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Regular
Posts: 67
Location: Edinburg, Va. | Planning a trip this July to visit Big South Fork for the first time. Looking at TrueWest Campground. Would appreciate any feedback or suggestions on the best campground or area to stay. We will be traveling with a group of 4-6 trailers. Thanks |
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Regular
Posts: 69
Location: Tennessee | No trees in the camping area at True West, not the place to be in July. Try Honey Creek, Zenith Stables, or Bandy Creek, any place but True West |
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Regular
Posts: 67
Location: Edinburg, Va. | Hey, thanks for the feedback. I had noticed that everything was sitting out in the open in the pictures. Do you recommend one of the campgrounds you mentioned over any of the others? Does one have better trail access or multiple trail access? |
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Veteran
Posts: 285
| We stayed at Honey Creek a couple of years ago. Very nice camp with trails directly right out of camp. Then we went to Saddle Valley. Nice camp too, but had to ride a half mile or more to get to the trail head. Both camps had very nice camp hosts. We wanted to ride more of the o&w railroad bed so that is why we moved. Gorgeous riding there. Debbie |
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 Regular
Posts: 91
Location: South Carolina | If you are getting there from I-40, I would suggest getting off at the Crossville, TN exit & heading North on US 127 into Jamestown, TN. You 'DO NOT' want to come in toward True West Campground from the East on highway 297 into the Big South Fork. Going through the gorge will hurt your truck, trailer & also the brakes. It is about a 13 - 14% downhill grade with many sharp switch backs. On the map, that might seem closer, but the extra 30 minutes to 1 hour to go around is more than worth it to not mess up your rig. The gorge is where highway 297 crosses the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River just east of Scott State Forest. The road is steep on both sides. Here is a link to the National Park Service map of the area in PDF format. http://www.nps.gov/biso/planyourvisit/upload/brochuremap06.pdf Hope y'all enjoy it. The area at Big South Fork is truly amazing. I have never trail ridden any where that even comes close to being as beautiful.
Edited by Lankyman 2007-01-23 1:42 PM
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Regular
Posts: 67
Location: Edinburg, Va. | Thanks for the travel info. The campground ad gave alternate directions to avoid the gorge. From your e-mail, now I know why. Sure do appreciate knowing ahead of time to save all that wear and tear on the vehicle and the discomfort to the horses. |
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Regular
Posts: 67
Location: Edinburg, Va. | Thanks for the feedback. I hate going in somewhere not knowing what to expect; sure been disappointed a few times. The campground ads can be so deceiving on the facilities and trails. Happy Trails |
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Regular
Posts: 69
Location: Tennessee | They all have their pros and cons. Honey Creek has great trail access but, their stalls are very small, not a problem if you picket. Zenith has great stalls and campsites. They have a kitchen you can use or just hang out in if the weather is bad. The owner, Gary Matthews, will trailer you to other trailheads and ride with you if you want or you can ride out of the campground. Bandy Creek has an excellent campground and access to the trails but, you camp away from the barns. You have to drive your truck over to the barns and saddle there. I can't give you current info about Saddle Valley It has been six years since we were there and I hear it is under new ownership. |
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Regular
Posts: 54
Location: IL. | I have been going to the shawnee forest in so. IL for about the last 10 years and we are now looking for a different place to ride. Anybody familiar with shawnee know of a place to ride that won't be a let down.Any info would be great and like you said some web sites are misleading.Like most of you my vacation time is very rare and very important to me and i would hate to haul 8-10 hours to be disapointed.thank you so much for your time. remember (show your spots ride an APPY) ha. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 474
