“Camp on the lake”
Floating Mill Campground is located on the shores of the scenic Center Hill Lake on central Tennessee's Highland Rim. The lake stretches 64 miles up the Caney Fork River, where visitors come to enjoy boating, fishing and water sports. The 415 miles of forested shoreline provide excellent hiking, hunting and camping opportunities. The campground is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District. This large campground provides a wide variety of campsites, most of which have electric and water hookups. Several tent-only sites are provided, several of which are beautiful lakefront sites. A day-use group picnic area is available for reservations. It can accommodate up to 125 guests, with a large shelter and picnic tables. Water and 30-amp electric hookups are included. Amenities like flush toilets, showers and drinking water are provided, creating a comfortable camping experience for guests. A boat ramp, fish cleaning station, playground and hiking trail are all conveniently located within the campground. Directions: From Smithville: from the intersection of U. S. 70 and State Route 56, follow State Route 56 north (Cookeville Highway) 9.5 miles and turn left to Floating Mill – Hurricane Marina. (The road will be the first on the left after passing the scenic overlook.) Follow signs to the park. From I-40: Exit 273 and follow State Route 56 south 3.4 miles and turn right at the Corps of Engineers sign for Floating Mill Park / Hurricane Marina. Follow signs to the park. Dates and rates vary each recreation season. Check out the website for current information.
Reviews of Floating Mill Campground
5 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
AT&T 4G
Confirmed by 2 users | Last reported on September 10, 2020I was anxious about this campground due to some of the reviews I read, and it ends up my concerns were justified. First, my error, we missed the turn down to the campground, fortunately there is a marina with a large parking lot at the top of the hill, which allowed us to turn around.
At the gate check in was easy, but we received some bad information about where to turn and ended up turning early, causing us to have to back out of a tight turn with a huge drop off on one side, and a big drop off on the other.
The camping loop has a couple of tight, but doable, turns and some pretty severe drop offs. Our biggest problem was that there are some short, steep sections of the road. We drug the back end of the RV a couple of times and couldn’t back into our original site because the rear end hit ground before we even got close to the site. There was no way we could get it.
The camp hosts at the gate gave us a couple other options, we chose One and eventually managed to get our rig into it. It was far from ideal, with a huge picnic table that couldn’t be moved and a fire pit with no room to sit around. But, we were there and settled in for a long weekend stay.
There are some very good RV spots, but there are quite a few that are crammed in tight. The main loops, near the boat ramp and swimming area, are pretty cramped. The water front sights are strange, being back to back, with one side only good unless you pull through before the other guy gets there, or you are a motor home that can pull forward into the spot.
The main bathhouse was old, but clean. If you are down at the waterfront sites it’s an uphill walk to the bathhouse and laundry. Being from Florida, I would probably drive.
This is a popular spot on weekends, and can be quite busy, both in the day use area and the campground.
AT&T coverage was spotty in the park, but usable with our booster.
We wouldn’t return, we just weren’t comfortable with the size of our rig and the tight, tiered, spots and we really didn’t have any living space once we were there. If you know the park, you can select a site to fit your rig, and if you aren’t a 39’ 5er with a full size pickup, you will probably be much more successful than we were. Even with a smaller rig, the main camping area was too cramped for us.
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 50
Site 079 had an amazing view. The two spots on either side were also good ones. The other area where RVs were looked to be more of an RV Village. The only downside to this site is the tight squeeze getting in and you will need to raise the passenger side wheels up about 5” to level. Well worth the view though.
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 079
Drive to the park first and scout the layout. We had a good time but it was stressful getting in and out. In a longer stay, say a week, emptying your tanks would be an adventure because of the narrow roads and scarcity of space to turn around. Spaces atypical for a COE park. Too close. On the plus side, a lovely park overlooking the lake. Great paddle boarding! I caution big rigs passing through who want a place for the night. This park might not be for you.
Nightly Rate: $25.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: -
We stayed over a weekend with our young boys in our camper which is 29’. They fished and swam in the lake. There was a circle of rocks that served as a fire ring and a small grill. We didn’t use the bath house. We hiked the small trail on-site and the nearby trails at Burgess Falls. We did some geocaching and visited the playground on-site. I would recommend reserving the sites along the lake. There are 3 for campers, 90-92, which have gorgeous views, privacy but little shade. The rest are for tents unless you want to stay in a cluster of trailer sites near the entrance. Not for me.
Nightly Rate: $30.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 90
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
This Corp of Engineers campground on Center Hill Lake has beautiful views from most sites. There is a boat ramp and swimming area in the campground and it is right next door to the day use area with another boat ramp and swimming area. It is close to several great hiking trails and park with waterfalls. There is also a 2 mile hiking trail right on site. There is no store or anything but there is a bath house (maybe more than one), a fish cleaning station and a dump site. Most sites have water and electric. I found it pretty easy to navigate but I have a tiny travel trailer (18.5') so you may have a different experience with a larger rig. One thing to note is my AT&T service barely worked. I would definitely recommended this place and go again.
Nightly Rate: $30.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 36
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
We booked this as a stop over on our way home to Missouri from North Carolina. We will be back and wish we would have booked longer than a day and a half. Beautiful and quiet!!
Wish we could say longer! Beautiful. It was our rest day on our hike/bike adventure so we just swam and chilled. Absolutely gorgeous, quiet, clean. Would definitely recommend
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Floating Mill Campground
Hours
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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
- Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE)
- Last Nightly Rate
- 30.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 38.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 22.0
- Max Length
- 45 ft
- Max Stay
- 14
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Fifty Amp
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Full Hookup
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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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Standard Tent Sites
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Water Hookup
Campground, Restrooms
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