Jacobs Creek Campground (TN)
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $12From, per site
- Sites
- 2927 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 11 notices
In the agency’s own words
PLEASE NOTE: AS THE HURRICANE BANNER DESCRIBES, JACOBS CREEK CAMPGROUND AND DAY-USE AREA IS CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. READ THE NEED TO KNOW SECTION (LOCATED UNDER FACILITY INFORMATION TAB) FOR FURTHER DETAILS. PLEASE READ IT BEFORE MAKING ANY RESERVATIONS. Jacobs Creek Campground is situated along the shores of beautiful South Holston Lake in Sullivan County, Tennessee, at an elevation of 1,730 ft. With a view of miles of undeveloped shoreline and the water, the campsites at Jacobs Creek Campground are a relaxing way to spend your vacation. There are 27 available campsites, 23 of which are reservable, including warm showers in the campground. Campground hosts are available on site to answer your questions. There is a Day-Use area adjacent to the Campground with a designated beach area. Keep reading
Recreation
Fishing is a popular activity for campers at Jacobs Creek. There is a boat launch a few miles down the road along Hwy 421. A few campsites have easy access to the lake shore. Children and adults enjoy riding their bikes on the roads between camping loops. There is also a day-use area adjacent to the campground for swimming and picnicking. There is an array of wildflowers to enjoy throughout the season, as well as resident deer and turkey and other natural wonders for the naturalist in your group. Jacobs Creek Shooting Range is about 1 mile outside the campground.
Facilities
There are a total of 29 campsites, 27 of which are available, within three loops. Some sites are right along the water, and some sites are away from the water. The campground has flush toilets and showers. Each site is non-electric, and contains a table, fire ring and lantern holder. Some sites can accommodate a travel trailer, while some sites are tent only. There is a boat launch a few miles down the road along Hwy 421.
Natural Features
South Holston Lake is a 7,580-acre hydroelectric reservoir managed by the Tennessee Valley Authority and surrounded by the Cherokee National Forest. Holston Mountain and nearby Iron Mountain provide habitat for an array of wildlife including a healthy population of black bear.
Nearby Attractions
Jacobs Creek Campground is within 30 minutes of Bristol, Tennessee, and nearby Bristol Motor Speedway. Backbone Rock Recreation Area is approximately 30 minutes away up beautiful Shady Valley, and just five minutes past Backbone Rock is Damascus, Virginia. Little Oak Campground is 25 minutes away for another campground option along South Holston Lake.
What the agency tells you
Jacobs Creek Recreation Area received damage to both bathrooms from Hurricane Helene. The bathroom near site 4 is demolished, and the showerhouse near site 19 has roof damage. There is still no timeframe on repair work. Because of this, the campground and day-use area will have to remain closed for the rest of the 2025 season. We apologize for any and all inconveniences and hope the repairs can be made before next season. If you had a reservation between 8-1-2025 and 10-14-2025 your reservation will be cancelled and refunded in full. If you have any questions please call 423-735-1547.
The majority of campsites at Jacobs Creek Campground are now on the Reservation system. Campers may camp on unreserved sites for a recommended two nights maximum at a time, or contact Recreation.gov to reserve a site.
All recreation areas on the Cherokee National Forest are alcohol free to promote family-friendly recreation.
Everything else this campground posts · 8
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. Visit dontmovefirewood.org to learn more.
Use designated fire rings for all fires. Do not build additional fire rings. No burning plastic or other non-wood materials except local wood in fire pits and charcoal in grills.
You are in Bear Country. Please adhere to the Cherokee National Forest Food and Refuse Storage Requirements. All food (unless actively being prepared and/or eaten), trash, and other scented items (hygiene products, pet food, etc) must be stored in a bear-resistant container (closed hard top vehicle or travel trailer) or suspended at least 12 ft. off the ground and 6 ft. from limbs. Please read the entire Food Storage Order located under the Facility Information tab and Additional Information section or by reading the Food Storage Order posted at the campground. Any campsites not in compliance will receive a ticket.
All pets must be on a 6' leash at all times. Owners must pick up after their pets, and all pet waste disposed of properly.
Check-out time is no later than 11 am EST on your departure day. You may check-in to the campground between 2 pm EST and 10 pm EST of your arrival date. If you have not checked-in before 2 pm EST the day after your arrival date, your site will be checked-out and will forfeit all fees.
Established quiet hours are between 10 pm EST and 7 am EST.
This campground does not have any Long-Term Camping programs.
It is your responsibility to read, know, understand, and follow all campground specific rules and regulations.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 29 · 9 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- “…away from the water. The campground has flush toilets and showers. Each site is non-electric, and…”
- Showers
- Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
- “There are 27 available campsites, 23 of which are reservable, including warm showers in the campground.”
- Dump station
- Yes
- recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Reservoir, Lake, Creek, Beach
- Boating
- Canoeing
- Kayaking
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
recreation.gov lists 27 of the 29 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
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.
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 make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 13
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $12 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.
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 · 5
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
29 sites
All 29 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 27 of the 29 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| A | 1 | tent only nonelectric | $12 |
| A | 2 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| A | 3 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| A | 4 | type not stated | |
| A | 5 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| A | 6 | tent only nonelectric | $12 |
| A | 7 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| A | 8 | tent only nonelectric | $12 |
| A | 9 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| B | 10 | tent only nonelectric | $12 |
| B | 11 | tent only nonelectric | $12 |
| B | 12 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| B | 13 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| B | 14 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| B | 15 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| B | 16 | tent only nonelectric | $12 |
| B | 17 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| B | 18 | type not stated | |
| C | 19 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| C | 20 | tent only nonelectric | $12 |
| C | 21 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| C | 22 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| C | 23 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| C | 24 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| C | 25 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| C | 26 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| C | 27 | standard nonelectric | $12 |
| C | 28 | tent only nonelectric | $12 |
| C | 29 | tent only nonelectric | $12 |
25 of 29 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Little Oak CampgroundCherokee National Forest · 4.4 mi
Backbone Rock CampgroundCherokee National Forest · 11 mi
Watauga Point Recreation AreaCherokee National Forest · 17 mi
Cardens Bluff CampgroundCherokee National Forest · 19 miFrom Bristol, take US 421 South for 12 miles, and turn left onto paved Denton Valley Rd. After 1.5 miles, turn left onto Jacobs Creek Rd. Continue 0.5 miles and you will be at Jacobs Creek Campground.
The agency publishes this point for 2 campgrounds; it’s likely a district office, not the campground. Use the agency’s own page for directions.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Bristol, TN
Typical weather
Typical October night 43°F, day 69°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 24°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
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.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Jacobs Creek Campground (TN) is in Tennessee’s 1st congressional district. Its representative, Diana Harshbarger (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →