On Tuesday night, Nov 11, Cindy and I stayed at Old Stone Fort State Park campground in our T@b travel trailer. We’d had the T@b for a few weeks, and for various reasons had not yet used it for overnight camping (although we did use it as a “respite” while we worked a consignment sale event for about a week.) I was anxious to try it out on a short trip so we could start tuning our procedures and expectations for some longer trip. We needed to make a run over west of Nashville to drop off a few items for my sister, and Old Stone Fort State Park is right along the path, so this fit the bill nicely, and allowed us to show off our new trailer to Sis.
Our T@b at Old Stone Fort State Park
I visited this park with my friend Dave Ridge back in April. It is definitely worthy of a day’s visit, especially during warmer weather when you can hike the archeological area and enjoy the waterfalls and wildflowers.
Waterfalls on the Big Duck River, Old Stone Fort State Archeological Park
The fall colors were past their peak, but not too much to lack beauty. The understory at this park was particularly beautiful, and although we got in too late Monday evening to walk around, we enjoyed looking out the window of our T@b while we ate breakfast on a cold, rainy Tuesday morning. The rain had stopped by the time breakfast (toast and eggs) was over, so Cindy and I went over to the museum for a visit. Not very large, but very interesting, especially if you have an interest in the native Americans of the area. The “stone fort” (archeologists think it was not really a fort built for defense) was apparently built by native Americans between 0 and 500 A.D.
Access: Old Stone Fort State Park is really conveniently located to the busy I-24 travel corridor, about halfway between Murfreesboro and Chattanooga, the town of Manchester, Tennessee. It’s only about 2 miles from exit 110. Head south on SR 53 to US 41. Turn right, and the entrance to the park is on the left in less than a mile, just before crossing the bridge over the Duck River. Turn right into the campground, crossing a one-lane bridge to the check-in station. (Note: We arrived after hours and did not have reservations. I think the normal process is to get a site and then go to the museum – back across the river, turn right and go about a half mile – to check in.) Paved, somewhat narrow roads within the campground. Tight for a larger motorhome, but I could have made it in my prior 36.5′, 12′ clearance motorhome. Certainly no problems with my 16′ trailer.
Site: Site #44. Back-in, paved.
Electric: 30 amp / 20 amp at each site. This is an older campground, and as I plugged in I was thinking that maybe a surge protector / polarity checker would be a good investment. We experienced no problems, however. The pedestal was on the “wrong side” – most RV’s connections (in my limited experience) are on the driver’s side – but not so far that my 30-amp cable wouldn’t easily reach. Always remember to shut the breakers off before connecting, and then turn turn them back on after you’re connected to the RV.
Water / Distance: We didn’t connect to city water since we were just in for overnight, and we had about 3 gallons in our 5-gallon freshwater tank for washing and the toilet. No showers planned. The hose bib was on the correct side of the driveway and within reach of a 25′ hose. Can’t speak to the pressure, but when I do connect, I always use an inexpensive pressure regulator.
Bathhouse: Definitely showing age, but functional, and clean. Of course, it should be pretty easy to keep the restrooms clean when there are only 4 campsites occupied. My wife reports that the soap dispensers were empty (or non-functional) on the women’s side, and that she had trouble getting paper towels with which to dry her hands. No showers in the first restroom; there is another bath house in the back section of the campground with showers, but that section, along with the bath house, is closed for the winter.
Sewer: No sewer hookups at the sites, but there is a dump station across from the check in station. I did not use it so can’t provide more information.
Trash disposal: Trash cans were conveniently located around the campground.
Cell Phone Service: To the best of my recollection, I had 3 or 4 bars on my Verizon 4G hotspot; expected due to proximity to Manchester, TN and I-24.
Cost: $21.95 in Nov 2014, including taxes. If you use the online reservation system, there is a reservation fee ($3.00 as of this writing.) During winter, even with half the campground closed, walk-ins would probably have no problem getting a campsite.