Location: White Mills, Ky. | Spotted Horse - At the risk of sounding like a broken record (because I have posted about this a few times already) I can't say enough good things about One Horse Gap at Shawnee. They are fairly new and small, but the camp is CLEAN and the owners really take care of their guests. They have guided rides...fast or slow...all day or half day. During the organized rides, the meals are included in the package price and the food is GOOD! Electric sites. Water spigot close to horses. As of spring 2006, there were no stalls but they had panel pens set up in the shade. The bath house is small...only two stalls for men and two for women...but it is VERY clean and air conditioned. They even have a small hot tub out on the patio to soak your tired bones after a long ride. We visited the Shawnee once before and stayed at Bear Branch. I will NOT go back there. But if OHG were closer to home, I would be there every week! RIDE ON! |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 379
Location: Columbia, TN | The only thing I don't like about Shawnee is that the trails weren't marked and it was sure rocky. I much prefer Big Southfork |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 474
Location: White Mills, Ky. | That's why it's important to go with a guide. We had never been on a guided ride before going to OHG...our little group tends to be independent and we like to get a map and find our own way. But after Bear Branch and getting hopelessly lost several times, we decided to try going with the guide this time. It was really nice not to have to worry about if we were going the right way or if we would make it back to camp before dark. Plus, the guide knew a lot of history and other interesting little facts about the sights on the trails. Many places you can go on your own because the trails are marked or at least well mapped. This is NOT the case at Shawnee. RIDE ON! |
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Regular
Posts: 67
Location: Edinburg, Va. | I have received alot of very good info on several campgrounds in this area. What about Timber Ridge Campground? Info on their website looks pretty good. Is there 1 campround out of all of them that has the most trail access? Enough for a whole weeks riding? Thanks |
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Regular
Posts: 69
Location: Tennessee | Timber Ridge has a very nice campground, one of the best bathhouses of the campgrounds, a screened in kitchen,a very nice barn and the host and hostess are very friendly and helpful. The trails are lacking and rough. I would say that Bandy Creek has the best trail access. Again, you have to drive over to the barn to saddle. I prefer my horse close by. If you are going to be there a week, why not try more than one campground? |
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Regular
Posts: 67
Location: Edinburg, Va. | That's what we are discussing now. Maybe staying at one place for 3-4 days and then trying a new area and campground for the remainder of the week. Like most places, you are limited to just how many different trails you have access to without alot of extra riding. We like our horses close by also; its that security factor and convenience. Thanks |
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Regular
Posts: 69
Location: Tennessee | I don't think security would be an issue at Bandy Creek. The place is very nice. It just isn't as convenient. We have never had a security problem at any of the campgrounds in the Big South Fork. I think the trails out of Bandy Creek would keep you busy for a week. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 379
Location: Columbia, TN | Ihave been going to Bandy creek for over 20 years. I'm like you wanting my horses close. But I have never had a problem and their stalls are great and the people that run the barns are very helpful. Great place most of the rides are fairly lengthy but very pretty. |
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Regular
Posts: 67
Location: Edinburg, Va. | Thanks so much for the input. We are getting close to making a decison based on all the great feedback. Probably going to divide our stay up between 2 of the campgrounds. Now, to decide just which 2; going to be a hard choice. |
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Veteran
Posts: 233
Location: Tennessee | If you don't mind being separated from your horses (I do mind), I would definately include Bandy Creek in your final choices. They are centrally located and you have a lot of choices of trails, wonderful stables and nice campgrounds. If you are going to only two campgrounds, I would make the other one either True West or Saddle Valley. Both run by very nice people and good locations. The owners of Timber Ridge are very nice also but trails out of camp are rough. Timber Ridge did loan us their stock trailer to go over to Bandy Creek and ride out from there one day.
Edited by Sheryl 2007-01-28 7:51 PM
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Regular
Posts: 65
Location: TN | If I were staying there a week I would do Bandy Creek and either Zenith or Honey Creek, they are on the other side of the park. I have stayed at every campground at the Big South Fork. If you choose either of these, ride the Station Camp/Big Island side at Bandy Creek and the O & W railroad bed from Zenith or Honey Creek. The owner of Zenith will trailer you to other trailheads and ride with you if you wish. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 379
Location: Columbia, TN | These would be my choices also smothride |
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Member
Posts: 7
Location: Jamestown, Tn | Try Big South Fork Lodge on the Cumberland Valley Trail Head some time. Check out our site: www.bigsouthforklodge.com. |
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Member
Posts: 7
Location: Jamestown, Tn | don't know if you tryed anyplace in the Big South Fork yet, but check out our site at www.bigsouthforklodge.com and visit us. |
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Member
Posts: 7
Location: Jamestown, Tn | If you haven't tried our campground,you still haven't tried them all. Check us out at www.bigsouthforklodge.com |
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Member
Posts: 7
Location: Jamestown, Tn | Sheryl, REading your comments about campgrounds in Big South Fork. Have you tried ours? Check us out at http://www.bigsouthforklodge.com/ where you camp with your horse and you are right across the road from the Cumberland Valley Trailhead. Claudia |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 326
Location: Gallatin, TN | We just got back from our first trip to Zenith and I can't say enough good things about Gary Matthews and the campground. He rode with us and we learned so much about the history of the land where we rode. My husband is a history buff so this was a real plus for him. The campsites were all very nice. We were in sites 10 -14 and had plenty of room for all of our group. The barn was very close as was the bath house and kitchen. The bath house was very very clean and the shower stalls are of a good size. I would not hesitate to go back. Be aware that they are not set up to take debit or credit cards so bring your check book or cash. Happy Trails!  |
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Regular
Posts: 67
Location: Edinburg, Va. | Thanks to all who provided info on this area. Stayed at TrueWest for several days and then went over to East Fork. Both had alot to offer. Accessed 3 trails from TrueWest via Cumberland Valley Trailhead. Had to ride out the same trail through the private development to access the trails. Also rode several areas in the Spruce Creek development. Others in our group choose to be trailered out to different trailheads which allowed them to access different parts of the area. Rode at East Fork for 3 days and there were trails to still do. We liked the campground facilities and trail access at East Fork better but it did cost more. Took the time while we were in the area to visit most of the other campgrounds and would like to visit again and stay at different ones. Definitely worth a trip back. |
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Member
Posts: 20
Location: Tennessee | We just got back last week from Big South Fork again and this time we had a great time. We stayed at "Big South Fork Lodge". The trails in the park were so nice and we were able to see so much more than our last trip. You just went across the street from the Lodge and you were on the trail head. The camp site was clean and the stalls were nice too. They even had a restaurant if you did not want to cook. We plan on going back soon.......................... |
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Regular
Posts: 85
Location: Foothills of the Smokeys | If you can get over the fact that at Bandy Creek, you must stable your horses about a quarter mile from the campground, it's by far the best place to stay at Big South Fork. The stables are safe to leave your horses, and are very nice. It is a Class A campground with level paved pads for your trailer, electric and water hookups, pick-nic table, fire ring/ grill, dump station, pool and several clean bath houses. But the best part is that it is the only camp located smack dab in the middle of the park and you can access a mulitude of trailheads without trailering. All of the "private" campgounds are bordering the park or are several miles outside of the park.
East Fork is a nice place, but is more expensive that Bandy Creek. It is a privatly owned campground. It is on the Cumberland Plateau about 30 miles from Big South Fork. It is not in Big South Fork. |
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Member
Posts: 20
Location: Tennessee | Hi We went to Bandy Creek this last visit to check it out and you are correct the campsites were really nice. The Ranger made sure we checked out the bathhouses also, he was bragging and with just cause, they were nice. We drove across the street to the stables to check it out and they were nice also. I don't see a problem with that, you could just walk across the street for some exercise to check on the horses. Bandy Creek will be our next stop. |
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Member
Posts: 24
Location: Owensboro, Kentucky | We just returned from Bandy Creek after spending a wonderful week at BSF. Make sure to ride to Charit Creek lodge, and on the O&W Railroad bed to the bridge crossing. It was beautiful. Also ride out to see the Eye of the Neddle. It was a great trip and the scenery is beyond words. |
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Big South Fork
