Dennis Cove Recreation Area

Some buddies and I have been coming up for a few months now pretty regularly, and I cannot praise the campground enough. The sites are always raked up and spotless upon our arrival, and we have yet to pull through the gates without being greeted by the park host, Dale, who is always incredibly helpful and hospitable to every group who ventures onto the grounds. I have, and will continue to, recommend the park to friends looking for a well-kept camping area and exceptional customer service.

Awesome campsite in one of my favorite parts of Cherokee National Forest. You don't get a whole lot of elbow room, but there's so much forest to explore it's not a big deal. Would recommend

Great place to hike and fish.

We spent 2 nights here in the middle of July. It was very humid the entire time, but surprisingly cooled off in the evening after the sun went down, but the days were sticky warm. With the rain fly off our tent, by morning I was a bit chilled sleeping on top of my bag under only a sheet, so I slid inside my bag for the last couple hours. There are 15 campsites here, it is small but well maintained, and the campsite host was friendly and helpful. There was a single small building with running water for a men's and women's restroom with a flush toilet and sink. There is no shower here, which is my main regret. Each campsite has a gravel pad, metal fire ring with cooking grate, and a concrete picnic table. A water spigot was spaced about every-other campsite. There are no electrical hookups or nighttime lights. It's a flat area, right off the road, with a creek right on the edge of the campground (about 3 of the sites back right up to the creek). It is well shaded during the summer, not much sun hit the ground, which we were grateful for. BEWARE OF THE ROAD from the town of Hampton up to the campsite. It's a usual twisty switchback for this region, but it's really only 1.5 lanes wide in total, varies in width (yes, it can get smaller), with drop-offs right at the edge of the pavement, and they chose to paint a double-yellow line down the middle. This means you really get 3/4 of a lane for yourself. You will spend most of your drive on this road with your left tires over the double-yellow line. Really. When you approach oncoming traffic, slow way down, look for a wide point in the road, and try to squeeze by each other. It is definitely not trailer-friendly. We did the hike to Laurel Falls going up from the town of Hampton, instead of going down from near the campsite.

Great little campground. However needs some maintenance. The day use area has deteriorated and is need of repair. When camping be on lookout for dead hanging limbs over head(widow makers) and a couple of dead trees that could fall. Somewhat a safety hazard. Other than that I would have given it a 5 star rating. Oh the host, Dale is a great guy. Friendly and helpful. One mention, the gov. web site campground map is backwards and somewhat confusing. Site numbers doesn't match the actual campground sites.