 14
- Affiliation
- National forest
- Last Nightly Rate
- 13.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 13.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 43.0
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Laundry
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Propane
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Showers
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Big Rigs
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Boondock
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Firewood
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Fifty Amp
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Tent Sites
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Cabin Sites
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Full Hookup
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Dump Station
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Mobile Homes
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Public Water
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Pull Through
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Water Hookup
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Potable Water
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Age Restricted
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Dispersed Sites
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Open Seasonally
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Permit Required
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Group Tent Sites
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Fulltime Residents
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Standard Tent Sites
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