Poole Knobs
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $24–$45Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 78All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 12 notices
In the agency’s own words
Poole Knobs Campground is a lakeside oasis in the green hills of Tennessee, providing campers with countless recreational activities on the lake and in the surrounding woods and grasslands. Keep reading
Recreation
The lake provides a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities for millions of visitors each year. Because of the temperate climate and relatively long recreation season, visitors have numerous activities to choose from, including fishing, hunting, picnicking, boating, canoeing, hiking, horseback riding and wildlife viewing. Fishing opportunities abound at J. Percy Priest Lake, with a wide variety of species available, including largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, striped bass, Cherokee bass, and white bass. Other species such as catfish, bluegill, bream and trout provide excellent opportunities for younger anglers.
Facilities
Poole Knobs Campground offers 87 shady and spacious campsites, along with one larger group camping site. The campground features drinking water, a dump station, flush toilets and hot showers, creating a comfortable camping experience. A boat ramp is provided, allowing guests to take advantage of the vast, sparkling lake. The group campsite can accommodate up to 40 campers, making it an ideal spot for family parties.
Natural Features
J. Percy Priest Dam and Lake was one of the first Corps of Engineers lakes to have recreation as part of its mission. The dam, completed in 1968, impounds 42 miles, with 14,200 surface acres of water. In soothing contrast to the sparkling waters of the lake are the adjacent 19,087 acres of grasslands and woodlands. A highlight of the region, the Cedar Glades Natural Area, is home to countless wildlife and plant species, including the Tennessee coneflower.
Nearby Attractions
J. Percy Priest Lake is conveniently located about ten miles east of downtown Nashville, offering visitors countless cultural activities in addition to the conveniences of a metro area.
Charges & Cancellations
There is a $10.00 transaction fee for all cancelled reservations.
What the agency tells you
Two tents or one tent and one RV are permitted per campsite. Multi-family sites allow double the amount of tents and RVs.
No designated swimming area or beach is provided at this campground.
No off-road vehicles permitted.
Everything else this campground posts · 9
Two vehicles allowed per site. Multi-family sites allow four cars per site.
Skunks frequent the area; store food in approved containers.
$5 fee per vehicle for guests of campers.
Firewood quarantines are in effect. Firewood from outside the area is not permitted. Help protect our forests by purchasing or collecting firewood at or near your camping destination and burning it on-site. Click Here for more information.
Don't Move Firewood: Protect your forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. Visit Dontmovefirewood.org for further information.
Camping limit is 14 days in any 30-consecutive-day period on J. Percy Priest Lake. This rule applies to all campgrounds combined.
No drive-thrus on Friday, Saturday & Sunday.
Wifi is NOT provided at this campground.
STOP THE SPREAD OF INVASIVE SPECIES. Remove plants, seeds, animals, and mud from boots, gear, pets, and vehicles. Clean your gear before entering and leaving the recreation site. Stay on designated roads and trails, and follow local guidelines for firewood. CLEAN, DRAIN, DRY boats and any other recreational equipment that contacts water. Dispose of unwanted bait, worms, fish parts, or other organisms into the trash and not into the environment. For more information visit https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/rec.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 78 · 9 tent-only, 10 group, 1 cabin
- Hookups
- 47 electric, 46 water
- Longest rig
- 40 ft
- Accessible sites
- 3
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- “…features drinking water, a dump station, flush toilets and hot showers, creating a comfortable camping…”
- Showers
- Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
- “The campground features drinking water, a dump station, flush toilets and hot showers, creating a comfortable camping experience.”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…camping site. The campground features drinking water, a dump station, flush toilets and hot showers,…”
- Dump station
- Yes
- recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Horseback riding
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 89th darkest of 95 in TN
- Bortle 6
- Fall color · reported 9 days ago, 19 km away
- No change
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
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 · 20
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $24–$45 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.
“There is a $10.00 transaction fee for all cancelled reservations.” · this campground’s own terms
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
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
78 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 78 mapped sitesAll 78 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 78 of the 78 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 68 of the 78 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| PKNO | 01 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 111 ft | 1,045 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,709 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 02 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 91 ft | 1,102 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,835 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 03 | standard electric | 18 ft | 50 amp | 91 ft | 945 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,656 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 04 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 91 ft | 1,027 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,798 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 05 | standard electric | 18 ft | 50 amp | 36 ft | 873 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,633 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 06 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 102 ft | 909 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,717 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 07 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 36 ft | 841 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,615 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 08 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 72 ft | 836 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,696 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 09 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 51 ft | 790 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,569 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 10 | group standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 72 ft | 766 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,645 ft | ||
| PKNO | 11 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 69 ft | 699 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,494 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 13 | group standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 69 ft | 643 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,426 ft | ||
| PKNO | 14 | standard electric | 32 ft | 50 amp | 73 ft | 545 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,466 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 16 | standard electric | 36 ft | 50 amp | 73 ft | 472 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,408 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 17 | tent only nonelectric | 32 ft | 39 ft | 520 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,324 ft | $24–$28 | ||
| PKNO | 18 | standard electric | 38 ft | 50 amp | 57 ft | 386 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,352 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 19 | tent only nonelectric | 34 ft | 39 ft | 484 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,290 ft | $24–$28 | ||
| PKNO | 20 | standard electric | 34 ft | 50 amp | 57 ft | 334 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,298 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 21 | tent only nonelectric | 32 ft | 86 ft | 397 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,237 ft | $24–$28 | ||
| PKNO | 22 | standard electric | 28 ft | 50 amp | 97 ft | 223 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,224 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 23 | tent only electric | 20 ft | 50 amp | 71 ft | 305 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,176 ft | $28 | |
| PKNO | 24 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 97 ft | 131 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,141 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 25 | group standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 71 ft | 264 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,107 ft | ||
| PKNO | 26 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 132 ft | 23 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,042 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 28 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 160 ft | 33 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 907 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 29 | group standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 166 ft | 175 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 913 ft | ||
| PKNO | 30 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 170 ft | 22 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 751 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 32 | standard electric | 36 ft | 50 amp | 126 ft | 11 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 648 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 33 | standard electric | 38 ft | 50 amp | 135 ft | 158 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 719 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 34 | standard electric | 32 ft | 50 amp | 126 ft | 59 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 560 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 35 | group standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 135 ft | 196 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 599 ft | ||
| PKNO | 36 | standard electric | 36 ft | 50 amp | 157 ft | 58 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 516 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 38 | group standard electric | 36 ft | 50 amp | 137 ft | 48 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 466 ft | ||
| PKNO | 39 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 161 ft | 219 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 410 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 41 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 137 ft | 181 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 329 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 42 | group standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 115 ft | 90 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 514 ft | ||
| PKNO | 43 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | yes | 115 ft | 166 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 400 ft | $32–$45 |
| PKNO | 45 | standard electric | 38 ft | 50 amp | yes | 93 ft | 214 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 410 ft | $32–$45 |
| PKNO | 46 | standard electric | 34 ft | 50 amp | 117 ft | 143 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 529 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 47 | standard electric | 34 ft | 50 amp | yes | 93 ft | 246 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 402 ft | $32–$45 |
| PKNO | 48 | standard electric | 36 ft | 50 amp | 113 ft | 135 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 497 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 49 | group standard electric | 36 ft | 50 amp | 128 ft | 230 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 337 ft | ||
| PKNO | 50 | standard electric | 34 ft | 50 amp | 135 ft | 96 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 458 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 52 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 145 ft | 104 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 438 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 53 | tent only nonelectric | 32 ft | 110 ft | 247 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 347 ft | $24–$28 | ||
| PKNO | 54 | standard electric | 28 ft | 50 amp | 110 ft | 144 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 442 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 55 | tent only nonelectric | 36 ft | 113 ft | 168 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 671 ft | $24–$28 | ||
| PKNO | 56 | group standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 123 ft | 48 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 734 ft | ||
| PKNO | 57 | tent only nonelectric | 36 ft | 113 ft | 190 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 744 ft | $24–$28 | ||
| PKNO | 59 | standard electric | 36 ft | 50 amp | 105 ft | 52 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 880 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 60 | standard electric | 38 ft | 50 amp | 105 ft | 63 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 950 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 61 | tent only nonelectric | 36 ft | 107 ft | 72 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,023 ft | $24–$28 | ||
| PKNO | 62 | standard electric | 30 ft | 50 amp | 107 ft | 59 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,076 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 63 | tent only nonelectric | 36 ft | 104 ft | 199 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,083 ft | $24–$28 | ||
| PKNO | 64 | standard electric | 40 ft | 50 amp | 104 ft | 120 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,177 ft | $32–$45 | |
| PKNO | 66 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 110 ft | 1,051 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,681 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 67 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 97 ft | 1,141 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,691 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 68 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 110 ft | 976 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,574 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 69 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 97 ft | 1,072 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,594 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 70 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 111 ft | 923 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,464 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 71 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 82 ft | 991 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,488 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 72 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 82 ft | 917 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,412 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 73 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 81 ft | 853 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,285 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 74 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 74 ft | 855 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,211 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 75 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 60 ft | 781 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,259 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 76 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 74 ft | 791 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,150 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 77 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 60 ft | 723 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,217 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 78 | standard nonelectric | 18 ft | 70 ft | 648 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,157 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 79 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 70 ft | 610 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,088 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 80 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 94 ft | 703 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,084 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 81 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 75 ft | 544 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 1,037 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 82 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 111 ft | 610 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 942 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 83 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 92 ft | 478 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 965 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 84 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 113 ft | 479 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 852 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 85 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 101 ft | 536 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 747 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 86 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 111 ft | 607 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 830 ft | $24 | ||
| PKNO | 87 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 101 ft | 582 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 653 ft | $24 | ||
| POOLE KNOBS | GSA | group shelter nonelectric | 313 ft | 687 ftJ Percy Priest Reservoir | 389 ft |
25 of 78 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Jefferson Springs4.1 mi
Smith Springs5.1 mi
Anderson Road Campground6.5 mi
Seven Points (TN)6.6 mi
Shutes Branch14 mi
Cedar Creek (TN)16 miFrom downtown Nashville, TN, take I-40 east to I-24 east. After 15 miles take exit 66B and turn right onto Sam Ridley Parkway. Turn right onto Highway 41 north, and after about 1.5 miles turn right onto Fergus Road. Make another right onto Jones Mill Road and follow the signs to the campground after 4 miles.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for La Vergne, TN
Typical weather
Typical October night 44°F, day 73°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 26°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
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Poole Knobs is in Tennessee’s 4th congressional district. Its representative, Scott DesJarlais (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →