“The first park in Tennessee for everybody”
T.O. Fuller State Park was the first state park to open to African Americans east of the Mississippi. There is also evidence of the park’s growing historical significance. During an excavation for a proposed swimming pool in 1940, CCC workers unearthed evidence of prehistoric village, opening the door to a lost and forgotten civilization. The site has since been developed as Chucalissa Indian Village and includes a village, preserved archaeological excavations and a modern museum. The park offers more than six-miles of hiking trails ranging from moderate to rugged. The Discovery Trail is a six-mile continuous loop where visitors have the opportunity to see the Chucalissa Indian Village and Wetlands. Picnicking is also popular with 35 picnic tables and grills located throughout the park. The park has four shelters that can accommodate groups of 40 to 120 people. All shelters have grills, nearby bathroom facilities, picnic tables and electric outlets.
Reviews of T.O. Fuller State Park Campground
61 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G/5G
Confirmed by 24 users | Last reported on February 07, 2024AT&T 4G/5G
Confirmed by 24 users | Last reported on March 26, 2024T-Mobile 4G/5G
Confirmed by 5 users | Last reported on March 31, 2024Cost: $20/night.
Hookups: Water, electric.
Amenities: The NICEST bath houses and showers TD. Plus a great laundry room w/ books!
Additional Fees: None.
Hiking: The T.O. Fuller Discovery Trail is about a 4.25 loop. It was beautiful, even in winter.
Online Reservation: Yes.
Wifi / Cell Service: No Wifi. Cell service was surprisingly bad (Verizon).
Overall Rating: 4/5
Great bathrooms! Stalls have full size locking doors, benches, are newly painted, have great water temps and pressure. Friendly and nice rangers and 5 minutes from Memphis.
Surrounded by run down neighborhood and power plants(one of which was a sewage plant.) The sewer smell definitely is present but not necessarily overwhelming. Quite and clean. Serves purpose for an overnight stay.
The primitive camp grounds were awesome! It was just a field to camp in, really enjoyed our trip
The approach to the park may feel a bit "urban" to some with rough roads and some depressed looking neighborhoods, but the park is quite nice and well kept up. We were met by rangers and hosts as we arrived and given all the info we needed on the park facilities.
In truth, what we really wanted was a natural surrounding with easy access to Memphis and this ticked the boxes! We checked out Graceland, the Peabody Ducks and did a carriage ride along the Mississippi, plus hit a Costco and had some vet appointments, all within 20 minutes or so of the park.
Sites had water and electric and we used the dump station on the way in and out. Nice little playground for kids and clean bathrooms the couple times we used them. I wanna say there was laundry? All in all, a good option to be in the trees and not a parking lot RV park in Memphis!
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: -
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
The campground at T.O. Fuller State Park was lush green when we visited, but forget about hanging out outside. Between the mosquitos and the smell of waste from the nearby wastewater treatment plant wafting through the air, we spent most of our time in the trailer.
On the upside, there are individual shower rooms with their own doors and they have a decent amount of space that stays dry for changing. The water is super hot and you can control the temperature. They were relatively clean, minus some hair in the drain.
Adventures of Dave and Ann must have reported the Verizon signal with their booster. Without the booster, I had 1 bar of 1x and AT&T had 2 bars of LTE:
AT&T - DOWNLOAD: 2.60Mb/s, UPLOAD: 0.89Mb/s
Nightly Rate: $22.00
Days Stayed: 6
Site Number: 12
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
This could have been a nice campground if it were a little bit better kept and wasn't Downwind of the Sewage Treatment Plant. On the days when the smell of poo wasn't permeating the camp, the mosquitoes were so thick and vicious (in April!) that sitting outside wasn't really a possibility. There was almost no Verizon signal without a booster anywhere in the campground. Planes tend to fly a little low overhead due to the proximity of the airport (about 10-15 miles down the road), but it's not terrible. There were also fairly regular trains nearby, but I like the sound of trains so it wasn't a bother to me. If I absolutely had to stay in the Memphis area this would be an option, but I would avoid it.
