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U.S. Forest Service · William B. Bankhead National Forest · AL

Corinth Recreation Area

Reservable, and full this SaturdayEvery one of the 29 sites on offer is taken this Saturday, and the record lists no site held back for a walk-up. read 16:01 UTC

We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →

Watch for a cancellationBook on recreation.gov ↗
Right now
Taking bookingsSites offered on 16 of the next 16 nights read 16:01 UTC
A night
$22–$46Across the site types the agency prices
Sites
60All of them booked ahead
Photos · American Land & Leisure/Chris Richardson
50 ftLongest rig
640 ftElevation
681 ftWater · Lewis Smith Lake
2.3 miSE of Double Springs, AL
74%Tree cover

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 15 notices

In the agency’s own words

The Corinth Recreation Area is a state-of-the art campground located on the on the shores of the upper part of Lewis Smith Lake in Winston County. Initially built in the 1960s and renovated in 1998 it offers facilities for individual and group camping, picnicking, swimming, and boat launching. Check-out time for Corinth is no later than 12:00 pm the day of departure. Check-in time is no earlier than 2:00pm . This 2 hour window allows our staff adequate time to clean and maintain each site. Two camping loops contain 52 campsites, with electrical, water, and sewer hookups. Keep reading

There are four bathhouses, with warm showers, serving the camping areas. A boat ramp is provided for campers. An entrance station with an electronic gate is available to control access to the campground. Corinth also offers eight rustic tent camping sites with nearby community hydrants and a bathhouse. No garbage bins are in the campground; users are required to pack out trash and deposit it in the dumpsters by the dump station. ADA accessible sites are available. The day use portion of the recreation area focuses on the swimming beach, served by a bathhouse with an outdoor beach shower. Twenty-nine family picnic sites are available nearby, and paved access paths connect all. Near the beach is a 100-person group picnic pavilion, with a flush toilet that serves both it and a portion of the picnic sites. A 1.25-mile hiking path is located along the shoreline of the lake. A year-round boat launch is available, with an SST vault toilet; and it has boat/trailer parking. A separate boat launch is available to the campground. Welcome to the Corinth Recreation Area... Use the Recreation.gov Mobile App. Visitors on-the-go can use the Recreation.gov mobile app to reserve and pay for upcoming stays, reducing the need for on-site transactions and cash handling. Download the Recreation.gov app through the Apple App Store or on Google Play. Functionality of the iPhone app available here... Functionality of the Android app available here...

Recreation

Day-use visitors and campers have access to a boat ramp and swim beach. The lake provides excellent fishing for Kentucky Spotted Bass and Hybrid Striped Bass. Hikers can access the 1.3-mile Bobwhite Trail. Interpretive programs are hosted during the summer.

Facilities

All facilities are wheelchair accessible. Flush toilets, drinking water and showers are offered for both campers and day-use visitors. The campground offers spacious standard sites with full hookups that can accommodate RVs of any size. Sites contain paved parking spurs, picnic tables, grills and tent pads. There is a reservable group picnic shelter that can accommodate up to 100 people, as well as 29 first-come, first-served picnic sites.

