# Natchez Trace State Park (Tennessee)



## bill0830

This is one of the first camp grounds we every camped at. The only site we know about is Pin Oak RV Campground – 77 sites, 2 bathhouses, 50 amp electric, sewer and water hookups. Pin Oak R.V. campground is located on the shore of Pin Oak Lake and can accommodate RVs up to 80 feet in length. The RV camp also offers a swimming beach, playground, picnic shelter, camping cabins and boat dock. This is a very popular park so you may want to get here early as the spots go fast. I didn't get a chance to do any fishing while we were there. To get there, you exit of exit 116 of I40. Jackson isn't far away. There is also a wrangler park in the park, but we didn't check it out while we were there. The rangers were really nice and helpful. Follow this to their link. 
http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/NatchezTrace/index.shtml

I give this park a 6 of 10 rating

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## amy0807

I just wanted to update this with some more info. We camped at Pin Oak at Natchez Trace over Labor Day Weekend. If you have kids, there are usually activities going on for them. They had an evening hayride around the park, a morning pontoon boat cruise on the lake and a ranger brought an owl around for all the kids to see and learn about. They also have evening canoe trips but we didn't take part in that. All of that was free, by the way. There are pedal boats on nearby Cub Lake, but this weekend was their last one for this season. 

Aside from activities, the park itself is very nice and well kept. It was very quiet and peaceful...even though it stayed completely full all weekend. The restrooms were clean and the showers are hot with really good water pressure. There is also a laundromat. Our group was on three sites and they were all level even though they were gravel. We did not have to do anything to level up...it was level when we backed in. 

Verizon had service in most areas and in most areas AT&T did not have service. I did notice several people around us had satellites so you can get reception there. 

We also rode around to see the other three campgrounds...CG #1, CG #2 and the wrangler CG. (Yes, they are simply named 1 and 2.) 

CG #2 is primitive and there is no electricity. It is not on the water. The roads are very narrow, sites are small, and tree limbs were awful low in places so I don't think boondocking here would even be possible, but it would be perfect for tent campers looking for a pretty wooded setting. There was a bath house but when we went through there were teenagers parked right in front of the entrance washing their car.

CG #1 suggests nothing over 25 foot, but they say if you can get it in there you are welcome to stay. The road in isn't wonderful but isn't terrible either. Getting in wouldn't be too bad but getting out may be a problem for some. There is very little room to maneuver. This CG is on Cub Lake. It is very nice and shaded and sites on the water are $25 a night, others are $20. There is one bath house and I did not go in it, but you can see from the outside it is not modern. However, I would bet it is clean as everything else is. We had a friend staying in CG #1 and he did not have a blue tote. The CG host was very nice and came with his blue tote and emptied his tank for him. Very nice people there! He also rented a john boat ($11 or $12 for 24 hours) and was able to tie it up at the back of his spot on the water. They caught quite a bit of fish there. CG #1 has a dump station, but I never did see it and I looked for it. 

The wrangler campground had a nice, modern bathhouse and this CG is pretty large with lots of space. There are lots of shade trees. It was also full and if you're bringing horses, you'd be happy here. If not, you may not appreciate the smell during the heat of the day or what the kids might step in. 

I would agree with Bill and would give this park a higher rating if there were shade trees. We got a site on the side of the tree line between the loops and with that and our awning we had shade. I will definitely be going back...probably before winter.


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## happiestcamper

I had to laugh when I found this in a review of Pin Oak at another site:

"Also, our cells phones and broadband air card - which worked just fine last October when we stayed here - were iffy at best. Don't know what could have changed to cause this, but we weren't the only ones having trouble."

Now they used this as a justification to rate it poorly (they also complained about the price). I guess somehow it's the CG's fault that their air card doesn't work there anymore - I'm sure the host put in something to block their signal :rotflmao1:

The also complained about the price being $25 - though when you look at the other 10 CG's they reviewed, this was the most inexpensive one they stayed. If the CG had cable and/or wi-fi, they gave it good marks. To each their own :shrug:

That's why you have to be careful when looking at anonymous reviews - I trust Bill and Amy to stand behind their opinions :10001:


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## amy0807

I know exactly what you mean! I have looked at some reviews and sincerely worried that if the reviewer went out in the rain they may very well drown. lol

I quit reading reviews elsewhere because so many of them were just ridiculous complaints. If I want to know about a CG, I look or ask here about it.

I will say we were able to get three stations on the antenna -- a local news channel, PBS and a network. We watched the news channel for weather and updates on Gustav and PBS aired several shows about places to visit in the area around us. That's all we needed. There were two families camping there who had evacuated from the New Orleans area so I am sure they appreciated the news channel as well.


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## happiestcamper

Don't think I'll go all the way to Tennessee - right now they have Hanna coming straight at us - which will probably change in the next few days - seems like any storm that ends up on the NC outer banks always starts with a prediction right at us :smack-head:


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## amy0807

Ugh. Hope it passes over you without causing much trouble. I have friends who just left the Outer Banks. It's where they vacation twice a year. The woman behind us had her three kids with her and it was her first time ever towing and she had to pull for 8 hours out of NO to Tennessee. Her husband had to stay behind to help out and she was very worried about him. I felt so sorry for her...I just couldn't imagine the stress of her situation. Here, our big worry is tornadoes.


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## danny

Natchez Trace is kind of our "home" campground. We stay at Pin Oak Campground and I would rate it much higher than most have. Yes there is a lack of trees in some areas but you can usually find a spot with some shade. The bathhouses are as nice as any I have ever been in, the staff is friendly, nice swimming area, playground and a beautiful lake to look at, full hookups at every site. I would rate it 9 out of 10. And the only reason not 10 is that 10 would mean perfect!


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