Good things: Laundry worked and was inexpensive (2 washers, 2 dryers, $1 a load), there were trash cans at nearly every site, the camphosts were EXTREMELY attentive, and there were two dump stations for a relatively small campground, so no wait. This is also probably the least expensive campground near Memphis, so if you plan to visit the city all day and just sleep in the campground, it would probably be a perfectly fine choice.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 28
We arrived late after changing our original plans to boondock for free at the Bass Pro Pyramid (the store clerks told us about some break-ins and a shooting that happened there). The camp host gave us all the instructions we needed and was extremely helpful.
We stayed in March, there were about 5-10 other cites occupied. It was quiet and very safe. The showers were hot, clean, and offered a ton of privacy (real doors instead of a washroom stall door or simple curtain). The laundry room was great too, the washer and dryer were super cheap ($1 per wash, $1 per dry).
There was an awful swampy/poopy smell that arose because of the heat and humidity... It died down after a heavy rainfall on our first night. I read some older reviews and found out this place is close to a sewage treatment facility (I can't confirm that though).
Overall, we enjoyed our stay and enjoyed how close it was to everything in Memphis.
Nightly Rate: $24.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 36
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
We came expecting some serious stink - and were happily disappointed. There was a very strong odor of nasty for about 30 minutes during a brief rain, but other than that - regular smells only.
30/50A, H2O hookups at each site.
Cell signal isn't great on either Verizon or AT&T, although AT&T is a bit better. Verizon calls drop semi-frequently. Booster helps with Verizon data, but towers must be crowded, as it is still slow. AT&T is usable for data without booster.
Sites are decently laid out, and several have just been repaved. Several pull through sites.
Park host is a treat.
Laundry is cheap - $1/wash, $1 dry
Free dump station.
Showers are relatively clean/kept and spurt endless hot water.
Playground/pavilion. Tons of walking trails to explore & big juicy spiders to scare you.
Just don't park next to the neighbor whose camper water hook-ups leak at an alarming rate all day and night. Perks: free rainbow. If you have a leaky camper you can come here without worry of being kicked out/chastised. Toads will like to hang out near your campsite. Cons: bug breeding ground/mud river next door. Said neighbor also released gray tank freely into his site in broad daylight.
Nightly Rate: $24.00
Days Stayed: 9
Site Number: 42
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
I liked this park - and didn't like this park. First the pros: The price reflects 1/2 price as of 12/1 plus a senior discount. Our site was pretty level, treed, paved and clean. The shower/bathrooms were the warmest I have ever experienced this time of year. And there was plenty of very hot water. Laundry (in a state park?!?) was clean and cheap. ATT cell service was fine for web surfing and writing campground reviews. The staff at the visitor center were extremely friendly. And the one hiking trail was excellent, with lots of terrain change. Cons: You have to drive through some pretty bad neighborhoods to get into town...lots of abandoned houses, businesses and trash on the side of the road. And then there is the smell. We had it one day when there was a NW wind, which ,when I googled waste treatment, was where it was. So, my advice is come stay here but check the wind direction first.
Nightly Rate: $13.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 11
Older but well maintained facilities. Our campsite was level and paved. The overall feel of the campground is rural even though you are just a few miles from Memphis. The rate reflects a senior discount.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 13
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T.O. Fuller State Park Campground
Hours
- Sun - Sat: 12:00 am - 11:59 pm
Problem with this listing? Let us know.
Has RV parking changed? Let us know.
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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
- Affiliation
- State park or forest
- Last Nightly Rate
- 29.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 45.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 10.0
- Max Length
- 85 ft
- Max Stay
- 14
- Sites Count
- 45
- Standard Tent Sites Count
- 45
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Swimming Pool
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Fifty Amp
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Full Hookup
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Rec Facilities
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Pull Through
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Tent Sites
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Dump Station
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Big Rigs
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Open Seasonally
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Age Restricted
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Boondock
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Cabin Sites
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Dispersed Sites
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Firewood
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Fulltime Residents
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Group Tent Sites
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Laundry
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Mobile Homes
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Permit Required
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Potable Water
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Propane
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Public Water
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Showers
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Sites
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Standard Tent Sites
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Water Hookup
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Outdoor Seating
Campground, Parking, Dining, Restrooms
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