Natural Features

The 180,000+ acre Bankhead National Forest is in northwestern Alabama, and its prominent feature is the Sipsey Wilderness . Known as "The Land of a Thousand Waterfalls," the Sipsey is at the juncture of three separate geologic areas: the Appalachian Plateau, the Cumberland Plateau and the Coastal Plain. The vegetation from these three unique environments blend into a remarkable diversity of species, with overlapping ranges creating many unusual plant associations. The Sipsey is a 12,726 acre area of swift streams, waterfalls, sandstone cliffs, undisturbed gorges, majestic hardwood forests, wildflowers, birds, animals and is home to Alabama's largest tree, a tulip poplar with a 21-foot circumference at its base. Lewis-Smith Lake (or Smith Lake) is located in the counties of Cullman, Walker and Winston. The 300-foot high dam, completed in 1961 by Alabama Power Company, impounds the Sipsey Fork of the Black Warrior River to form the lake. Smith Lake has a surface area of 21,200 acres, 500 miles of shoreline, a watershed area of 944 square miles, a retention time of 435 days, and a maximum depth of 264 feet. What's Happening in Your Alabama National Forest Video Nearby Attractions Four nearby attractions within Bankhead National Forest are: The Little Natural Bridge is the longest rock arch east of the Rockies. It was formed 200 million years ago when the sea washed the sandstone away leaving iron ore veins holding the bridge. In this area thrive 27 varieties of Ferns and a number of Canadian Hemlocks traced to the Ice Age. Satellite Map of Natural Bridge Park The 19th-century Pine Torch Church is one of the oldest churches in Alabama and one of only four surviving log churches. The church is located in the Bankhead Forest in Lawrence County at the intersection of Country Roads 70 and 73 Several online sources say it was built in the 1890s but a sign at the site claims in was built in the 1840s. According to legend, Pine Torch got its name from the pine knots that were set ablaze to light the building after dark. It is made of hand-hewn logs. The original floor, made of hand-hewn poplar planks, was stolen piece-by-piece and was replaced in 1940, according to a historic marker at the site. The original roof was made of hand-split wooden shingles. It was later replaced with tin. Behind the church is a cemetery whose grounds are covered with sand to make maintenance easier. A newer and larger wooden church was built at the back of the property. It is still in use. Satellite Map of the Pine Torch Church The Houston Civil War Jail - Houston, Alabama served as the first county seat for Winston County. The area known today as Winston County was originally established in 1850 as Hancock County, named after John Hancock, signer of the Declaration of Independence. In 1858 the county was renamed Winston after the first native-born governor of Alabama, John Anthony Winston. Old Houston, located a few miles away from present day Houston, was the first county seat. Citizens voted to move the county seat to present day Houston in the late 1850's and a log jail was constructed at that time. The jail burned during the Civil War and was rebuilt in 1868. The Houston jail was built of hand-hewn logs filled with nails to prevent prisoners from "sawing their way to freedom". The jail held prisoners and provided a site for court. In 1884 the county seat was moved from Houston to present day Double Springs. Houston Historical Society Discover the Incredible Variety of Habitats and Birds in the Bankhead National Forest. Birding on the Bankhead

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

What the agency tells you

Rule

Don't Move Firewood: Help protect our forests! Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood at or near your destination and burning it on-site. Moving firewood is illegal in some states. Visit dontmovefirewood.org to learn more.

Rule

THE SWIM AREA IS CLOSED FOR THE SEASON Check-out is no later than 12:00pm the day of departure. Check-in is no earlier than 2:00pm the day of arrival. This 2 hour window is necessary to effectively clean and maintain all of the sites each day.  Be sure to reserve a site that will accommodate your equipment because the site you reserve is your site, you may not move to another site. Alcohol is not allowed in Recreation Area. Campground has a two tent maximum per single site. Two vehicles for campers only are included in the site fee. There is a $10 fee for additional vehicles and visitors that will be collected at the campground. . After-hours access is available by calling ahead, (205) 300-1513.  Office hours vary August to October please call ahead. Day Use closes after Labor Day. - To see what our campground has to offer you can tour it Monday - Thursday during office hours. A $10 refundable fee if you are out within 30 minutes.  Welcome to The Corinth Recreation Area...

Rule

Connect to nature in The National Forests of Alabama.

