Clear Creek Campground

This was just for an overnight, but it's a beautiful place to spend more time. Camp greeters are extremely friendly and helpful (even though I've been in the South for several months now, I still can't get used to being called "honey" by everyone); our host assigned us her "favorite" spot, parallel to the lake with a great view and no close neighbors. The price we paid was $2 extra for a premium site on the water.

The campground consists of several loops, all of which appear to take advantage of lake views. It's very clean, and also quiet, being so far from any main road. My partner said the bathrooms were "small, but clean." Sites are asphalt, level, with fire ring & picnic table. Many are pull thrus overlooking the lake. The thick foliage provides a good amount of privacy between sites, though the pull thrus on the edge are a little more exposed. Surprisingly for a lakeside campground, we didn't experience any mosquitoes. Civilized checkout time is 1pm.

Verizon and AT&T were only 1-2 bars without a booster, the booster made it up to 3, which was workable. It's a bit of a drive into town (14 miles), but downtown Jasper is a town that is clearly trying to get a renaissance going.

Dogs’ perspective: We stumbled upon an unmarked trail that meandered through the thick woods for about half a mile before it dead-ended at a pretty little waterfall. According to the campground map, there are other hike/bike trails, but we didn’t have time to explore. Plenty of places to play fetch in the water, perfect to cool down on a hot Alabama afternoon.

Internet service is critical for us and we look for at least two bars of AT&T as a requirement for staying at any campground, or even a boondocking location. Because this national park was a bit isolated in the Bankhead National Forest I had my doubts about our internet needs being met. There was one bar most of the few miles driving in and then upon arrival the park ranger said we probably wouldn’t get very good reception where we had previously reserved site 83 in the Fawn section. Plus, she added, that particular site really, in her opinion, shouldn’t even be included in the park due to its odd and difficult location. Listed as a drive-through it is actuality on an incline, parallel to the road, and only suitable for very small rigs. So two negatives even before reaching our site.

But low and behold we had two and sometimes three bars of AT&T as we climbed the hill into Fawn section. And then we did see that our pull-through site was a bit wrong and really not as advertised. Thank goodness we have a 18.5’ Ollie. After sitting parked on the site and feeling things were a bit skewed I decided to exit down the hill, turn around and go the wrong way back up the hill to pull in backwards. The trailer set in the new right, but actually wrong, direction would have our trailer door opening into the campsite with our backs now to the road. Of course, the water connection and power box were located now on our door and living side as the site itself is made ass-backwards. But our view now out the dinette window is from a hill off the camp road and overlooking a large lake. And no other campers in sight. And all our remaining windows were now all looking at even more trees and no campers. In essence we had no neighbors that we could see. Plus our picnic table and fire pit were privatized by having our travel trailer parked parallel with the road. We enjoyed fabulous hilltop views as well as privacy.

The other three much busier camp loops and playgrounds were far away from us. And the .8 mile paved bike trail along the lake running to the swimming and picnic area was just below us and we had quick and easy access to a very nice trail we could either hike or ride. The toilets and shower rooms were also next door to us and hardly used due to its being an inconvenient walk for most of the campers in Fawn. Yes, we had become a couple of happy campers.

Stayed in “Fawn Loop”. Spacious & shady sites. Area patrolled regularly, therefore quiet. Bathhouses clean but dated. Polite checkin rangers & helpful on-site hosts. Maps, signs & trails needed updating & upkeep & funding our only complaint. Part of National Forest Parks. Wooded .8 mile trail to swimming beach. Boat ramps available. Smith is clean & beautiful. Site level & paved with caliche gravel picnic area. Grill, fire pit & lantern hooks. Enjoyable stay.
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We needed a place to rest for the night heading west and really wanted 30A electricity. Not often in National Parks Are you able to find such a calm and rewarding visit. We parked in a pull thru site where we could see the water, sand volleyball court, and open field where deer and rabbits frequented. We took a beautiful walk by the shore before using the restroom to take showers. The campground was very calm with few visitors in mid-August and quiet at night. The trees provided nice shade for the fireflies that swarmed at night. Definitely recommend!

Stopped for a quick overnight - but really wish we had had more time to stay and enjoy this beautiful park.

