Chilhowee Group Camp

God's country for real. He could've let us camp without the rain, but thats okay. Still had a blast.

Very nice place to go hiking and there is a lake for swimming along with s picnic area. Parking is s few bucks and done by the honor system. The only negative thing I have to say about the place is the bathrooms was gross. At least the one I went in. Basically it was a hole in the ground and stunk to all hell. The rest of the place is beautiful. Especially with the leaves changing color right now.

Great camping area

We stayed at Chilhowee Group Camp in mid June. There are 2 ample parking lots with lots of trees and open space. The group camp has one bathhouse with a vault toilet (think porta potty). There is also one RV space with water and electricity. Be careful on the drive in, our GPS took us up a horrible gravel road that had huge ruts and no guardrail (Benton Springs Rd). In order to avoid this, take highway 74 to the beautiful Oswald Road. The extra 11 miles are full of gorgeous views and it will take you about the same amount of time (especially if you have a small car or camper).nnPROS: There is a sandy swimming beach and a nicer bathhouse (with showers) about a 1/4 mile walk from the group camp. The Benton Falls hike is also close. There is plenty of space for over 10 large tents, many hammocks, and one RV. There are about 15 picnic tables in 3 rows for the group to share as well as 4 or 5 other picnic tables scattered throughout the camp. We used the little charcoal grill but there was also a very large charcoal grill available. The kids enjoyed playing in a small field as the adults sat around the large fire ring. There were a few pieces of firewood already there and we were easily able to find more. Our cost was only $50 per night.nnCONS: This group site has extremely poor drainage. There were muddy spots everywhere! They have small ditches that helped route the water, but the field turned into a swamp after the rain. The camp clearly had not been mowed in quite a while - there were long weeds in the grass that hit us in the shins as we walked. We didn't really use the bathhouse in our site because of the HORRENDOUS smell - it was absolutely disgusting. We had to remember to constantly close the gate to the group camp because curious people felt comfortable driving right into our camp (some even walking around). We saw 3 or 4 fire ant hills right in the middle of our site and one adult was bitten over 50 times around the feet and ankles.nnOverall, this site was decent. It was cheap and there was plenty of space for a large group. Not our favorite group site, but not the worst by a long shot.

Amazing views, wasn't expecting the swimming area it was nice. Benton falls is a must see!