Everything else this campground posts · 12
Rule

Forest Service - Know Before You Go | Rules for National Forest Visitors

Rule

Forest Service - Know Before You Go | Preparing to Visit a National Forest | Boating

Rule

Forest Service - Know Before You Go | Preparing to Visit a National Forest | Canoeing

Rule

Forest Service - Know Before You Go | Preparing to Visit a National Forest | Caves

Rule

Forest Service - Know Before You Go | Preparing to Visit a National Forest | Heat Waves

Rule

Forest Service - Know Before You Go | Preparing to Visit a National Forest | Hunting

Rule

Forest Service - Know Before You Go | Preparing to Visit a National Forest | If You Get Lost

Rule

Forest Service - Know Before You Go | Preparing to Visit a National Forest | Lightning

Rule

Forest Service - Know Before You Go | Preparing to Visit a National Forest | Pet Dogs

Rule

Forest Service - Know Before You Go | Preparing to Visit a National Forest | Swimming & Boating

Rule

Forest Service - Know Before You Go | Preparing to Visit a National Forest | Tornadoes

Rule

Forest Service - Know Before You Go | Preparing to Visit a National Forest | Waterfalls

Read them on the agency’s own page →
Source: recreation.gov facility notices, quoted verbatim · Sep 9, 2026

Tents and rigs

Sites
60 · 8 tent-only
Hookups
52 electric, 52 water, 59 sewer
Longest rig
50 ft
Paved pads
All
Accessible sites
4
Pets
Allowed
Campfires
Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade
Every site
Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Toilets
Flush Toilets · Vault Toilets
“…100-person group picnic pavilion, with a flush toilet that serves both it and a portion of the picnic… / …boat launch is available, with an SST vault toilet; and it has boat/trailer parking. A separate boat…”
Showers
Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
“There are four bathhouses, with warm showers, serving the camping areas.”
Drinking water
Yes
“…wheelchair accessible. Flush toilets, drinking water and showers are offered for both campers and…”
Dump station
Yes
recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
Boat ramp
Yes
Camp host
On site
recreation.gov lists “Host”
Stay limit
14 nights
recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Source: Stated in the agency description · Aug 23, 2026
Water, toilets and showers: read from the agency description, shown above · Sep 12, 2026

Around the campground

On the water
Waterfall, Lake, River, Creek, Beach
Biking
Birding
Boating
Canoeing
Fishing
Hiking
Ranger programs
Kayaking
Observation Site
Paddling
Stargazing
Swimming
Water access
Water Skiing
Night sky · 27th darkest of 41 in AL
Bortle 4
Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026
Night sky: VIIRS Day/Night Band annual cloud-free composite, VNL V2 2024 (Earth Observation Group, Colorado School of Mines), read at the published coordinate · Sep 8, 2026

Full this Saturdayread 16:01 UTC

How full the weekend is nationally.

OpenBooked

Every one of the 29 sites on offer is taken this Friday and Saturday. 50 are free on Tue, Oct 20. read 16:01 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t

Booking windowThrough October 31Bookable now through October 31, 2026, the end of this reservable season, and again for March 13, 2027 through September 16, 2027. Tomorrow at 10 AM ET, availability opens through September 17, 2027.recreation.gov
Max stay14 nights2-night minimum on weekendsthe facility record
A night$22–$46plus $8 to reserve, once per bookingthe agency’s rate schedule
A weekend$52–$100DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above
If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservationrecreation.gov’s schedule
Runs itU.S. Forest ServiceBooked through recreation.govthe agency’s record
Watch for a cancellation

Watch this campground

One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Tell me when the season opens

Watch for the season to open

One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

We’ll write once, when the season that starts Sat, Mar 13 2027 is open for booking.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Book on recreation.gov ↗

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 15

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
A night, per site$22–$46
Tent Sites$22
Standard Electric$46
Group area, a night$58
Rates for the season the campground is in now, Mar 13, 2026 to Oct 31, 2026.
The booking feerecreation.gov
Reservation fee, booked online$8
One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.
Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.
What this campground addsits own record
Extra vehicle$10

“There is a $10 fee for additional vehicles and visitors that will be collected at the campground. .” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own agency notice

What a stay costs
One nightDerived$30–$54
A weekend, Friday and SaturdayDerived$52–$100

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $22–$46 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.

If your plans changerecreation.gov
Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10
Cancellation fee$10
Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night
No-show$20 + your first night

Who keeps the booking fee

The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →

How we know this receipt · 6
Sign price: recreation.gov facility rate schedule, quoted as the agency publishes it · Sep 10, 2026
Booking fee, change fee, cancellation fee, no-show: Rules and Reservation Policies, Recreation.gov, the published fee schedule, curated by hand into lib/reservation-fee-schedule.json (9 rows, each carrying its own verbatim sentence). The publisher states these policies were last updated September 2019. · Sep 9, 2026
What this campground adds: The U.S. Forest Service’s own fee record and notices for this campground, quoted verbatim. An extra-vehicle charge is set locally and appears on no national schedule, so it’s never assumed. · Sep 9, 2026
The two totals: Derived by CAMPANAC by adding the agency’s own published nightly rate to recreation.gov’s own published reservation fee. Both components are cited above; the addition is ours and is shown only where every component is known. · Sep 9, 2026
Who keeps the booking fee: Recreation.gov facility policy text, Dead Swede Campground (facility 234221) · Not on the national policy page. This is agency policy text recreation.gov publishes on individual campground pages; this site holds it verbatim on 45 active campgrounds (campground_rules.cancellation_description, scripts/load-facility-rules.mjs). · Sep 9, 2026
The contract: Reservation Gods: Who Stole Our Campsites and Sold Them Back to Us, More Than Just Parks, April 2025 · Apr 1, 2025
Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

recreation.gov availability, read 16:01 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

61 records · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 60 mapped sites
99 ftbetween you and the next site, typically
75%of tent sites sit clear of electric or RV sites
Most roomLoop CORI 01 1817 ftYellow Hammer 14 211 ftFirefly 40 202 ftFirefly 39 196 ftFirefly 38 196 ft
Least roomFirefly 37 24 ftFirefly 44 24 ftFirefly 32 31 ft

16 sites share one published coordinate and are left out of the rankings.

Source: Derived by CAMPANAC from recreation.gov per-site coordinates (nearest-neighbor distance) · Oct 12, 2026

All 61 records

60 of 61 records located
Tent only8RV / electric51Day use1
013031323334353637383940414243444524648495051532542565758596002030405060708091101112214152161718202222242262829
Aerial · Esri World Imagery
Sites: recreation.gov (RIDB), coordinates as published · Aug 23, 2026
Imagery: Esri World Imagery
SleepsTakes aUp to

The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 60 of the 61 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.

CORI01day use15 amp1817 ft260 ft$58
Firefly30standard electric50 amp70 ft658 ft$46
Firefly31standard electric50 amp111 ft693 ft$46
Firefly32standard electric50 amp31 ft593 ft$46
Firefly33standard electric50 ft50 amp47 ft487 ft$46
Firefly34standard electric50 ft50 amp54 ft483 ft$46
Firefly35standard electric50 ft50 amp101 ft489 ft$46
Firefly36standard electric50 ft50 amp104 ft503 ft$46
Firefly37standard electric50 amp24 ft440 ft$46
Firefly38standard electric50 amp196 ft278 ft$46
Firefly39standard electric50 amp196 ft274 ft$46
Firefly40standard electric50 amp202 ft137 ft$46
Firefly41standard electric50 amp132 ft250 ft$46
Firefly42standard electric50 amp101 ft276 ft$46
Firefly43standard electric50 amp101 ft370 ft$46
Firefly44standard electric50 amp24 ft425 ft$46
Firefly45standard electric50 amp432 ft$46
Firefly46standard electric50 ampyes101 ft331 ft$46
Firefly47standard electric50 ampyes432 ft$46
Firefly48standard electric50 amp47 ft442 ft$46
Firefly49standard electric50 amp84 ft505 ft$46
Firefly50standard electric50 amp84 ft467 ft$46
Firefly51standard electric50 amp31 ft562 ft$46
Firefly52standard electric50 amp$46
Tent Sites53tent only nonelectric852 ft$22
Tent Sites54tent only nonelectric817 ft$22
Tent Sites55tent only nonelectric817 ft$22
Tent Sites56tent only nonelectric101 ft870 ft$22
Tent Sites57tent only nonelectric168 ft787 ft$22
Tent Sites58tent only nonelectric101 ft691 ft$22
Tent Sites59tent only nonelectric84 ft781 ft$22
Tent Sites60tent only nonelectric132 ft562 ft$22
Yellow Hammer02standard electric50 amp77 ft876 ft$46
Yellow Hammer03standard electric50 amp44 ft804 ft$46
Yellow Hammer04standard electric50 amp117 ft757 ft$46
Yellow Hammer05standard electric50 amp104 ft710 ft$46
Yellow Hammer06standard electric50 amp41 ft640 ft$46
Yellow Hammer07standard electric50 amp113 ft616 ft$46
Yellow Hammer08standard electric50 amp90 ft511 ft$46
Yellow Hammer09standard electric50 amp98 ft409 ft$46
Yellow Hammer1standard electric50 amp132 ft779 ft$46
Yellow Hammer10standard electric50 amp79 ft541 ft$46
Yellow Hammer11standard electric50 amp61 ft449 ft$46
Yellow Hammer12standard electric50 ampyes465 ft$46
Yellow Hammer13standard electric50 amp465 ft$46
Yellow Hammer14standard electric50 amp211 ft244 ft$46
Yellow Hammer15standard electric50 amp405 ft$46
Yellow Hammer16standard electric50 amp84 ft206 ft$46
Yellow Hammer17standard electric50 amp61 ft490 ft$46
Yellow Hammer18standard electric50 amp84 ft226 ft$46
Yellow Hammer19standard electric50 amp405 ft$46
Yellow Hammer20standard electric50 amp601 ft$46
Yellow Hammer21standard electric50 amp601 ft$46
Yellow Hammer22standard electric50 amp748 ft$46
Yellow Hammer23standard electric50 amp748 ft$46
Yellow Hammer24standard electric50 amp937 ft$46
Yellow Hammer25standard electric50 amp937 ft$46
Yellow Hammer26standard electric50 amp44 ft837 ft$46
Yellow Hammer27standard electric50 amp852 ft$46
Yellow Hammer28standard electric50 ampyes132 ft890 ft$46
Yellow Hammer29standard electric50 amp132 ft831 ft$46

The agency files 1 more record here that isn’t a site for the night. It files it as day use. It’s in the table above, marked for what it is, and it isn’t counted as a site.

Price: Derived by CAMPANAC: each site takes the per-night rate this campground publishes for the site’s own site type (recreation.gov rate schedule). recreation.gov publishes no per-campsite fee, and a site whose type carries no published rate is left blank rather than called free · Sep 11, 2026

OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.

25 of 61 listed

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Coordinate34.10500, -87.32000
The phone205-300-1513
The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

This Afternoon80°Partly Sunny10% rain
Tonight46°Partly Cloudy11% rain
Saturday63°Mostly Sunny
Saturday Night40°Mostly Clear

NWS forecast for Double Springs, AL

Source: National Weather Service, BMX forecast office · Oct 16, 2026

Typical weather

Typical October night 48°F, day 73°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical January night 29°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.

100°32°20°

Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more

A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.

Measured at: ADDISON, AL (USC00010063), 13 miles away and 178 ft higher
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, monthly normals · Sep 8, 2026

The land, and who answers for it

who answers for it · a letter you can send

Who answers for this land

Robert Aderholt, official portrait

Corinth Recreation Area is in Alabama’s 4th congressional district. Its representative, Robert Aderholt (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

Source: U.S. Census district boundaries and the MTJP Congressional Public Lands Score
Who can change it · 3
Write to somebody who can change it

Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.

Read the draft, or change the wording

For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.

To Robert B. Aderholt

Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.

Subject Walk-up camping at Corinth Recreation Area, William B. Bankhead National Forest, Alabama

Dear Robert B. Aderholt,

I’m a constituent in Alabama’s 4th district. I tried to camp at Corinth Recreation Area, William B. Bankhead National Forest, Alabama, and couldn’t.

All 60 sites at Corinth Recreation Area are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 29 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked.

1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Corinth Recreation Area keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Corinth Recreation Area. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund.

The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them.

Sent about Corinth Recreation Area (William B. Bankhead National Forest, Alabama) via campanac.com
To Katie Boyd Britt

Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.

Subject Walk-up camping at Corinth Recreation Area, William B. Bankhead National Forest, Alabama

Dear Katie Boyd Britt,

I’m a constituent in Alabama. I tried to camp at Corinth Recreation Area, William B. Bankhead National Forest, Alabama, and couldn’t.

All 60 sites at Corinth Recreation Area are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 29 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked.

1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Corinth Recreation Area keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Corinth Recreation Area. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund.

The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them.

Sent about Corinth Recreation Area (William B. Bankhead National Forest, Alabama) via campanac.com
To Tommy Tuberville

Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.

Subject Walk-up camping at Corinth Recreation Area, William B. Bankhead National Forest, Alabama

Dear Tommy Tuberville,

I’m a constituent in Alabama. I tried to camp at Corinth Recreation Area, William B. Bankhead National Forest, Alabama, and couldn’t.

All 60 sites at Corinth Recreation Area are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 29 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked.

1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Corinth Recreation Area keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Corinth Recreation Area. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund.

The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them.

Sent about Corinth Recreation Area (William B. Bankhead National Forest, Alabama) via campanac.com
How we know this · 4
Contacts: Contact forms from @unitedstates/congress-legislators · Sep 9, 2026
The figures in these drafts: Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress (CRS Report RS20643) · Updated December 4, 2025 · “The ship’s final procurement cost was $13,316.5 million (i.e., about $13.3 billion) in then-year dollars.”
The figures in these drafts: Salary Table 2026-GS, Incorporating the 1% General Schedule Increase, Effective January 2026 (U.S. Office of Personnel Management) · Effective January 2026 · “Grade 5, Step 1: $34,799 (annual rate, before locality pay).”
The figures in these drafts: Update to Civilian Position Full Fringe Benefit Cost Factor, Federal Pay Raise Assumptions, and Inflation Factors used in OMB Circular No. A-76 (OMB Memorandum M-08-13) · March 11, 2008 · “the civilian position full fringe benefit cost factor needs to be adjusted downward, from 36.45 percent to 36.25 percent”

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: recreation.gov is offering sites on 16 of the next 16 nights, which isn’t something a closed campground does.
Sites on recreation.gov: recreation.gov’s own month availability payload for this facility, asked for October 2026 and November 2026. It names 61 of the 60 campsites the agency files here, and every one of them carries an answer either way. A campground nobody has read carries no answer at all, never a no. · Oct 14, 2026
Elevation: USGS 3DEP elevation point query at this campground’s coordinate · Sep 7, 2026
Night sky: VIIRS Day/Night Band annual cloud-free composite, VNL V2 2024 (Earth Observation Group, Colorado School of Mines), read at the published coordinate: 0.69 mcd/m² of artificial all-sky glow, ranked against the 41 rated federal campgrounds in Alabama · Sep 8, 2026
Sky-glow model: Duriscoe, Anderson, Luginbuhl and Baugh (2018), a simplified model of all-sky artificial sky glow derived from VIIRS Day/Night band data, the National Park Service sky-glow model
Cell signal: the Forest Service’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.
Nearest town: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 places, measured by CAMPANAC to the town boundary; population is the ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimate · Sep 9, 2026