We arrived after hours and the ranger was so kind to come and meet us to make sure we could get checked in easily. He was very efficient, and had us heading towards our site right away.

Had a great pull through site facing the lake. We had a lot of privacy, and the roads in and the site itself were well paved and level. The fire ring was great, and hookups worked well. We walked the lake side and enjoy identifying the "hoof/foot prints" of the animals that came down to the water's edge.

Restroom/bath house was adequate, but nothing too special. We just appreciated the hot showers and flush toilets.

Would love to think our travels would take us there again!

I chose site 99 due to a prior review but then discovered the Bear loop was intended for tent campers since it had the only open bathroom at this time. Rather than try to change the reservation online I figured it would be easier (and less cost) to deal with it on site since the campground was pretty empty. Turns out Tammy didn't have a problem with my site since I'm self contained.

The staff and hosts were very nice. Besides the host there were just 2 of us in the Bear loop. Site 99 was indeed a great site - long and totally level, big area around the picnic table, pole, grill & fire ring, surrounded by woods. Many of the sites were double, 101 & 103 are pull-through (wish I'd known). Everything was very clean. Very quiet too.

The Raven Trail crossed the road below the Bear loop entrance and wandered all over the place. The main feature being several large overhang dwelling areas particularly below the Bear loop. A small path behind site 97 I think connected to the trail. There are some interpretive signs - go both ways (either side of the road) it's worth it! There is also a paved biking trail and 2 boat ramps. The lake was lovely at sunset. The dump station seemed new - 2 lanes and everything worked great.

Cell signal was minimal under the canopy of trees but was better on the roads and by the water: <4mbps down & <1mbps up unboosted. Closer to 9 up with a booster on T-Mobile.

Clear Creek is clean, wooded and has lake access at many different points. If you have a boat, they have a boat ramp for campers and one for day use. Many of the sites you can walk your kayak or floats right down to the water. We walked along the sandy shore most every day. Site #6 was at an incline and we ended up moving to site #5 for this reason. Most of the even site numbers are lake front. I prefer the Fox loop because it has water on both sides and a volleyball court. The other loops are nice as well. The only reason I didn't give this campground a 5 stars was the fact they closed our bathhouse during the week because of how few campers there were on our loop. They kept the other loops open, but those were a good bit away from us. I wouldn't normally mind this, but when you only have water & electric, that was not ideal.

This is a hidden gym in the middle of the national forest and right on the lake. All lots are large and plenty of space between campers. This is a large park with lots of space to walk around. Boat ramp as well right by the sites for easy access. Great signal with Verizon and could cast apps and shows. T-mobile signal only worked at the entry. Recommend reserving your spot as showing up gives you limited options. All sites have water and 30/50 power. No sewer but a dump station when you leave.

This park is worth a stay. Spacious sites, asphalt roads, water and Electric only. Fox loop looked to be the best for water views. Site #5 is a good one and then there are nice pull thru sites, 18 is good. My only complaint was the person camping in my site before us liked to throw their cigarette butts on the ground instead of trashing them. Sites are asphalt for the RV and gravel around table and pits. Bath houses OK. Several closed due to COVID.

If you are looking for a place where your campsite is steps from the water, Clearcreek is place for you. This campground has loads of water sites on beautiful Smith Lake.

While they do not offer sewer sites, all sites have electric and water. While the bathhouses are small and very dated, they were relatively clean and were spaced out conveniently throughout the park.

While some of the sites could use some TLC, our site was pristine with pebble rock site and a asphalt pad. The Hoot Owl and Fox loops are the most desirable with many water sites. Fawn and bear loops are nice as well.

There is a public access boat ramp with plenty of parking for boat trailers. There is also a ramp inside the campground for convenience. There are also group tent camping areas available. No playground, but they do have a basketball court and a volley ball net.

The day use area has a very nice swimming area, pavilions, picnic tables and there is a paved trail connecting this area to the campground.

Additional parking is non-existent and they are very strict about there no parking on the grass policy. If you have more than one vehicle or more than 6 people, I would recommend one of the many double sites, however they are more expensive.

Overall, this is a great lakeside family campground and we camp here often.