Cummins Ferry RV Park, RV Resort, Campground & Marina

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.

Stay away, owners feel it’s ok the curse in front of our kids and flip them off when I ask them to reserve their choice of words.

Just checked in and will edit as we leave.
Low hanging branches on the road into the campground so rubber roof owners beware along a very (very) narrow long road to reach the campground.

The park is nice. Very scenic. The hosts are nice people who are very helpful. Full hookups. Don’t take McAfee Ln in (it’s a one lane road). Last mile into the park is a semi tight one lane road, too. Cell reception is non existent on ATT and TMo. Park WiFi is okay. That being said, this park is great for people escaping. However, it is probably not for the working remote crowd.

Would’ve rated higher if the permanent folk had better kept spots and if our 30A service didn’t have reversed polarity.
Super nice staff!

We stayed Monday through Friday and really enjoyed the quiet and peaceful atmosphere. We’d like to come back over a weekend when the live music, food truck, and Sunday pot luck happens! The staff were super friendly as well as the full timers there. The campground was well cared for and the bathhouse was spotless. There are improvements in the works so it’s only going to get better here. One word of caution: slow down and be careful on the last mile into camp; not hard for us with a small camper, but the road is narrow and curved.

After driving down the one lane steep road to a beautiful setting of rim rocks along the river, we were excited. As stated by previous reviews, the hosts were very nice. That is where our experience totally differs. The campground is very unlevel, poorly maintained and confining. At least 50% full time renters with no restrictions on what can be stored around it. The premium “river front” sites have very limited glimpses of the river through trees. Construction is going on throughout the grounds and we had an excavator working right out our door. The construction appears to only be putting in patio areas off the unlevel gravel/partial asphalt sites. The ongoing construction should have been disclosed at rental or check in. Not worth any amount!

This was our first time taking our trailer out and I’m in need of practice backing up. The staff was super helpful guiding me into our campsite. The firewood seemed a little pricey at first the price also include the staff loading, delivering and stacking it all at our site so it was worth it.

The hiking trails were nice and the river views are pleasant. The drive down was a little stressful on the narrow country road but I’m also new at towing the trailer and everything worked out fine.

The campsite itself was hard packed dirt & gravel for the trailer and then a concrete pad and parking spot in front. The fire pit was in a grassy area which could definitely get muddy if there’s been heavy rain.

The only complaint was someone playing some loud music and working on their car one of the days we were there.

They have free WiFi but the coverage was spotty. I had no cell reception through Verizon.

Staff treated us right away and even honored a “twin check” from a previous visit! Beautiful view of the river, quiet and well maintained campground. Backroad getting there is definitely a backroad (narrow and tight turns) but would definitely come back.

Hosts were great! And neighbors were friendly.