Rock Creek Campground (TN)
1Heads uppark alert
- Right now
- OpenThe agency lists it open
- A night
- $15From, per site
- Sites
- 11All of them booked ahead
- Season
- Year-roundOpen year-round
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 7 notices
In the agency’s own words
Rock Creek Campground is located near the Emory River in the Obed Wild and Scenic River. Keep reading
Recreation
Whitewater paddling is available seasonally in the Obed WSR. Rock climbing is another challenging activity, as is boulder climbing. The Obed WSR sports several unique trails for hikers, most notably the Point Trail and a portion of the Cumberland Trail. Those who like to fish will enjoy the Obed WSR, as a variety of bass, bluegill, catfish and other fish populate the river. Birdwatching is also a fun activity, particularly during the migratory seasons.
Facilities
Rock Creek Campground has 11 campsites. Each site has a picnic table, food storage locker, fire ring with grill, lantern hook and paved parking. A vault toilet is also centrally located in the campground.
Natural Features
The Obed River winds through the Cumberland Plateau offering a variety of recreational activities for everyone.
Nearby Attractions
Just a few miles from the park is Frozen Head State Park which encompasses more than 24,000 acres of forest with mountainous terrain at an elevation from 1,340 feet to over 3,000 feet. Catoosa Wildlife Management Area is an 82,000 acre preserve with a focus on hunting and fishing but offering a wealth of other recreational activities as well. Lone Mountain State Forest is 3,600 acres and has 15 miles of trails for hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders.
What the agency tells you
Black bears and other wildlife frequent this campground. Please keep in mind that “food” to a bear includes any item with a scent, regardless of packaging. This may consist of items that you do not consider food, such as canned goods, horse feed, bottles, drinks, soaps, cosmetics, toiletries, trash, ice chests (even when empty), and unwashed items used for preparing or eating meals. All these items must be stored properly. --Secure coolers, grills, cooking utensils, horse feed, any food not in use, and anything with food odors inside the locked compartment of a vehicle or trailer or a bear proof storage locker if available. Food storage lockers each measure approximately 29" deep x 38" wide x 43" tall. --Wipe off picnic tables and grills. Properly discard aluminum foil used for cooking. --Avoid burning garbage in fire rings because it will leave behind grease and food scraps. --Always discard all garbage in wildlife proof trash cans or dumpsters. Keep a clean campsite. --Do not hang garbage from lantern poles. Following these guidelines will keep you from getting your property confiscated from your campsite. We appreciate your cooperation.
This campground is site-specific. Please occupy the site you reserved. If you need to move to another site, please modify your reservation through the Recreation.gov site or call 1-877-444-6777.
No alcohol permitted.
Everything else this campground posts · 4
All equipment must fit on the site pad. Vehicles park in developed areas only.
Please bring your own drinking water.
Any group larger than 25 persons wishing to participate in any activity in the park in which members of the group will depart from an established road and/or parking area must first obtain a permit for such activity. More information can be found online at www.nps.gov/obed/planyourvisit/special-use-permits.htm.
Please be advised that an approved Permit or Authorization by the superintendent is required before providing business services within Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. This includes services such as RV or tent delivery and setup, firewood sales and delivery, shuttle and transportation services, guided hikes, guided floats, and similar activities. To apply for a permit, please visit our website at www.nps.gov/biso and navigate to the "Doing Business With the Park" section. There you will find application forms, instructions, and contact information.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 11 · 11 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 20 ft
- Accessible sites
- 1
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets - year round
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- Bear boxes
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek
- Boating
- Climbing
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Hunting
- Ranger programs
- Water sports
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 38th darkest of 95 in TN
- Bortle 4
1 of 22 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:50 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBooked
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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 12
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $15 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
recreation.gov availability, read 16:50 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
11 sites
All 11 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. 11 of the 11 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Rock Creek Campground (TN) | 1 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | $15 | |
| Rock Creek Campground (TN) | 10 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | $15 | |
| Rock Creek Campground (TN) | 11 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | $15 | |
| Rock Creek Campground (TN) | 2 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | $15 | |
| Rock Creek Campground (TN) | 3 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | $15 | |
| Rock Creek Campground (TN) | 4 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | $15 | |
| Rock Creek Campground (TN) | 5 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | $15 | |
| Rock Creek Campground (TN) | 6 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | $15 | |
| Rock Creek Campground (TN) | 7 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | $15 | |
| Rock Creek Campground (TN) | 8 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | yes | $15 |
| Rock Creek Campground (TN) | 9 | tent only nonelectric | 20 ft | $15 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Bandy CreekBig South Fork National River and Recreation Area · 29 mi
Station Camp CampgroundBig South Fork National River and Recreation Area · 33 mi
Great Meadows CampgroundDaniel Boone National Forest · 39 mi
Bear Creek Campground - KYBig South Fork National River and Recreation Area · 40 mi
Obey River Park43 mi
Blue Heron CampgroundBig South Fork National River and Recreation Area · 43 miFrom the East: Take State Route 62 West, then veer to the right onto State Route 27. Make a left onto Kingston Street, and follow the brown Obed road signs to the visitor center on North Maiden Street. To continue on to the campground, stay on North Maiden Street until reaching an intersection. Stay straight on North Maiden Street crossing Main Street/Old Hwy 27 until you reach Spring Street. Turn right onto Spring Street and continue on to the sharp left-handed curve where the road becomes Catoosa Road. Stay on Catoosa Road for approximately 5.5 miles until reaching the entrance of the campground.
From the West: Take State Route 62 East, then make a right onto State Route 27 South. Make a right onto Kingston Street, and follow the brown Obed road signs to the visitor center on North Maiden Street. To continue on to the campground, stay on North Maiden Street until reaching an intersection. Stay straight on North Maiden Street crossing Main Street/Old Hwy 27 until you reach Spring Street. Turn right onto Spring Street and continue on to the sharp left-handed curve where the road becomes Catoosa Road. Stay on Catoosa Road for approximately 5.5 miles until reaching the entrance of the campground.
From the North: Follow State Route 27 South into Wartburg. Make a right onto Kingston Street, and follow the brown Obed road signs to the visitor center on North Maiden Street. To continue on to the campground, stay on North Maiden Street until reaching an intersection. Stay straight on North Maiden Street crossing Main Street/Old Hwy 27 until you reach Spring Street. Turn right onto Spring Street and continue on to the sharp left-handed curve where the road becomes Catoosa Road. Stay on Catoosa Road for approximately 5.5 miles until reaching the entrance of the campground.
From the South: Follow State Route 27 North into Wartburg. Make a left onto Kingston Street, then follow the brown Obed road signs to the visitor center on North Maiden Street. To continue on to the campground, stay on North Maiden Street until reaching an intersection. Stay straight on North Maiden Street crossing Main Street/Old Hwy 27 until you reach Spring Street. Turn right onto Spring Street and continue on to the sharp left-handed curve where the road becomes Catoosa Road. Stay on Catoosa Road for approximately 5.5 miles until reaching the entrance of the campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Wartburg, TN
Typical weather
Typical October night 43°F, day 70°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
Rock Creek Campground (TN) is in Tennessee’s 3rd congressional district. Its representative, Chuck Fleischmann (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →