During a six-week road trip, I had three days between my reservations at Whispering Hills RV Park in Georgetown, Kentucky, and Jellystone Park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It was a holiday weekend and this is the only campground I could find in a three-state radius on my way to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I stayed here last year on my way to the New England area for my fall photo trip, so I knew it would suffice for the weekend. When I called, I actually got the last spot available which was actually three spots away from the spot I had the previous year.
The Check-In Process
I know that I often say the staff was friendly and helpful. I find this to generally be true with many campgrounds along with the entire RV community. Upon check-in, we began having a general conversation along with the usual check-in information. The staff member then gave me two nice can koozies and told me to enjoy my stay and that if I needed anything, just give them a call. The nice lady also made me aware of the restaurant options nearby.
The RV Sites
The sites and roads were all gravel with the sites being level. There were 38 regular full hook-up sites and 31 sites for monthly rentals. Cable and Wi-Fi were available. The cable had over 60 channels available and the Wi-Fi was good and I had no problem streaming on a holiday weekend with a full campground. Each of the sites had a picnic table and a firepit. The only negative thing about the sites is the fact that you are very close to your neighbors. On a busy weekend, your privacy is limited and you can hear the campers next to you. However, I did find that people abided by the quiet times, so I didn’t have any problems with the close proximity. During this visit, I stayed on Lot 18, and in 2019, I was on Lot 21. Between the two sites, I preferred Lot 21 since it was on the end. This is a 30 amp site but there are several better options for 50 amp sites.
The Amenities
According to the website, the image below lists their amenities. The KOA is conveniently located to I-75, with an RV-friendly gas station (Weigel’s) available as you exit the campground. Additionally, there are restaurants within walking distance. The closest is a Mexican Restaurant (Habaneros Mexican Grill) which is pretty good and literally within just a couple of minutes walking from the campground. The campground store offered firewood at a very reasonable price along with a bundle of very inexpensive starter wood.
Review & Recommendations
With many KOA Journey campgrounds, I often find that they are sufficient for overnight camping. However, if I lived in the area, I would definitely stay here for a weekend of camping (which I actually did until I was able to check into my campground in Pigeon Forge, which was only an hour away). Another area of interest, about 5 miles away is Norris Lake where numerous marinas surround Norris Lake offering boat rentals, jet ski rentals, floating lake homes, pontoon boats, fishing boats, as well as accessible boat ramps to launch your own vessel onto the waters.
Good Sam’s gives the campground a 9/9*/8.5 rating. I will definitely keep this as an option when traveling on I-75 and passing through Tennessee.
My Rating (3.5/5)
